I pitched management on the concept of hypertext, and was given the okay to import our database into Storyspace on a trial basis. In proposing a solution, I conceived of a Star Wars-type hyperspace jump that could warp a writer directly from an index to a database entry. Not surprisingly, as the database increased in size and complexity, proposal productivity declined. No matter how we tried to reorganize the database, our proposal writers ultimately had to rely on memorizing where specific responses were located.
Because proposal writers used general search functions to navigate the information, they were faced with searching for key words that appeared thousands of times in the database. No matter how we tried to reorganize the database, our proposal writers ultimately had to rely on memorizing.Īlthough the database had been updated regularly, it was filled with responses from old proposals. Our database, however, was a problem-filled world unto itself. The process would be fast, allowing time for many people to review the proposal as well as for adding graphics and a bit of sales polish.
In a perfect world, proposal writers would access the database, call up an answer and customize it for the broker. My unit provides The Prudential's responses to these questions. The broker, in turn, submits a set of questions to multiple insurance carriers the answers to these questions help a broker determine the best carrier for the client. When a company considers a managed health care plan (such as an HMO), they contract an insurance broker to recommend a carrier (such as The Prudential). To explain how Storyspace changed our database management, I should describe what proposals our database tracked. Although the database was packed with information, it was very difficult for proposal writers to traverse, making job satisfaction and efficiency within the proposal unit less than stellar. I put the word "manage" in quotations because, like many corporate databases, ours lacked true organization. My introduction to Storyspace came at the managed health care division of The Prudential, where I "managed" the central database of proposals. Storyspace vs the Database of Doom David Caruba