NZ572333A - Content management system - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for training users in organisations is disclosed where each organisation is operating in an industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements and for each organisation the requirements are specified for the organisation and/or the industry in which the organisation operates. The system comprises a computer system for: testing a user of an organisation on a matter relating to requirements that the organisation is obliged or desires to meet, determining if the user does not pass the test, and if they do not pass the test, automatically providing or providing access to an electronic document to the user containing current information on at least one of those requirements to educate the user on the matter, the electronic document forming part of an electronic updating system. (62) Divided Out of 546853

Description

572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT, 1953 Divided out of NZ 546853 dated 27 April 2006 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM We, EBIZDOCZ LIMITED, a company duly incorporated under the laws of New Zealand of Level 5, Equitable House, 57 Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present specification relates to more than one invention. Claims to the inventions can be found in the present specification and the specification of parent application NZ 546853.

The present invention relates to a document provision system and method for providing end users with documents relating to procedures, policies, standards, regulations and the like for the purposes of undertaking activities in relation to organisations, and training end users using the document content.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Industries around the world are now obligated to conduct their business in a highly regulated environment. Governments, local bodies, other agencies and organisations themselves specify regulations and other requirements that a particular organisation, or organisations in an industry, must comply with. These requirements come in the form of policies, procedures, standards, regulations, other legislative requirements, activity/task and the like. On a global level, these requirements can relate to matters such as health and safety, employment relations, environmental considerations, standards, for example. On a lower level organisations have their own policies, procedures, standards and the like which are determined by both internal and external requirements which must be complied with. On a micro-level, individual employees of a particular organisation must follow various procedures, policies, standards and the like based on their roles within that organisation.

For example, a particular country might specify various global (i.e. industry independent) requirements that all organisations in that country must meet, and industry-wide requirements that only organisations operating in a respective industry must meet. The industry wide requirements might relate to various different industries, such as health, farming and transport, for example. Global requirements set by local and national government might, for example, specify obligations in relation to employment agreements, occupational health and safety and environmental impact. At a lower industry level, requirements are more specific. For example, for farming, requirements might specify obligations in relation to animal welfare, farming practices, environment, food safety and the like. Industries might also have sub-sectors which have specific requirements. On a lower level, each organisation might stipulate their own operating procedures and practises both on a company level, and on an individual employee level. For example, a physiotherapist 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 operating in the health industry might stipulate their own best practices, customer welfare policies, and productivity targets, for example.

As a result of this, individual employees in an organisation have to conduct their activities in a manner to ensure compliance with the various levels of requirements. Knowing how to carry out operations within a business such that they are in compliance with the various requirements is a difficult process and requires training and knowledge on the part of each employee. Organisations have to ensure employees comply with requirements through training and compliance auditing.

Many organisations provide policy and procedures on various aspects of activities carried out in their organisation to assist employees to conduct business in the appropriate and compliant manner. For example, documents may be provided to assist an individual employee to conduct their activities to ensure they meet the global requirements, the industry specific requirements, the organisation specific requirements and the like.

The difficultly with organisation compliance is that the various policies, procedures, standards, regulations and other legal requirements they must follow are constantly changing. When a global regulation change that affects all industries takes place, then it is necessary to update all the documents affected by that change for all industries. Similarly, where there is an industry requirement change, all documents used by organisations in that industry need to be updated to take into account that change. Presently, it is necessary for individual organisations to monitor the various regulations that affect their industries and organisations and ensure documents and training are amended to take into account changes. This makes it difficult for users and organisations to keep up to date with current requirements, and where procedural documentation is used to assist compliance, it is difficult to ensure such documentation is updated to reflect the current regulatory environment. There is a large overhead in doing so, and frequently businesses are not able to ensure that their procedures are up to date.

It is therefore desirable for organisations to have a method and or system that assists in achieving compliance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method to assist training users to comply with requirements, or at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Described herein but claimed elsewhere is a method for providing documents to users in organisations, wherein each organisation is operating in at least one industry and is obliged Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 or desires to comply with one or more requirements, wherein for each organisation the requirements that the organisation is obliged or desires to comply with are requirements specified for: the organisation itself, the industry that the organisation operates in, and/or a range of industries, one of which is the industry in which the organisation operates in, , the method comprising the steps of: receiving a request for a document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to an organisation, generating a document relating to that activity, the document comprising content influenced by at least one requirement the organisation is obliged or desires to comply with, wherein the document is generated from at least one of a plurality of templates, at least some of the plurality of templates being relevant to a plurality of organisations and being for generating a document relating to an activity that can be carried out in respect of any of the plurality of organisations to which it is relevant, such templates comprising content influenced by at least one requirement that the plurality of organisations are obliged or desire to comply with, each requirement being a requirement specified for: an industry that the organisations operate in, and/or a range of industries, one of which is the industry in which the organisations operate in, and providing the document to the user, wherein each template is updateable to change the content, such that if any change occurs in the at least one requirement specified for the plurality of organisations, any templates relevant to those plurality of organisations can be changed so that a document generated from the template will include content influenced by the changed requirements.

Preferably, updating the content comprises updating text in the template, or updating identifiers that refer to information items for inclusion in the template.

Preferably the method further comprises the step of: monitoring sources that determine the requirements specified for the plurality of organisations, and when a change in one or more requirements occur, updating one or more relevant templates that are used to Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 generate documents containing content influenced by the one or more changed requirements for the plurality of organisations that are obliged or desire to meet the changed requirements.

Preferably generating a document comprises inserting one or more items of information into the template from a store of information items wherein the template comprises one or more identifiers that specify which of the one or more items of information from the store should be inserted.

Preferably each item of information is updateable such that if any changes in requirements occur, one or more items of information affected by the change in requirements can be amended.

Preferably the method further comprises the step of determining which templates are relevant to which organisations, and defining access permissions that enable access to those documents by users in the relevant organisations.

Preferably the method further comprises the step of providing each user with access to request one or more documents relating to an activity to be undertaken by the user in relation to an organisation.

Preferably the plurality of templates comprise one or more of the following; i) one or more global templates for generating one or more documents relevant to a plurality of organisations operating in a range of industries, each document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to the organisation and comprising content influenced by requirements the plurality of organisations are obliged or desire to meet, ii) one or more industry templates for generating one or more documents relevant to a plurality of organisations operating in one industry, each document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to the organisation and comprising content influenced by requirements the plurality of organisations are obliged or desire to meet, iii) one or more organisation templates for generating one or more documents for relevant to organisations of a certain type operating in an industry, each document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to the organisation and comprising content influenced by requirements the organisations are obliged or desire to meet, and iv) one or more role templates for generating one or more documents for one or more users in an organisation, each document relating to an activity to be undertaken by the one or more users in relation to the organisation and comprising content influenced by requirements the organisation is obliged or desire to meet.

Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 Preferably i) where a change in requirements occurs that affects all industries, the global templates are updated, ii) where a change in requirements occurs that affects all organisations in one industry, then the industry templates are updated, iii) where a change in requirements occurs that affects one organisation type, then the organisation templates are updated, iv) where a change in requirements occurs that affects the roles carried out by one or more users in an organisation, the role templates are updated.

Preferably a requirement is a procedure, policy, standard, regulation, other legislative requirement or any else that a particular organisation is obliged or desire to comply with Preferably a third party assists in providing documents to the users in one or more organisations.

Preferably the documents are one or more of: i) operating procedures, ii) forms, iii) letters, iv) purpose information, v) instructions, vi) job descriptions, vii) advice, viii) contracts.

In one aspect the present invention may be said to consist in a method of training users in organisations using a computer system, wherein each organisation is operating in an industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements, wherein for each organisation the requirements are specified for the organisation and/or the industry in which the organisation operates, the method comprising: testing a user of an organisation on a matter relating to requirements that the organisation is obliged or desire to meet, determining if the user does not pass the test, and if they do not pass the test, automatically providing or providing access to an electronic document to the user containing current information on at least one of those requirements to educate the user on the matter, the electronic document forming part of an electronic document updating system..

Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 Preferably the method further comprises the step of providing or indicating a particular item of the document relating to the matter.

Described herein but claimed elsewhere is a system for providing documents to users in organisations, wherein each organisation is operating in an industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements, wherein for each organisation the requirements that the organisation is obliged or desires to comply with are requirements that are specified for the organisation itself, the industry that the organisation operates in, and/or a range of industries, one of which is the industry in which the organisation operates in, the system comprising: input means for receiving a request for a document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to an organisation, computer system for generating a document relating to that activity, the document comprising content influenced by at least one requirement the organisation is obliged or desires to comply with, a data store with a plurality of templates wherein the document is generated from at least one of the plurality of templates, at least some of the plurality of templates being relevant to a plurality of organisations and being for generating a document relating to an activity that can be carried out in respect of any of the plurality of organisations to which it is relevant, such templates comprising content influenced by at least one requirement that plurality of the organisations are obliged or desire to comply with, each requirement being a requirement specified for: an industry that the organisations operate in, and/or a range of industries, one of which is the industry in which the organsiations operate in, and an output system for providing the document to the user, wherein each template is updateable to change the content, such that if any change occurs in the at least one requirement specified for the plurality of organisations, any templates relevant those plurality of organisations can be changed so that a document generated from the template will include content influenced by the changed requirements.

Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 Preferably updating text in the template, or updating . identifiers that refer to information items for inclusion in the template.

Preferably an input interface means for updating the one or more relevant templates are updated via the interface that are used to generate documents containing content influenced by the one or more changed requirements for plurality of organisations obliged or desire to meet the changed requirements.

Preferably generating a document includes inserting one or more items of information into the template from a store of information items wherein the template comprises one or more identifiers that specify which of the one or more items of information from the store should be inserted.

Preferably each item of information is updateable such that if any changes in requirements occur, one or more items of information affected by the change in requirements can be amended.

Preferably the computer system is adapted to receive input determining which templates are relevant to which organisations, and defining access permissions that enable access to those documents by users in the relevant organisations.

Preferably the system further comprises an input interface that provides each user with access to request one or more documents relating to an activity to be undertaken by the user in relation to an organisation.

Preferably the plurality of templates comprise one or more of the following: i) one or more global templates for generating one or more documents relevant to a plurality of organisations operating in a range of industries, each document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to the organisation and including content influenced by requirements the plurality of organisations are obliged or desire to meet, ii) one or more industry templates for generating one or more documents relevant to a plurality of organisations operating in one industry, each document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to the organisation and including content influenced by requirements the plurality of organisations are obliged or desire to meet, iii) one or more organisation templates for generating one or more documents relevant to one or more organisation of a certain type operating in an industry, each document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to the organisation and including content influenced by requirements the organisation is obliged or desires to meet, and iv) one or more role templates 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 for generating one or more . -documents for one or more users in an organisation, each document relating to an activity to be undertaken by the one or more users in relation to the organisation and including content influenced by requirements the organisation is obliged or desires to meet.

Preferably i) where a change in requirements occurs that affects all industries, the global templates are updated, ii) where a change in requirements occurs that affects all organisations in one industry, then the industry templates are updated, iii) where a change in requirements occurs that affects one organisation, then the organisation templates are updated, iv) where a change in requirements occurs that affects the roles carried out by one or more users in an organisation, the role templates are updated.

Preferably a requirement is a procedure, policy, standard, regulation, other legislative requirement or any else that a particular organisation is obliged or desire to comply with.

Preferably the system is implemented by a third party that assists in providing documents to the users in one or more organisations.

Preferably the documents are one or more of: i) operating procedures, ii) forms, iii) letters, iv) purpose information, v) instructions, vi) job descriptions, vii) advice, viii) contracts.

In another aspect the present invention may be said to consist in a system for training users in organisations, wherein each organisation is operating in an industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements, wherein for each organisation the requirements are specified for the organisation and/or the industry in which the organisation operates, the system comprising: a computer system for: Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 testing a user of an organisation on a matter relating to requirements that the organisation is obliged or desires to meet, determining if the user does not pass the test, and if they do not pass the test, automatically providing or providing access to an electronic document to the user containing current information on at least one of those requirements to educate the user on the matter, the electronic document forming part of an electronic document updating system..

Preferably the system further comprises a means for providing or indicating a particular item of the document relating to the matter.

Preferably testing comprises asking one or more questions and receiving answers from the user and determining if the user does not pass the test involves comparing their answers with the correct answers.

Preferably the system is further adapted to record the user's responses to the questions.

Preferably the system is implemented by a third party.

Preferably a requirement is one or more of a procedure, policy, standard, regulation, legislative requirement, or activity/task.

Preferably the test results can be used for one or more of: retraining, benchmarking, training needs analysis, risk management.

Described herein but claimed elsewhere is a method for providing documents to users in organisations, wherein each organisation is operating in an industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements, wherein for each organisation the requirements are specified for the organisation and/or the industry in which the organisation operates, the method comprising: receiving a request for a document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to an organisation, generating a document relating to that activity, the document including content influenced by at least one requirement the organisation is obliged or desires to comply with, wherein the document is generated from at least one of a plurality of templates, each of the plurality of templates being relevant to one or more organisations and being for generating a document relating to an activity to be carried out in respect of the one or more organisations to which it is relevant, and each template including content influenced by at least one requirement the one or more organisations are obliged or desire to meet, and providing the document to the user, wherein each template is updateable to change the content, such that if any change occurs in the requirements specified Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 for one or more organisations, any templates relevant to those one or more organisations can be changed so that a document generated from the template will include content influenced by the changed requirements.

Described herein but claimed elsewhere is a system for providing documents to users in organisations, wherein each organisation is operating in an industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements, wherein for each organisation the requirements are specified for the organisation and/or the industry in which the organisation operates, the system comprising: input means for receiving a request for a document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to an organisation, computer system for generating a document relating to that activity, the document including content influenced by at least one requirement the organisation is obliged or desires to comply with, a data store with a plurality of templates wherein the document is generated from at least one of the plurality of templates, each of the plurality of templates being relevant to one or more organisations and being for generating a document relating to an activity to be carried out in respect of the one or more organisations to which it is relevant, and each template including content influenced by at least one requirement the one or more organisations are obliged or desire to meet, and an output system for providing the document to the user, wherein each template is updateable to change the content, such that if any change occurs in the requirements specified for one or more organisations, any templates relevant those one or more organisations can be changed so that a document generated from the template will include content influenced by the changed requirements.

Described herein but claimed elsewhere is a method for providing documents to users in organisations, wherein each organisation is operating in at least one industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements that are specified for: the organisation itself, the industry that the organisation operates in, and/or a range of industries, one of which is the industry in which the organisation operates in, the method comprising the steps of: 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 receiving a request for a document relating to an activity to be undertaken by a user in relation to an organisation, generating a document relating to that activity comprising content influenced by at least one requirement that the organisation is obliged or desires to comply with, the document being produced from a relevant template from a repository of templates, wherein each template in the repository contains content relating to requirements specified for an organisation, the industry of the organisation, and/or a range of industries, and dependent on requirement changes at the organisation, industy and/or multi-industry level, the organisation, industry and multi-industry portions of the template are updated, wherein the updated template can be used to generate a document for other organisations affected by the change in the requirements.

In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

The term "comprising" as used in this specification means "consisting at least in part of'. Related terms such as "comprise" and "comprised" are to be interpreted in the same manner.

