Bringing Order to Project Documentation at Poole & Company Architects

The Problem To Be Solved

Project documents were spread across folders, subfolders, and inboxes. Naming and filing standards drifted from project to project. It was hard to tell which version of a document was current. Email attachments rarely made it back to the project record where they belonged. As projects moved through design stages, visibility into what existed and where got worse, not better. 

Poole & Co needed a system that would put structure around all of this without taking away the flexibility design teams need to actually do the work. 

Why Solving The Problem Was Important

Architecture projects depend on accurate, current documentation. When the wrong drawing gets used or the latest specification isn't where it should be, the cost is rework, missed deadlines, and version confusion that ripples across teams. The risk grows with the number of projects in flight, and Poole & Co was at a point where the existing setup was costing them time on every project. 

They also needed something that mirrored how architecture work is actually done — organized by project and phase, not by whoever happened to create the folder. 

How TEAM IM Got Involved

TEAM IM has deep M-Files experience in AEC firms, which is what brought Poole & Co to us. After the sales handoff, the project moved into a formal kickoff with requirements workshops, a Solution Design Document, and structured delivery under TEAM IM's DMS Implementation methodology. 

The Method

We implemented M-Files with a metadata model built around the architectural project lifecycle — projects, phases, document types — so files could be found by what they are and where they belong, not where someone happened to put them. Document types and stages were controlled centrally, with role-based access and lifecycle governance to match how Poole & Co actually moves work through the firm. 

For the existing Z: drive content, we used Ground Link (the Network Folder Connector) to give M-Files live, governed access to legacy files. This avoided a bulk migration — which would have been risky, time-consuming, and disruptive — and let teams transition to the new system at a pace that worked for them. 

Outlook integration was a key piece. The standard add-in plus an advanced connector meant that project emails and attachments became part of the project record automatically, instead of sitting in individual inboxes disconnected from the work. 

The configuration was iterative. We didn't deliver a finished system and walk away — we worked through configuration and refinement with the Poole & Co team, and extended training to make sure people actually used what we built. 

The End Result

The project went live on schedule and largely within budget. All 28 named users were brought onto the system, with hands-on coaching to support adoption. Locating project documents got noticeably faster, project emails and files now live in one place, and the firm has a foundation that supports day-forward filing with consistent metadata across projects. 

After go-live, the engagement transitioned into standard support, with continued configuration refinement and user enablement as the team's needs evolve.