The document outlines 7 common sins of a DAM implementation and how to avoid them. The sins are: 1) Failing to gain buy-in across the organization, 2) Having an unclear view of current assets, 3) Failing to plan a vision for the future, 4) Not integrating the DAM within the existing ecosystem, 5) Failing to sufficiently prepare assets, 6) Insufficiently training users, and 7) Failing to plan for roll out and adoption. It provides tips for each sin such as communicating benefits, auditing current assets, integrating with other tools, and customizing training. The overall message is to gain stakeholder input, understand current processes and assets, and focus on user adoption.

1. THE 7 SINS
OF A DAM IMPLEMENTATION
and how to avoid them

2. THE SEVEN SINS OF A DAM IMPLEMENTATION
I. Failing to gain buy-in & ownership across your organization
II. Having an unclear view of your current assets
III. Failing to plan a vision for the future
IV. Not integrating the DAM within your existing ecosystem
V. Failing to put in enough effort to prepare your assets
VI. Insufficiently training your users
VII. Failing to plan for roll out and adoption

3. FAILING TO GAIN BUY-IN &
OWNERSHIP ACROSS YOUR
ORGANIZATION
SIN
I

4. YOU WILL NOT YOU WILL
Fail to socialise the idea Promote and cheer lead the details of
the DAM
Work in a silo Invite stakeholders from different teams
to provide their input
Force the DAM upon your users Demonstrate how the new DAM could
benefit a department or group
Try to control the structure Allow or invite individual departments to
define their own structure
FAILING TO GAIN BUY-IN & OWNERSHIP ACROSS
YOUR ORGANIZATION

5. HAVING AN UNCLEAR VIEW OF
YOUR CURRENT ASSETS
SIN
II

6. YOU WILL NOT YOU WILL
Be clueless of the total number and size
of your current assets collection
Perform a complete audit of current
assets and try to attain an accurate
figure for both the number or assets and
the size of the collection
Fail to understand the types of assets –
videos, images, documents?
Understand what assets you have and
what you want to store in the DAM
Be oblivious of the assets’ current
location(s)
Ensure you know where all assets are
stored and how they can be accessed
Be unaware of any existing tags or
metadata associated with the assets
Ensure your metadata has been
reviewed and is maintained
HAVING AN UNCLEAR VIEW OF YOUR
CURRENT ASSETS

7. Communicated constantly to ensure everyone
knew the problems DAM would solve and how it
will effect them
Invited different teams to suggest how they’d
like their areas to be structured
Created custom views for different teams to
ensure their workflow wasn’t disrupted
Delivered a training session specifically to each
partner’s use-case

8. FAILING TO PLAN A VISION
FOR THE FUTURE
SIN
III

9. YOU WILL NOT YOU WILL
Only plan for the library you need right
now
Plan for the library your organisation will
need in 5 years
Copy what has been done before Review all assets, and align with a
structure that fits your business
Throw everything into one bucket Ensure you library is well balanced and
distributed
Overthink it
Review, design & commit – you can
always change it later if it doesn't work!
Forget about security
Include security and permissions when
planning your library
FAILING TO PLAN A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

10. HOW SHOULD MY LIBRARY
BE STRUCTURE?
Rule of Thumb #1 :
Avoid going deeper than 5 levels
Rule of Thumb #2 :
Try to avoid having more than 200
assets in a specific folder

11. NOT INTEGRATING THE DAM
WITHIN YOUR EXISTING
ECOSYSTEM
SIN
IV

12. YOU WILL NOT YOU WILL
Ignore existing business processes Integrate with existing platforms and
technologies
Put up barriers to new technology Reduce or ease switching between tools
and platforms
Force users to change their way of
working
Allow users to continue to use existing
tools but give them access to new
features
Deprive users of the tools they need to
do their job
Provide them with access to the library
through all possible channels
NOT INTEGRATING THE DAM WITHIN YOUR
EXISTING ECOSYSTEM

13. Made a plan for which kinds of assets
they wanted to bring into the DAM
Consolidated their assets from various
CDs, hard drives and computers
Reviewed the existing metadata to get rid
of old tags and “junk”, then created a very
clear naming convension and structure
Entered their DAM project with a clear
idea of their requirements (such as size
and asset types).

14. FAILING TO PUT IN ENOUGH EFFORT
TO PREPARE YOUR ASSETS
SIN
V

15. YOU WILL NOT YOU WILL
Drag and drop everything!! Be selective – take only what you need!
Put off library cleaning until later Cleaning the library takes time – but it
pays of in the long run
Leave it up to the users to decide file
names
Decide on a naming convention and stick
to it!
Skip the keywords and other metadata Add those keywords and metadata! Time
spent now will make adoption easier and
improve performance
FAILING TO PUT IN ENOUGH EFFORT TO
PREPARE YOUR ASSETS

16. INSUFFICIENTLY TRAINING
YOUR USERS
SIN
VI

17. YOU WILL NOT YOU WILL
Hope for best Ensure all users have the option to be
trained
Assume one size fits all Ensure training is tailored to specific
types of users
Train and forget Provide ongoing support and access to
training materials
INSUFFICIENTLY TRAINING YOUR USERS

18. FAILING TO PLAN FOR ROLL
OUT AND ADOPTION
SIN
VII

19. YOU WILL NOT YOU WILL
Keep the launch quiet Communicate early and often – follow “The
Rule of Seven”
Fail to plan the roll out Plan and execute with precision
Force the DAM upon a team Educate users by communicating
effectively the “Why” and “What’s In It For
Them” (WIIFT)
Stagnate content Drive adoption by dangling exclusive
content and popular content
FAILING TO PLAN FOR ROLL OUT
AND ADOPTION

20. Used an integration with Active
Directory to remove any barrier to
access
Chose a DAM with a mobile app, to
address any staff that weren’t desk-
based (which was most)
Integrated their DAM with
Photoshop, to enable their designers
and marketing team to maintain
their existing business processes

21. ALWAYS REMEMBER WHY YOU NEED YOUR DAM
1. Assets can be found easily and
quickly.
2. Assets can be properly tracked and
versioned.
3. Ensures brand integrity.
4. Provides consistent and structure
approval workflows so all assets are
approved.
5. Reduces or eliminates sending
assets as email attachments.
6. Tracks and monitors asset usage.
7. Accesses assets from anywhere.
8. Your assets are safe and secure.
9. Everything is backed-up and
geo-replicated so nothing is ever
lost.