To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the inventions will be described with the reference to the following drawings of which: Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a system for generating and providing a user with procedural documents, Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the software operating on the server of the system, 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 Figure 3 shows a flow diagram of how a user retrieves a document on the system, Figure 4a - 4e show screensshots of how a user retrieves a document on the system Figures 5a, 5b show a typical document template and document respectively, Figure 6 shows typical document structures, Figure 7 shows a flow diagram indicating the process undertaken by one or more people to update documentation, Figures 8a, 8b show flow diagrams indicating the human and computer portions of the process for updating documentation, Figures 9a-91 show screen shots of various updating procedures, Figure 10a shows a method for creating and editing a question category, Figure 1 Ob shows a screen shot administration screen in the training module, Figure 10c shows a screen shot of a category creation screen, Figure 11 a shows a flow diagram a method for creating a question, Figure 1 lb shows a screen shot of a question creation screen, Figure 11c shows a screen shot of a question repository, Figure 12a shows a flow diagram of a method for creating/editing a questionnaire, Figure 12b shows a screen shot of a questionnaire screen, Figure 12c and 12d show screen shots of questionnaire creation/editing screens, Figure 13a shows a flow diagram of a profile creation method, Figure 13b is a screen shot of a profile screen, Figure 13 c shows a screen shot of a profile editing/creation screen, Figure 13d shows a screen shot of a user set up screen, Figure 14a shows a flow diagram of a testing process,.

Figure 14b shows a screen shot of a test alert, Figure 14c shows a screen shot of a test instruction page, Figure 15a shows a screen shot of a question in the testing process, Figure 15b shows a screen shot of a document containing a question answer, Figures 15c-15e show further screen shots of questions, Figure 15f shows a screen shot of a results page, and Figure 16a and 16b show screen shots of reporting screens.

Appendix 1 shows an indication of typical documents produced by the system/method for a physiotherapist company Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 ... ... Appendix 2 shows typical merge fields used in the inventions, .and their typical content for a physiotherapist company, Appendix 3 shows a procedure document, complaints form, complaints letter and response letter showing an example of the type of documents produced by the system, and Appendix 4 shows typical permissions arrangements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS General overview In general terms, a preferred embodiment relates to a method and system for providing users with access to documents, the documents providing the user with information and other resources for enabling them to carry out tasks or activities according to their roles in an organisation and ensuring that those tasks are carried out in compliance with various requirements. Tasks or activities can be any job, task, process or the like. They can also comprise advice or information required to carry out job or process. A user will typically be an owner, employee or contractor of an organisation. The documents are typically in the form of operating procedures, forms, letters, purpose information, instructions, policies, standards, training information, job descriptions, advice, contracts or any other document that contains content that assists a user undertaking an activity in relation to an organisation to undertake that activity in accordance with requirements that the organisation is obliged or desires to meet. The documents might also include documents specific to a particular organisation that they have generated themselves and requested be included for access by their users. Throughout the specification, where it is stated that an organisation is obliged to meet a requirement, it should be appreciated that this also refers to the case where there is no obligation, but the organisation desires to comply or otherwise meet the requirement.

The documents are created with content that is determined based on policies, procedures, standards, regulations and any other requirements that might be stipulated by governments, local authorities, professional associations, organisations themselves or any other entity. These requirements may be stipulated on a global level (i.e. over all industries), industry level, industry sub-sector level, organisation type level or even on a individual user or organisation level. The documents are created from information items and templates that are continually updated based on the various changes in any of the requirements such as policies, procedures, standards, regulations or other legislative changes stipulated by the entities mentioned above. The system and method also provides a means by which to facilitate updating the information items and templates in response to any of the Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 aforementioned changes, and provides a way for these changes to be propagated such that the eventual documents provided to users are the most current and up-to-date based on the current requirements. This system provides documents that assist users to carry out their tasks in relation to the most recent requirements and therefore assist with compliance. The system and process is therefore structured to facilitate the update process.

The preferred embodiment also preferably comprises an information gathering process whereby sources of requirements such as policies, procedures, regulations, standards, legislative changes and the like are monitored to identify when and what changes take place such that any changes can be reflected in the templates and information items, and ultimately in the documents provided to users. For example, the system might be used for providing documents to users in organisations that fall within the Health, Transport, Farming and Food industries. It will be appreciated that the system could be used to provide documents in a far more extensive range of industries, for example corporates, franchise and personal finance. However the embodiment will be described with reference to these industries, by way of example. In each of the industries, there will be compliance requirements that relate to organisations in all industries, industry level (and industry sub-sector) requirements that relate to only organisations in those industries, and organisation level requirements that relate to organisations of a particular type. There might also be requirements that a particular organisation imposes on themselves. Those skilled in the art will be generally familiar with the type and nature of these requirements.

Figure 1 shows a general view of a preferred system 10 according to the present embodiment. The overall system is preferably operated by one or more third parties who provide and maintain the computer systems required to provide the service, and also set up and then maintain the templates, merge fields and information for generating the documents. A server 1 is provided that executes software 2 for generating and providing documents to users, and facilitating the update process for the information items and templates which make up those documents. The server also stores templates and information items. Preferably, the documents are provided to end users 3 using a terminal or the like connected to the internet 4. The end users are spread among many organisations in many industries. The content could be provided over any other suitable type of network or delivered in any other suitable manner. Where the content is provided over the internet, the server 1 acts as a web server and implements all the required software and protocols for receiving a request from a using and providing content in response in a suitable format. For example, the web server provides the user with various pages containing links and menus which can be viewed by the user on a web Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 browser, and can provide documents in any suitable format for viewing by. the user on a browser, word processor or other suitable software. The system/method also includes an update team 5 that monitor sources and update template/information items.

Figure 2 shows the software 2 executing on the server 1 in more detail. The software 2 includes a document generation module 20 which is adapted to output web pages, generated documents and other content in a suitable form for browsing by a user connected via the internet or other means to the web server. The module is also adapted to generate documents, relating to procedures, policies, forms or other the like in response to a user request. The module 20 is coupled to database or databases 21 containing templates specifying the general nature and content of a document, and also other individual information items defined as content of merge fields containing further information for merging into the templates. The information items could be text, graphics (such as a company logo), links or other relevant content. The module 20 operates by receiving a request for a document, retrieving the relevant template and related information items in merge fields for the requested document from the database, and then conducting a merge process to merge the information items in the merge fields into the template. The merged document is then transferred to the user 3 for inspection.

Each document will contain content influenced by requirements that a particular organisation, which will use the document, is obliged to meet. Therefore at a global level, any document that is provided to all organisations will have content that is influenced by requirements such as regulations, standards, policies and the like that all organisations must comply with when going about their daily business. At industry and organisation levels, any document that is provided will have content that is influenced by requirements stipulated for that industry and/or organisation type. The content might be for example a procedure which is stipulated, a policy related to the regulation, a purpose which outlines why the procedures must be carried out with referral to the regulations, a form which requests information to meet a particular requirement or anything else known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the content may directly describe or indicate a requirement that must be met, or indirectly provide some information, guidance or other text that is influenced by the obligation to meet a particular requirement.

Coupled to the document generation module is an updating module 22. The updating module provides the facility for the team of updaters 5 to create, edit, delete, modify and otherwise amend the templates and merge fields (and information items in those merge fields) in the databases 21 so that they reflect information that is correct for producing documents 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 that reflect the current compliance requirements. The update module 22 provides this by way of a graphical user interface which provides updaters 5 access to the templates, merge fields, and information items contain therein. The templates themselves have a predetermined format, and include text, along with identifiers pointing to merge fields that contain information items. The information items are for inclusion in the template to produce the documents.

A training module 23 provides a facility for querying and testing users of the system. For example, the training module might provide a test procedure whereby the user is periodically queried or provided questions on various topics relating to compliance procedures and the like in their industry. Where the user gets a question wrong, the user is automatically pointed to and provided with a document relating to that question, with the appropriate item in that document highlighted. This facilitates the user to upskill themselves on the procedures, requirements or other requirements in relation to that question. Each of the modules of the software will be described in further detail later.

To use the system/service, a user logs into the system via the internet or other network. They are then provided with a menu of documents they have permission to request. The documents will relate to activities they carry out in relation to their organisation, the documents containing content influenced by requirements that the organisation must meet. The system dynamically generates a requested document from a template for that document, and from information items in the merge fields specified in the template where relevant information items are customised for a user or default across all users. The document is then provided to the user. A user generally only has access to documents relevant to them and their organisation.

