Document processing involves the equipment, software, and procedures for creating, formatting, editing, researching, retrieving, storing, and mailing documents. A document is any written, printed, or electronically prepared business communication that conveys information. The most common types of documents are those that comprise correspondence: letters, memos, reports, forms, statistical tables, and e-mail.

Document processing can be viewed as an integral part of information resource management (IRM), which includes the management of (1) a broad range of information resources, such as printed materials, electronic information, and microforms; (2) the various technologies and equipment that manipulate these resources; and (3) the people who generate, organize, and disseminate those resources. The overall purpose of IRM is to increase the usefulness of information to both internal users and external customers.

Information resource management is a philosophical and practical approach to managing information. Because information is a valuable resource to be managed like other resources...