Every Expresso® user eventually has the same question: Can I do this myself or does it need to go through Nordis? The rule of thumb often comes down to structure versus content. Moving a zone, repositioning content or adding a business rule, for example, affects how a document is built. That’s why it requires a Program Change Request (PCR). Replacing an image or creating content doesn’t require that back-end work, so it can be a self-service update.
Most queries run in one direction. Clients frequently assume something needs a PCR when they could have handled it themselves in Expresso. It happens far less often the other way, where someone attempts a self-service change that actually requires a Nordis assist.
In fact, that’s one of the things our clients love most about Expresso. You have the ability to make simple content changes quickly without needing to submit a change request.
A common example is templates. Before requesting a new one, first check Job Design > Templates in your Expresso dashboard. A template with more zones than needed still works, since nothing requires every zone on a layout be used.
A new rule can sound like it needs a PCR by default. But many times, the rule already exists, and only the data that supports it needs updating. Adding a value to an existing custom table is self-service. Adding a new column to that table is not.
When a PCR is necessary, the ones that move fastest arrive with a mapped client sample — a marked-up copy of the finished piece showing precisely what’s new — along with a test file. If you have several updates queued up, resist the urge to open them simultaneously as separate PCRs. Our team now approves one PCR at a time when logic or code is involved, since developing two in parallel risks pushing unapproved code into production together.
Your Client Experience Manager is always available to help prioritize changes and work through decisions. Two self-service features are easily put into regular practice right now. Use Reports Management to set up reports, on demand or on a schedule, to track virtually every aspect of your customer communications program in real time. And we recommend you load test data to preview any change you make, even a minor one, to confirm the result matches what you expected.
Contact us to learn more.