Document Generation Module The document generation module 20 generates and provides documents upon a user request, and also generates menu pages for display to a user on a user interface, so they can navigate the system and in particular choose documents they require. Alternatively, the user could select the required document through a search function. It may also provide pages relating to testing and other matters, as to be discussed further later.

Figure 3 and 4a-4e shows a flow diagram and screen shots of the general manner in which a user operates the system. First the user logs into the web site using an appropriate login page and code, step 30. The generation module then checks, step 34, the various permissions relating to that user and generates a web page, step 32, containing options, menus 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 and other, information which can be transferred to the user and viewed on their browser (see Figure 4a). The web page will also include for example a list of documents relevant to their role, organisation and industry to which they have access, as shown in Figure 3. The user can then select a particular document, step 33, that they wish to use (see Figure 4b-4c), by selecting the various menus and selecting the document required. In this case, as the user requests a governance document which is part of the organisational management documents for a physiotherapist company. The particular governance document that they desire is the company's mission statement 40 (see Figure 4e).

This request is passed to the web server and processed by the document generation module 20, step 34. In this example module 20 retrieves the mission statement template from the database, which will be a generic document that applies to all companies of all industries. The document will then be populated with content specific to the user or default content for the physiotherapy company in particular, which has been previously defined in merge fields. This results in the generated document 40, a portion of which shown in the screen shot in Figure 4e. This document is then provided, step 35, back to the user for viewing on their browser, and then for using and printing off. Where the user is or has administration privileges, they may also be able to edit the document as required.

Document/Template Description The structure of a document and how it is generated will now be described in detail. Each document provided by the system is generated from a template and also optionally a number of merge fields containing information items, text or other content for insertion into the template. A typical template 50 is shown in Figure 5a. The template contains a format structure and standard text (e.g. 54) which is standard for all those who request the documents. Further, the document may optionally include identifiers 51, 52, 53 that point to the merge fields containing information items for the inclusion of further information into the standard text. This might be further text, a company logo or the like. This allows for some variation and flexibility in content of the eventual generated document 56 (see Figure 5b), which allows changes on an organisation by organisation basis. Preferably, the template is defined in a mark-up language such as XML or HTML, or alternatively any other suitable format.

Figure 5a shows an example of one document template 50 that is used to generate a injury investigation document. In this case, the injury investigation document is used by all organisations across all industries. The wording is very heavily influenced by the Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 . 19- requirements set down by the Government in relation to occupational health and safety (OSH). Therefore the template is used to produce a document that can be used by all organisations in all industries to assist them in meeting OSH guidelines. The document includes a heading, a purpose section, a policy section, a procedure section and a related information section.

The purpose of this document, as shown is "to provide information on ensuring occupational health and safety guidelines are met in relation to injuries that occur in the workplace." The policy section comprises text 54 that describes the policy set out by Government, which necessitates that certain procedures be followed in relation to workplace injuries. As can be seen, the policy text also includes identifiers 51, 52, 53 to merge fields for the company name and the accident investigator at the organisation. The information items for these merge fields can be seen in Appendix 2 which stipulates typical default value information item text for these merge fields. The template also includes a procedure section 54 that sets out the procedures that must be undertaken when injury occurs. These procedures are influenced by the requirements that must be met by organisations in relation to OSH regulations. In this case there is also a related information field, although there is no such information in this case.

Therefore, when a user in an organisation requests an injury investigation form 56 (see Figure 5b), the system will retrieve the injury investigation template 50 from the document store 21 and populate the merge fields 51, 52, 53 with the information items assigned to those merge fields for that organisation. The information items are retrieved from the database 21. The merged document 56 is then provided to the user who can view it as required. Figure 5b shows the actual document 56 provided to the user which is based on the template 50 and has been populated with the merge fields 51-53 information items.

Appendix 2 shows a small selection of typical merge fields 100 and the typical content of information items 101 stored for those merge fields. These are the merge fields used or available for use in production of documents. The first column shows the merge field identifier that is used in a template that requires the further information items, and column 2 shows the actual text or other information item which is inserted into the template. Initially the information items will be default text or values that are based on experience by the third party entity managing the system. However, the merge field content can be changed as required for each organisation upon consultation with the third party entity so that it reflects information relevant to and consistent with the organisation's policies and procedures which are internally stipulated. At set of merge fields content is therefore stored for each 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 organisation, based on the default values and modified values during the consultation process. Merge fields themselves can be created, deleted and modified, and the default values created, deleted and modified as required by the third party entity. The information items are typically text, graphics (such as a company logo) or the like.

Appendix 3 shows more examples of typical documents that can be produced by the system. In this case the documents relate to complaints, concerns and advocacy. The documents comprise a purpose/policy/procedure document, a complaint form, a complaint acknowledgement letter, and a complaint response letter. The highlighted portions show content which has been inserted into a basic template via a merge field process. It will be appreciated that a large number of documents relating to a large number of other areas could be provided, and that these are shown for illustrative purposes only.

Document Access Figure 6 shows the how documents are provided to users and the underlying structure. The user first sees a home page (level 0) when they access the system, either via the internet or other means. They then login (level 1) and are provided with a menu (level 2) indicating the documents they have access to (see Figures 4a-4e). Each organisation that signs up to the system has a document tree structure defined for it. This defines which documents are relevant to the organisation, that can be used by some or all or the users in that organisation. The structure defines the menu system (Figures 4a -4d) displayed to a user. For example, with reference to Figure 6, a physiotherapy company has the documents shown in column A, while chiropractors, heavy haulage, dairy farm and food companies have the other document structures columns B-E, as shown. Each company of a particular type (e.g. physiotherapists) will preferably have the same structure and documents, while different companies in the same industry (e.g. chiropractors and physiotherapists) will have preferably the same or similar structure, with perhaps slight differences. Organisations from different industries will have different structures and documents, although there will be some commonalities, especially where documents relate to industry independent requirements.

The user of an organisation is provided with a menu system like that in Figures 4a-4d providing links to the documents available to them in the organisation's document structure (e.g. column A). They may not have access to all documents, depending on their roles in that organisation, which will be explained in detail later. Referring to the physiotherapists document structure A, typical documents provided under each heading that are shown in column A are listed further in Appendix 1. As indicated by asterisks in Appendix 1, there are Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 some documents that are common to all industries such as Organisational Management, Health and Safety, and Form documents. The other documents are industry, or organisation specific.

The templates (for example, as described above in relation to Figure 5a) that produce the documents are stored in a common repository 21. Each template has page securities attached to it, which define which industry, industry sub-sector, organisation types, and roles that the document is relevant to. This is used, as to be described later, to determine which users have access to which documents. When a user selects a document from the menu, this instructs the document generation module to retrieve the template linked to that document from the database 21. It parses the template and determines the merge fields that require populating, and obtains the information items of those merge fields (e.g. see Appendix 2, 3) from the merge field store 21 defined for the user's organisation. In this case, a selection of the typical merge fields defined for the physiotherapy company A are shown in Appendix 3. A merge process is undertaken to populate the template with the stored information items relating to the merge fields. The merged document is then transferred to the user over the internet or other means using a suitable format such as HTML, XML or text format the like.

While an entire document structure (e.g. as In column A) is defined for a particular company using the system, any one user In the organisation might only have access to a selection of those documents, based on their roles. For example, a manager might have access to managerial type documents, not available to a general employee. Likewise, an administrator might have access to administration documents and forms not available to general employees. There are two layers to security, which provide the access or permissions to various users. The first layer defines which documents a particular user has access to. This is page security and is defined per each individual template, and any child templates stemming from that template. For example, a template might be defined as "physiotherapy". A user in the physiotherapy sector would therefore be provided with permissions to view all documents generated from physiotherapy defined templates, but not documents generated from transport templates. More specific securities could be defined on lower levels, such as industry sectors, organisation type, individual user roles and the like. A user is then set up to be allowed access to documents with certain definitions, based on their roles, the type of organisation they are in, and the industry (and industry sub-sector) their organisation operates in. For example, a junior physiotherapist would be allowed access to all documents with a global security access, all documents with a health security access and all documents with a Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 seciirity access-for health professionals. They might not be given access to transport security access documents and any physiotherapy documents with managerial security access.

