Why do templates need preparing before automation?
Most firm templates were designed to be edited by a person, not filled by a system. A person knows which paragraph to delete for a particular client, which bracketed note is an instruction and which is text, and which version of the terms is current. A system knows none of that unless it is written down.
In practice, the template people really use is often not the official one. It is last month's report for a similar client, copied and edited. That habit carries old wording, wrong names and stale figures forward, which the risk in copy and edit and why templates rot both explore. Preparing templates properly fixes the problem at source, whether or not anything is automated.
What are the four kinds of content in a template?
Go through each template and label every part as one of four kinds. This is the most useful single exercise in the whole preparation.
- Fixed text. Wording that is the same every time, such as standard terms, disclaimers and headings. It stays exactly as approved.
- Fields. Single facts filled from a known source: client name, matter or job number, dates, addresses, fee earner, figures. Each field needs one named source.
- Variants. Blocks of approved wording where one of several options applies, depending on a rule. A different liability clause by service line, or a different scope paragraph by type of instruction.
- Drafted sections. Passages written fresh each time from the facts of the job, such as findings, commentary or recommendations. These can be drafted automatically from notes and records, then reviewed by a named person.
Most templates turn out to be mainly fixed text, fields and variants, with a few drafted sections. That is why automation can remove so much assembly time while leaving judgement with people.
What are the steps to prepare a template?
- Collect every version in use. Ask the team to send the template they actually start from, including old pieces of work used as templates.
- Choose a master. Agree one current version. Where versions genuinely differ for a reason, record the reason: it will become a variant.
- Retire the rest. Move old versions out of shared folders so nobody starts from them by accident.
- Label every part. Mark each paragraph, table and placeholder as fixed, field, variant or drafted.
- Name the source of each field. For every field, write down exactly where the value comes from: the practice management system, the engagement letter, the job sheet, a particular spreadsheet column.
- Write the rule for each variant. In a sentence: "If the client is a charity, use clause B." If nobody can state the rule, it is a judgement call and should be flagged for review instead.
- Describe each drafted section. Note what it should contain, what it draws on, its usual length and tone, and two or three good past examples.
- Tidy the structure. Use proper heading styles, remove manual formatting and hidden text, and replace bracketed instructions with clear labels.
- Test against real examples. Take three recent finished documents and check the prepared template could have produced each of them. Anything it could not produce is a gap in the rules.
- Name an owner. One person approves changes to the master and keeps the rules current.
What should a field and rule register look like?
Keep a simple register alongside each template. It is the specification anyone building the automation will need, and it is useful on its own for training.
| Part | Kind | Source or rule | Reviewed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client name | Field | Practice management system, client record | No |
| Scope of work | Variant | By service line, from the agreed scope list | Yes |
| Summary of findings | Drafted | From job notes and data, in house style | Yes |
| Limitations | Fixed | Approved wording, current version | No |
The rows are an illustration. The register for your own templates will reflect your documents and systems.
Which problems come up most often?
- Two sources for the same fact. A client address held in two systems that disagree. Decide which one wins, and fix the other.
- Rules that live in one person's head. A senior fee earner "just knows" which clause applies. Sit with them and write it down.
- Hidden text and tracked changes. Old comments and deleted wording lurking in the master. Clean them out.
- Figures typed into prose. Numbers embedded in sentences with no source. Turn each into a field.
- Formatting done by hand. Spacing and numbering fixed manually each time. Rebuild it with styles so the layout holds.
How does this fit with documenting the process?
Template preparation is one part of understanding the whole job. The process map tells you which templates matter and where their inputs come from; the template work tells you exactly how each document is assembled. Do them together. How to document a process covers the mapping side.
When we rebuild a process, the system is built on the firm's own documents, templates and language, so this preparation happens in the first weeks of every engagement. Doing some of it in advance speeds things up, but it is not a precondition. For ongoing upkeep, see template management, and use the audit to find which document heavy process costs your firm the most time.