when does a document become a record? arma nova – march 21, 2012 mike miller, phd, ca, crm
TRANSCRIPT
InfrastructureManagement Enterprise Collaboration
Legacy SystemIntegration
Science & Technology
ApplicationManagement
Mission Support
Knowledge Centers
WHEN DOES A DOCUMENT BECOME A RECORD?ARMA NOVA – March 21, 2012
Mike Miller, PhD, CA, CRM
WHAT ADVICE CAN THESE FOLKS OFFER US ABOUT RECORD DEFINITIONS?
3
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
When forced to choose between two evils, pick the one you haven’t done before.
THE MAKING OF A RECORDS MANAGER
My Background – Archival Roots Director RIM Consulting – Array Information
Technology Federal records management – NARA, EPA, FBI Consultant – US and UK Adjunct Professor – University of Maryland and Drexel CA and CRM
My Interests – Academic Roots Electronic records management and archives Policy Why so many RIM initiatives fail to achieve their
expected results? How do we fix that problem systemically?
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
SUMMARY OF MY POSITION
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 5
Business processes have changed as technology has been applied to them, but our thinking about records and their management has not kept up
Records are only a part of the information assets that support business goals
Distinctions between documents, records, and non records may exist, but focusing on the distinctions is no longer useful and can be harmful
A bigger, more pressing, problem than the differences: Lack of management of all information assets
Better to manage all information assets according to records management principles (ISO 15489 and GARP)
How this is done depends on business needs Result – “good enough” records management
MY CURRENT THINKING
Manage all information assets: Using RIM principles (ISO 15489 and GARP) From an enterprise perspective using a holistic, life-cycle
based, risk management approach Ensure that records and other information assets are:
Created to meet business requirements Kept long enough to protect rights and assure
accountability — and no longer Preserved and available if needed long-term Managed to ensure they are discoverable, shareable,
interoperable and repurposable Accessible to authorized persons only
Records are a part of the information assets that support business goals. They provide information and evidence.
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 6
MY CURRENT THINKING – IMPACT
Ensure that records have: Authenticity Reliability Integrity Usability over time
RIM professionals must balance the: Records themselves Requirements for recordkeeping Risks posed by poor management of the records Rewards and business benefits good management offers Resources available
How this is done in the management of records and other business assets depends on business needs
Organization defines “good enough” records management
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?
Do we know a record when we see it? Information Information asset Data Non record Document Working file Record Official record Documentary materials Electronically stored information (ESI)
We don’t all see the same thing – the prototype effect Our prototype is most often a paper document
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 8
DEFINITIONS
Record (components of a common definition) All media (now all electronic forms/formats) Made or received In the course of the transaction of public business Preserved or appropriate for preservation as
Evidence For informational value
Other variations on the record definition
Non record (components of a definition) Anything that does not meet the definition of a record Enumerated items (Federal and other government) Older items: Items not on a schedule
Unifying concepts
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 9
WHAT IS A DOCUMENT?
Lots of definitions: A single item of recorded information, such as a letter,
email, memorandum, report, or form consisting of one or more pages.
Generally assumed to be unstructured or semi-structured information
SharePoint has Document Templates for: Word Excel PowerPoint One Note Designer Web pages
Also includes PDFs and images Caveats
Does it include video, audio, databases? Form over content Is a document a business asset?
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
SOME COMMON GRAY AREAS
Problems in all media Working papers Email threads Drafts Substantive comments Finals that get revised “Smoking guns”
Some questions Do records start out as documents? Do they become documents when captured? Is so what are they before that? Non records? What are documents that aren’t records? When should management start?
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
RESOLVING GRAY AREAS IN THE DEFINITION
What are the activities for which we need evidence? What is a business process/transaction? Who makes the decision on what is necessary to
document a business process/transaction? Record (evidence of, information about)
Of what, for whom, for how long? Varies by business process, by role in business
process, by personal perception of he business process and role
Is everything with informational value a record? Is everything that serves as evidence a record? If we can’t agree on what a record is, how can we agree
on what is a document or a non record?
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 13
THE WRONG QUESTION TO ASK?
What is a record? Records managers care – in paper had a lot of practical ramifications
Courts care about electronically stored information (ESI)
Employees care about finding and using their information assets
People generally expect information of all types to be effectively and efficiently managed
IRM/IT care about structured/unstructured data Software (e.g., SharePoint) cares – manages records differently
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK?
Two good questions: What transactions/processes need to be documented? What documentation needs to be controlled as a “record of
the transaction/process” on an ongoing basis? Implementation issues:
When does that happen and how? When does documentation need to be controlled? An “official” record?