A second layer defines the permission type, namely what actions they can take in respect of each document they can access, i.e. whether they can print, consolidated print, view, create, update, move, and delete documents and update securities and workflows. A particular user might have one or a combination of privileges in relation to a particular document they have access to. For example, a system administrator might have the permissions to view, create and update all documents to which they have access to. A manager might have permissions only to view the documents they have access to. Different permissions can be defined for a particular user for each document they access. The permissions types are defined depending on the roles of the user. Generally, permissions are set at a default value (such as view), and permissions are deleted or added as required on a document by document and user by user basis based on roles. Documents which have non-default values, might be for example the governance forms, which are indicated in column A. Where a permission is set for a document or set of documents, all child documents inherit the same permissions, unless otherwise amended. The permissions are generally set by the third party entity when setting up the account for a user. Each document can have its permissions changed as required depending on the user role.

As an example, the following second layer permission types might be typical for a physiotherapy company: - a physiotherapist manager may have permissions to update the "Business Plan" so the Business Plan page has a unique security setting: Site administrator role - all permissions Third party administrator role - all permissions client role - view permission - physiotherapist sector role - view permission physiotherapist manager - view permission + update permission Access to the management screens within the system are defined by role so that a defined role can access: system administrator module - manage templates - manage page aliases Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 manage review policies - manage resource library - manage categories - manage users manage roles set-up permissions e-learning administrator module Appendix 4 shows the typical examples of documents assigned to particular roles, and their permission types. It also shows a screen shot of a user with icons available for particular functions for which they have permission to use.

When an organisation signs up to the system and service, a third party entity first goes through all the documents that are defined for that industry/ sub-sector to ensure they are suitable. They then edit the merge fields as required to meet the organisation's internal requirements. New documents can be created/added also as required. An account is then created for each user in the organisation, and the first and second layer permissions set up for each user in accordance with their roles and the organisation type and industry. For each user, the account defines which documents they have access to as a result of defined page securities, and the access level or permission type they have for that document. From that point on, users can access the system to request documents that they have permissions to access.

A set of documents (such as shown in column A of Figure 6) available to users in an organisation is determined based on page securities, and this access is defined and stored. The individual access permissions for users to those documents are also defined on a user by user basis as above, and these are defined and stored for each user.

The document hierarchy structure facilitates the updating process. Where a requirement change is identified that affects all industries, the templates relating to those documents are identified. Because these documents were given general page securities and are generic to all organisations and all industries any changes will immediately be shown in documents generated when a user of any organisation requests that document. Similarly, where a requirement change only affects a particular industry, the related documents of that industry (as defined by the page securities) have their associated templates updated as required. In this way, any users in that industry which request that document will have a newly generated document reflecting the recent changes as soon as the update is made. A 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 similar approach occurs on an organisation level, whereby a requirement change takes place due to, for example, a regulation change for a particular type of organisation, like physiotherapists. This negates the need to search through documents for each and every organisation and update them individually when a change takes place. The generic hierarchical nature of the page securities structure facilitates more efficient updates.

Updating Module and Process Figure 7 shows the general manner in which updating of the templates, merge fields and information items takes place. The third party entity managing the system comprises a team of specialist updating personnel who constantly monitor, step 70, the various sources of requirements and look for changes in policies, procedures, regulations and the like which are affected at global, industry and organisation levels. Upon identifying, step 71, a change, the team will identify and update any template documents that might be affected by the change. For example, where the change is a major one at a higher level, a generic document that applies to all industries might require that its underlying template be changed, step 72, 73. Alternatively, where the change only relates to a particular industry or a particular type of organisation in that industry, only templates relating to the document or documents affected will be changed, steps 74, 75. Similarly, any merge field default values which are used to populate templates that require changing will also be changed during this update process. Once the update is made, any documents created through the merge process of that template and the information items in the identified merge fields will reflect the new changes. The update process is continually carried out by the third party responsible for the maintenance of the service provided by the system. Alerts, step 76, are sent to users to advise of changes.

The updating aspect relates to both a process for monitoring, detecting and acting upon changes in requirements as they occur, and also the software updating module 22 which provides an interface that facilitates the updating of templates, merge fields and information items in response to changes in requirements. The updating module provides an interface by which to view, create, delete and edit templates and information items as required. Figure 8a sets out the overall monitoring and updating process. This is generally carried out by a team of personnel who are familiar with various aspects of requirements, such as policies, procedures, standards, regulations and the like. Each person in the team might have particular specialities or expertise and monitor changes in those areas. For example, there might be certain personnel that are expert in requirements for a particular industry, or experts in a particular type of requirement such as health and safety.

Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 As shown in more detail in Figure 8a, the updating personnel can monitor and determine changes in requirements from a number of sources in a number of ways, step 80. First of all they may receive updates from various national and local government bodies, professional associations and the like in the form of newsletters, e-mails, notifications, press releases and the like. In addition, a particular expert in a certain industry or in relation to a particular requirement may become aware of updates through their general research and industry contacts. An update might be identified by a user audit process and also by user requests to update their own specific information. It will be appreciated that monitoring the changes in the requirements can be undertaken in a wide ranging number of ways to ensure that all potential sources of requirements changes are monitored and updates are identified. Those skilled in the art will be aware of the types of sources that have to be monitored, and the manner in which to monitor them.

As various changes become identified the updating personnel identify which industries, industry sub-sectors, and organisations will be affected by the changes and also which documents provided to end users require updating in response to those changes. Once the documents have been identified, the templates and merge fields for generating those documents are identified. Technical writers are instructed, step 81, to update the content in the templates (that is text and/or identified merge fields) and/or information items to ensure they reflect the current requirements. New templates and/or merge fields and/or information items might also be created as necessary. The templates, merge fields and information items that have been created/updated are then submitted by the technical writers for approval by a technical director or similar, step 82. The technical director ensures that the updates are correct and meet all procedural and technical requirements. The updated templates and information items are then uploaded to the relevant databases 21, step 83, for access by the document generation module 20 upon request of a document of by user, step 84. At this point, any request by a user for a document will generate a document based on the updated information, such that the document will reflect information that is compliant and compatible with the new requirements. Alternatively, where embargoed, old information will be provided until the new information is "active". An e-mail or other notification to users of the affected information may also be provided step 76.

The process shown in Figure 8a is carried out continually, preferably by a third party that provides the overall system or another party appointed by providers of the system to be responsible for the updating process. The updating module 6 provides the means by which the updating personnel can update the required templates and information items. 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 Figure 8b shows the computer processes carried out in module 22 to facilitate updating. This computer process is used to facilitate, steps 81-84, of Figure 8a. During the monitoring and identification process, various changes in requirements or new requirements will be identified. Where a new requirement is identified, or requirement change occurs that necessitates a new type of document for provision to all industries, a particular industry or a particular organisation, then the new template and/or information items are created with a user interface, step 86. Alternatively, an existing template might be updated through an updating computer process, step 87. Where necessary, a new merge field will be created, step 88. Further the relevant template might be updated to include an identifier or other link to the new merge field, step 89. Information items for that new merge field will also be created. Where an existing merge field requires updating, the system will provide a means by which to update the information item in the merge field, step 90.

The process will now be described in further detail with reference to a particular example in relation to the personal injury investigation policy document 56 shown in Figures 5a, 5b. As discussed previously this document sets out the required procedures for investigating and reporting a workplace injury that is specified under OSH regulations set out by a government body. In an example, the updating personnel team responsible for OSH may have had identified legislative changes to require an additional step in the procedure. For example, in addition to reporting the matter to OSH government agency, the change stipulates that the organisation must now follow up with a second report. The report must outline retraining the relevant personnel in the organisation have undertaken as a result of an accident. In this case the updating team has to determine which documents, and therefore which templates and/or merge fields are affected by the change. In this case the change is global and will be affecting all industries, and in particular the change relates to the injury investigation document.

The technical writers are advised that they need to update the standard text in the injury investigation template, and in particular the procedure text. The technical writers access the template for the injury investigation from the database via a browser or similar as shown in Figure 9a. In this case, the screen shows the text of the procedure portion 92 of the injury investigation template. At this point the technical writer is provided with a menu system to facilitate updating the text of the procedure portion 91. They then update the procedure text to indicate as shown that re-reporting on retraining is required 93. The document is then sent through via the system to a technical director for approval and ultimately uploading to the database to replace the original template. From that point Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 onwards, any user requesting an injury investigation form will receive a document that is generated from the updated injury investigation template that will include the additional requirement.

Referring to Figure 9b-9d other changes can be made to other portions of the template if required and saved as required. If a change in requirements necessitates a new document either on global, industrial or organisation level, this can be created in a similar manner. In addition the new template must be assigned to the particular industries and organisations to which it relates.

Another option is that a particular template may have another merge field added to it. Figures 9f, 9g show an example of a security systems template. As shown, it includes the additional "@security" identifier 94 indicating a new merge field that was not previously in the security systems template. Figure 9g shows the text 96 of the @security merge field 95 and this is the text that will be inserted into the template when the merge process takes place. The merge field relates to the field included in the base document template and provides information for all users accessing that particular template document. Any further security systems documents generated for a particular user will include the security information item. The security systems template may only be defined for production of a document relevant to a particular organisation. Therefore, this change would have been instigated by a procedural change stipulated by management of the organisation. They would have advised the updating personnel, and instructed them to make the change.

In the more general case there will be a range of merge fields provided, for example as shown in Figure 9h. In this case, the merged fields are shown for the physiotherapy category. These are default merge fields that are provided by the system and can be used for populating templates for generating documents across a range of organisations, industries and globally. Customised and merge fields can be provided for any particular user. This is where the content of one or more default fields might be altered specifically for a particular user or range of users, organisations or the like. Figure 9i shows such customisation. As can be seen, the "accident investigator" merge field now has the specific name "Dean Rhodes" as opposed to their more generic term "practice manager". Similarly the merge fields "accountant", "authorised by", and "company name" have customised values. The remainder of the merge fields, such as "acupuncture" have the standard default values for this particular user. Customised merge field content is highlighted, so it is easily distinguishable from non-customised content. Where there is customised content, the system flags its existence, such that when the particular user for which customised content is provided requests a document to Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 be generated, the system will populate the template with merge field content from the customised merge field content, as opposed to the default content. This allows for customised documents to be generated for a particular user or users as required.

For example, as shown in Figure 9j, 9k management of a particular organisation may have stipulated changes to their cleaning practices and procedures set out in their general health and safety procedural document. Figure 9j shows another set of default merge fields. In this case, the management have decided that towels used for hand drying are to be changed daily by reception staff and used towels to be placed in the washing basket. In this case, the relevant merge field will be customised solely for this organisation or user. As this related to an information item that is stored in relation to a merge field, this requires editing of the merge field content for that particular organisation. Figure 9j shows how the list of merge fields can be brought up and then a particular merge field opened such as in Figure 9k, and if appropriate the information content edited as required as shown in Figure 91. The merge fields can be accessed by the merge fields icon 130e shown in the screen 130 in Figure 10b. This could be edited by the update personnel or even a user in the organisation with administration privileges. The merge field content would only be changed for that particular organisation or user, such that any document that a person in that organisation requests for cleaning would have the new merge field text. A user merge field provides information for a particular user or organisation that overrides the "default" information in the default merge field. Where a merge field is customised, the field text is highlighted in the merge field text screen, which is shown in Figure 9i. This allows to easily load, customise and update information for individual organisations or users, and more easily determine where a user's information varies from the default information. This merge field in this document for other organisations would remain unchanged. The merge fields at this level could be altered by someone within the organisation that has the appropriate permissions.

Similarly as shown in Figure 9e a new merge field could be created for insertion into a document as required.

The above interface can also be used to set up all the templates in the first instance, when the system and template/merge field repositories are being created. This will also be done by experienced personnel who are familiar with global and industry requirements.

Preferably, the templates contain information detailing the date the template was created, when it was last updated and when it was last viewed. This enables a generated document to provide this information and an audit trail of versions. A document can also display information relating to when it was generated and when it was last viewed. Further, 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 an updated document can be embargoed until a release date., and this can be defined in the document.

The merge fields are provided as a default for a customer, or these can be customised as required, either on an organisational level, or a lower level, for example for individual roles or several roles.

Retraining In a preferred embodiment, the system and process further comprises a training module and method. The training module 23 enables the periodic assessment or testing of users in order to test their knowledge of procedures, policies, standards and other requirements and assist in retraining if required. It also enables recording and reporting on individual users' knowledge and ability regarding compliance requirements, which assists with auditing requirements.

The training module works generally as follows. First a set of questions is created, and then a questionnaire comprising a subset of those questions. Profiles are created that specify the questionnaire and questions that users must periodically complete to meet their testing requirements. It also specifies the frequency of the testing. Testing then occurs, which comprises the user being presented with questions, and then selecting what they believe is the correct answer. First a question is asked, and a number of multiple choice answers are provided. Upon selecting the correct multiple choice answer, the user is hyperlinked to a subsequent question along with associated answers. However, if the user gets the wrong answer, then they are hyperlinked to a document or documents that contain information that the participant needs to know to answer the question. Preferably, they will be pointed to the particular portions of the documents that contain the answers. The user is then re-tested. If the participant makes the wrong answer twice, then the cursor moves onto the next question and a note is made. The above steps are then repeated until the full range of questions is completed. Where a document is updated due to requirement changes, the user will be directed to the updated document in the test procedure, where required.

The process will now be described in more detail. Referring to the flow diagram in Figure 10a, first a system administrator must set up the questions, questionnaires and alert profiles that are used for assessment/testing of users. The system administrator uses an administration portion of the training module 23 to do so. They first activate the administration module, step 100, and a screen 130 with a main administration menu is provided, as shown in Figure 10b. This screen provides the administrator with the ability to Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 select a number of functions, comprising creating question categories 130a, creating questionnaires 130b, creating questions and answers 130c, creating training profiles 130d, creating custom merge fields 130e, and viewing guest registrations 130f.

It will be appreciated that categories, question and answers, questionnaires and training profiles can be created and edited in any order. When setting up the system, generally categories will be created, then questions and answers for those categories, next questionnaires containing various sub-sets of questions and then finally training profiles comprising alerts for testing users with one or more of the questionnaires. Once the system has actually been set up, any one of the question categories, questionnaires, questions and training profiles can be created or edited as required and in any order. Each creation/editing function will be described now in further detail.

From the administration screen 130, the administrator can create one or more categories, which can define groups and sub-groups of questions to facilitate management of different areas of assessment/testing. Categories are created by clicking on the menu option 130a, which opens a category configuration screen 131 as shown in Figure 10c, step 102. A range of nested levels of categories can be created as required. As seen in the parent category field 13 la in Figure 10c there are a number of categories defined. The categories comprise a high level "physiotherapy" category, with a number of sub-categories comprising "clinic managers", "clinical physiotherapy staff' and "reception/administration". New categories can be created by adding a name into the name field 131b and providing a description in the field 131c, step 103. The category can be labelled as active or non-active by clicking the required radio active yes/no button 13 Id. Finally the new category can be saved by clicking the save button 13 le, step 104. An existing category can be edited by clicking on the category in the drop down box of the parent category field 131a, and editing the name and description in the appropriate fields 131b, 131c, as required. The categories are saved in the database 21. An "active" radio button can be clicked, which can be used to enable or disable a category, as and when required.