What are the attributes that characterize a record as opposed to a document?
What are the rules that implement those attributes? Answers must be “good enough” for each class/set of
processes/transactions – not one size fits all At a granular business-process level Simple to implement
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
SO WHERE ARE WE ON THIS?
Documents are a different category from records like video and databases
Documents can be records or non records Do documents “become” records?
When final When captured When they have sufficient content At some other point
To me they are always material owned by the organization There are things that are needed and things that aren’t Things that are needed for a specific process/transaction
are records Records should be managed to certain standards to ensure
value as evidence, ARIU, etc. – i.e., cost issues
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 16
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Differing mental models on document/record/non record cause confusion and hinder communication
As a mental model, it frames and constrains our thinking to focus on a subset of information assets
Focus is on what information assets must be managed as records rather than how to manage them.
Uneven application results in poorer records and increased organization vulnerability
RMO and archivists are not included in conversations about non record materials. RMOs represent needs of the organization and Archivists the needs of the larger community
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 17
THE BASIC QUESTIONS
What business problem(s) need solutions? What records problem(s) need solutions?
Too much information or too little? Managing just records or all information
using records management principles? Who sees the records problems as
problems? Who is your champion? What is “good enough”?
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
PROBLEMS THAT NEED SOLUTIONS
Don’t have adequate records of our business transactions Have you defined the business transactions you want
records for? Have you defined the records necessary for adequacy? Have you defined who needs to maintain them? Is the guidance clear enough for your staff?
Records aren’t compliant Compliant with what/whom?
Internal External
At what organizational level?
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 19
PROBLEMS THAT NEED SOLUTIONS
Can’t find the information we need What types of information? In what types of records? Where in the organization?
We’ve got problems with litigation and discovery Can’t locate what is relevant
easily Too much to sort through – too
expensive We’re losing our knowledge base
Can’t find relevant materials to leverage
Not creating usable products
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 20
AN APPROACH TO MANAGING RECORDS
Transitory Work in Progress
Final /Official Documentation
Controlled by individuals for their use
Controlled by a unit at some level within the organization (may be multiple levels)
Under Corporate control
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 21
HERE ARE THE CHOICES
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 22
Problem Final Documentation
Working Files
Too Much
Too Little
Too Much
Too Little
Records
Compliance
Locating
Litigation
Knowledge
Back to what is “good enough”?
SHAREPOINT AND RECORDS
Submit a record to a Records Repository once it has been recognized as an official record – Declaration
Once declared a record is either copied or moved to the repository
Can be manually filed Can be automatically filed
by the content organizer based on its properties/attributes
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
FIVE BASIC IMPLEMENTATION QUESTIONS IN SHAREPOINT
What needs to be filed as part of the organization’s corporate files?
When should a document be declared a record? How should the records and other content on the site be
managed? Is your RIM policy framework sufficiently up-to-date? Should RIM focus first on records creation or retention and
disposition?
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary 24
SOME APPROACHES
Final documents only All non-transitory documents Documents created with
specific templates Documents for specific
transactions Print, file, or send Selected documents based
on process analysis Selected documents based
on external requirements Only certain people can file
or approve filing Only file for your
responsibility
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
WHAT IS RECORDS MANAGEMENT?
The Records Manager’s Perspective: The managerial activities involved with respect to records
creation, records maintenance and use, and records disposition in order to achieve adequate and proper documentation of activities and economical and efficient operations.
The SharePoint Perspective: The practice of organizing and maintaining documents
within an organization based on a series of predetermined rules. These rules control things such as where files are stored, how long they should be retained, how they should be disposed of, and who is responsible for the files.
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RULES
What its to be brought under organizational records controls?
At what point in the process does that take place?
Is the process of determining that step manual or automated?
What are the characteristics or attributes of the documents that become records?
RIM Mechanisms for implementation Policy Procedures,
Standards Software
Array Information Technology Inc. Proprietary
NEED A BORN DIGITAL APPROACH
Need to rethink recordkeeping Record status is another attribute
Better security Organizational control
File and organize around: Work processes Transactions
Search by subject Simplify
WHAT ADVICE DOES THIS MAN HAVE FOR RIM PROFESSIONALS?
Reinhold Niebuhr
Serenity Prayer God, grant me the
serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Amen!
29
InfrastructureManagement Enterprise Collaboration
Legacy SystemIntegration
Science & Technology
ApplicationManagement
Mission Support
Knowledge Centers
Mike Miller
Director, RIM Consulting
Array Information Technology
7600 Leesburg Pike Suite 140 West
Falls Church, VA 22043
301-651-3510