From the administration screen 130, the administrator can create or configure one or more questions (and related answers) associated with one or more of the created categories. First, as shown in the flow diagram in Figure 11a, the system administrator can use the training module 23 to add questions to a repository of questions. The administrator opens, step 101, a question creation page 115, as shown in Figure lib, step 101. The screen is activated by clicking on the icon 130c in the screen menu 130 as shown in Figure 10b. This provides a range of fields for defining a question and related answer. Then, the administrator Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 enters a category, step 105, in the category field 116, which in this case is "physiotherapy". A question relating to physiotherapy practice can then be entered, step 106, in the question field 117. Next, a range of possible multiple choice answers can be added, steps 107, 108. In this case, the possible answers 118 to the question have already been entered. A radio button 119 is checked, step 97, to indicate the correct answer, which is "every 6 months". Another possible answer can be added by entering, step 107, the text of the possible answer in the answer field 120. Further answers can be added as desired, step 108, until the set of possible answers is complete.

Next, the administrator enters a document link or other identifier 121 that identifies the document to which the question relates and that holds the answer, step 109. This link or identifier is entered in the "related internal page" field, 121. Further, particular text on the identified document 121 that provides the answer to the question 117 can be specified, step 110. This is done by typing the text into the "highlight text on page" field 122. In this case, the text is "RCDs will be tested manually every 6 months". Alternatively, or additionally, a URL to a web page that provides the answer could also be entered. Alternatively, a merge field could be entered, which will link to a default or custom merge field as appropriate. This is entered in the "related URL" field 123. The text and page links are saved in a database so they can be used to retrieve the required text when necessary. Once the question configuration is complete, the question and related information can be saved, step 111, by hitting the save button 124. This places the configured question/answer profile in the questions repository, database 21. Alternatively, the question configuration can be cancelled, by clicking the cancel button 125.

A number of further questions can be created in the same manner, step 112, (by opening a fresh question configuration page 115) for any of the categories that have been defined. This forms a repository of questions in the database 21 for each of the categories, each question in the category being relevant to a role in an organisation related to that category. Figure 1 lc shows some example questions 126 that have been created and stored in a database 21 in relation to the physiotherapy category. These questions are then available to be inserted into a questionnaire that can be used to assess/test a user.

Figure 12a shows a flow diagram for creating a questionnaire and Figures 12b-12d show screens for creating/editing questionnaires. A questionnaire defines a set of questions that can be provided to a user during the assessment process for that user. The questionnaire contains questions that are relevant to the role of the particular user being tested. Referring first to Figure 12a, the administrator starts the questionnaire editing/creating process by Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 opening the main administration screen 130 that is shown in Figure 10b and clicking on the questionnaire icon 130b, step 150. This opens up the questionnaire creation form 134. This contains a list of questionnaires that have already been created 134a along with any suitable related description 134b. In this case, there are three previously created questionnaires entitled "Blood Procedures", "Demo-Clinic Manager", and "General Safety".

A new questionnaire can be created by clicking the create button 134c, step 151, which opens an add new questionnaire screen. Figure 12c shows an add new questionnaire screen 135. The add new questionnaire screen 135 comprises a field 135a for entering a new questionnaire name, a description field 135b for entering a description of the questionnaire, step 152. The screen also contains a field specifying assigned questions 135c, being questions that are associated with the selected questionnaire. These are the questions that are provided to the user during a testing phase when they are tested with this questionnaire. The assigned questions field 135c comprises a set of available questions. A category can be selected from the drop down box 135d and all the questions that have been created and associated with that category are then displayed in the question box 135e. These questions become the available questions. One or more of these available questions can then be selected to form part of the questionnaire. The selected questions are put in the selected question field 135f.

Referring back now to Figure 12a and Figure 12c, the creation of a questionnaire will be described. First the administrator enters a name for the questionnaire in field 135a and a description in field 135b, step 152. They then select the desired category of questions that they want to include in the questionnaire, step 153, by clicking on the desired category in the field 135d from the drop down menu. The available questions are then displayed in field 135e, and the administrator selects one or more of these questions, step 154, 155, that they want to include in the questionnaire. Each question from the field 135e can be selected as required by pressing the button 135g, and a selected question can be removed by clicking button 135h. In this case, question 101 has been selected for the questionnaire. This is just the first of many that could be selected for this questionnaire. The selected questions can be scrolled through using the scrolling buttons 135i, when all the questions have been selected for the questionnaire, the new questionnaire can be saved by clicking the button 136j, step 156. The questionnaire can be activated or deactivated with the radio buttons.

A questionnaire can be edited in a similar manner. Returning back to the questionnaire screen shown in Figure 12b, an existing questionnaire can be edited by clicking on the questionnaire name 134a, or by entering the name in the name search field 134d and by clicking the search button 134e. Either of these two methods will bring up an existing 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 questionnaire, step 151, such as that shown in Figure 12d. In this case the "General Safety" questionnaire is displayed in screen 135 for editing, step 152. The available questions are displayed in the field 135e, along with the questions that have been previously selected in field 135f. Further questions can be added or deleted by using the buttons 135g, 135h, step 154, 155. Available questions from other categories can also be added by clicking on the drop down button of categories 135d, step 153, selecting another category and selecting the questions for that category that are desired for the questionnaire. Once edited, the questionnaire can be saved by clicking the button 136j, step 156.

Next, training profiles can be created. These are defined for each role or user in an organisation, and provide the ability to ask relevant questions relating to the user's role to assess whether the user has an understanding the key aspects of their role in the organisation. This is done by providing testing at regular intervals. A training profile determines or specifies the questions that should be provided to a user in order to assess their understanding of their role, along with a frequency that those tests should be provided.

Referring to the flow chart in Figure 13 a, the system administrator sets up the training profiles by first clicking on the training profiles icon 130d, step 160, in the screen 130 as shown in Figure 10b, This provides a profile screen 136 as shown in Figure 13b. The screen shows profile names 136a, which are training profiles that are defined for one or more users in the organisation. In this case, there is a training profile called "Sample Profile". The screen also shows a daily question field 136b, which indicates whether or not the user should be provided with a daily question as part of their training schedule. In this case, a Boolean operator "true" is displayed indicating that for this profile a daily question is provided. The daily question field 136b also indicates the frequency of the daily question, such as "every week day". For periodic testing, a field 136c is provided indicating how many random questions are provided in the periodic test. There are other parameters that define a sample profile, although in this embodiment they are not shown in the main screen 136. Only one profile is shown in the screen 136, but it will be appreciated that a number of such profiles, relating to various users could be displayed.

A new profile can be created by clicking the create button 136d, step 161. Alternatively, an existing profile can be edited by clicking on the profile name in field 136a or searching for a profile in field 136e and clicking the search button 136f, step 161. It will be appreciated that creating a new profile takes place in a similar manner to editing an existing profile. This difference is that existing information is not provided in the fields for a new profile, rather this all has to be entered into blank fields. Referring to Figure 13a and Figure Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 13c, an edit profile method will .be described, but it will be appreciated this description can also apply to a create profile method.

First the desired profile is selected, either by clicking on the field in 136a, or entering the name in the name field 135e, step 161. This brings up an update profile screen 137 as shown in Figure 13c. The screen 137 has a name field 137a that displays the name of the profile, along with an initial questionnaire field 137b that shows the questionnaire that should be provided to all users that are assigned to this profile. In this case, the "General Safety" questionnaire is provided. Alternative questionnaires can be selected from the drop down menu in field 137b, where such additional questionnaires have been created. Any of these fields can be edited by the administrator as required, step 162. It will be appreciated in the case where a create new profile is clicked, these fields will be blank and completed by the user, step 162. In an alternative embodiment, some or all of the fields might be populated with default values. A create profile simply involves entering the required details, while editing involves editing existing details in the fields, step 162.

The next field 137c has two radio buttons for specifying whether or not a daily question is asked, step 163. If the yes radio button is clicked, the system will extract a question from the specified questionnaire on a daily basis and provide this to the user automatically in a testing process, which they must answer. The next fields under the heading "assessment" 137d define the testing parameters. First, the frequency of the assessment can be selected by the radio button 137e, step 163. Assessment can be done on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Other options, such as selecting every week day or every nth days for assessment can also be provided. The time between tests might be regulated by policy, legislation, organisation requirements or the like, and might be different for different organisations, roles, industries and the like. Alerts are provided to the user, by email, text message, instant messaging or a message on the main user screen. The alerts are provided in accordance with the frequency. The escalate period in days is then entered, step 164. This specifies the number of days until the "training due" alert turns to a "training overdue" alert.

In field 137g, the administrator can enter the number of questions that should be provided during a periodic assessment, step 165. These are random questions, that are taken from a selection of the questions defined for the specified questionnaire. Further, as shown in field 137h, particular categories of the questionnaire can be specified, step 166. This indicates which categories of the questionnaire the random question should be taken from. In this case, the physiotherapy category has been selected. Once the profile has been created and/or Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 updated, the save button 337i is clicked, step 167. The profile is then, saved and alerts are provided to a user in accordance with the profile. The profile can be activated or deactivated.

When a user is set up to use the system, various parameters are specified including the testing parameters, as shown in Figure 13d, Here it can be seen that a user named "Physio practice" 138a is being set up. The user is specified as having or being associated with the sample profile 138b, which is the sample profile set up in relation to Figure 13c. The user can be specified as having a daily question 138c, which can be as specified from the profile, or alternatively specified as yes/no in this set up screen 138. Then, the assessment is specified for the user. Again the assessment, namely the questions asked, can come from the profile specified 138b, as per the radio button 138d. If so, the frequency is specified for testing, along with when the last and the next tests occurred. Alternatively a radio button 138e can be clicked which enables a specific questionnaire to be selected in field 138f, along with the due date 13 8g. A number of other parameters can be specified in the set up field, including the use of a logo.

Referring to Figure 14a, the user will be assigned to a profile, and when that profile determines when an assessment should take place, the user is alerted, step 170. The alert could be by way of a pop-up message 190 on their main screen, as shown in Figure 14b. This is the main screen or welcome screen previously as shown in Figure 4b. Alternatively, ail email, instant message or other form of alert can be provided.

The user can then commence the assessment procedure, by clicking on an icon, step 171. First an instructions screen will be provided 191 as shown in Figure 14c. This sets out the purpose of the assessment, and how to complete it. Then, a testing page 192 opens, as shown in Figure 15. The testing page provides questions to the user in a suitable form and requests answers to those questions. Each question is retrieved from the repository of questions, database 21, in accordance with the profile set up for the user. In accordance with the sample profile described previously, in this case five questions are retrieved for this assessment.

The first question is displayed, as shown in Figure 15a, along with the possible answers. The user views the questions 192 and then clicks the radio button 193 next to what they think is the correct answer, step 172. In this case, the user answers "Tell people to leave". This answer is incorrect, step 173, in which case the system displays a document 194 containing the answer to the question, as shown in Figure 15b. This is the document for which an identifier or link is specified in field 121 when creating the question, as shown in Figure lib. In this case, the document is a "Fire Safety" document. The relevant text 195 is Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 also highlighted, which is specified in the field 122 when creating the question. In step 174, the user reads the document and highlighted text, 194, 195, and then is given the opportunity to re-answer the question, step 172. As shown in Figure 15c, the user has now answered the question correctly by clicking radio button 196. Because the answer is correct, step 173, this is recorded in the database, step 175. The user preferably only gets two attempts to answer. If they get the second attempt wrong, this is recorded and the next question presented.

If there are further questions to answer, step 176, then the user clicks the "next question" button 197. The training module randomly retrieves the next question from the set of questions specified for this profile, step 177. This is displayed to the user, such as shown in Figure 15d. The user views and answers the question, step 172. In this case, an incorrect answer is clicked, step 173, and again the user will be shown a document containing the answer, step 174, and given another opportunity to answer the question. Once answered correctly, step 173, this is recorded, step 175, and another question retrieved, step 177. The user views and answers the next question, step 172. In this case, the answer the question correctly, as shown in Figure 15e. This process carries on until all the questions are answered, step 176. The user is then provided with a results page, step 178, as shown in Figure 15f. This indicates the number of questions correctly answered, and the number of attempts required for each question.

The user, or their supervisor or an administrator, can get feedback on their tests by opening a reporting screen, such as shown in Figures 16a, 16b. Figure 16a shows an overview of the results for a test, while Figure 16b shows further information. This can be used for performance assessment and retraining purposes. The information can be used for benchmarking also.

Preferably, every template that is used to produce a document has a series of questions related to that document, the questions being generated using configuration page 115. The questions relate to the requirements on which the document is based. There may be several hundred questions in relating to various documents. The questions are stored in a question and answer library (QAL), database 21, and are updated as the templates change through customisation, amendments, updating or additional elements. Therefore the questions and answers are preferably updated in parallel to updating of templates, merge fields and information items. Preferably, each question in the library is aligned with a series of multi-choice answers. The answers are stored in the questions and answers library and are also updated as required. 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 At the end of assessment, the amount of time to complete questions and the number of questions not answered is recorded. These three elements of the assessment process are automatically e-mailed to the participant's supervisor for inspection. The information can also be used for subsequent auditing and retraining purposes.

The tests are preferably formed as a number of questions in a questionnaire form. A questionnaire might be designed for an individual user, depending on their specific roles. A number of questionnaires could be produced for particular topics, such as health and safety, orientation and/or complaints questionnaires. These could be used by a range of users in different roles. A profile for each role specifying a selection of several questionnaires might also be created. This profile provides a test for users in a particular role. Alternatively, a random selection of questions could replace the profile.

When users log in to the system, they are notified when they are due for the next text, and are alerted when a test is overdue. 572333 Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010

Claims (11)

1. A method of training users in organisations using a computer system, wherein each organisation is operating in an industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements, wherein for each organisation the requirements are specified for the organisation and/or the industry in which the organisation operates, the method comprising: testing a user of an organisation on a matter relating to requirements that the organisation is obliged or desires to meet, determining if the user does not pass the test, and if they do not pass the test, automatically providing or providing access to an electronic document to the user containing current information on at least one of those requirements to educate the user on the matter, the electronic document forming part of an electronic document updating system.

2. A method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of providing or indicating a particular item of the document relating to the matter.

3. A system for training users in organisations, wherein each organisation is operating in an industry and is obliged or desires to comply with one or more requirements, wherein for each organisation the requirements are specified for the organisation and/or the industry in which the organisation operates, the system comprising: a computer system for: testing a user of an organisation on a matter relating to requirements that the organisation is obliged or desires to meet, determining if the user does not pass the test, and if they do not pass the test, automatically providing or providing access to an electronic document to the user containing current information on at least one of those requirements to educate the user on the matter, the electronic document forming part of an electronic updating system.

4. A system according to claim 3 wherein the system further comprises a means for providing or indicating a particular item of the document relating to the matter. Received by IPONZ on 16 March 2010 572333 -39-

5. A system according to claim 3 or 4 wherein testing comprises asking, one or more questions and receiving answers from the user and determining if the user does not pass the test involves comparing their answers with the correct answers.

6. A system according to any one of claims 3 to 5 wherein the system is further adapted to record the user's responses to the questions.

7. A system according to any one of claims 3 to 6 wherein the system is implemented by a third party.

8. A system according to any one of claims 3 to 7 wherein a requirement is one or more of a procedure, policy, standard, regulation, legislative requirement, or activity/task.

9. A system according to any one of claims 3 to 8 wherein the test results can be used for one or more of: retraining, benchmarking, training needs analysis, risk management.

10. A method of training users in an organisation as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

11. A system for training users in organisations as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.