Audit in electronic records management

1
Audit in electronicrecords management

• - Filip Boudrez -
• - Antwerp City Archives -
• ErpaWorkshop Antwerpen
• 16 april 2004

2
Overview

• Objectives
• Checkpoints
• Audit how?
• Informationsystems design and use
• Conclusion

3
Objectives

• ultimate objective delivery of quality records
• creation of records which
• are effective for the business processes
  complete, reliable, re-usable
• are understandable contextualised, readable
• can efficently be archived
• audit
• controlling records creation and management
• embedded in regular inspection work

4
Checkpoints

• availability of
• a consistent RM-procedure
• formally established
• based on a policy
• approved / supported by management
• awareness of existence by staff - promulgation
• resources
• tools and guidelines

5
Checkpoints

• the procedure itself
• compliance with legal obligations, recommended
  procedures and established standards
• responsibles appointed and roles defined
• adequate, efficent and effective
• regular review and update
• applied, put into practice
• documented
• checking is fine, but what criteria do you use
  and how do you measure them?

6
Audit how?

• instrument
• inventory of informationsystems
• assessment based on
• measurable indicators
• - time needed for document retrieval
• - e-mail and office documents volume mailboxes
  and personal homefolders ? volume central filing
  system number of servercrashes
• - subject classification system number of empty
  attributes
• questions, problems of creators
• validation of records offered for transfer

7
Audit how?

• (self-)monitoring checklist for IT-staff,
  creator and e-Archivist
• e.g. importance of metadata and documentation
• inspecting design, implementation and use of
  informationsystems

8
Informationsystems design

• archival service as project partner
• defining requirements
• identification, registration and capture of
  records
• history (audit trails), versions
• security
• metadata
• file formats and profiles
• applying standards, multi-vendor support
• automated or userfriendly
• keeping documentation
• legacy data / records metadata

9
Informationsystems design

• preservation strategy
• DAVID-decision making model
• long term preservation
• procedure ? archiving module / tools
• tools / instruments
• verifying, controlling source code
• testing, evaluating tools
• examples
• website design
• mail registration application

10
Informationsystems use

• problems, errors, bugs ?
• RM-procedure applied ?
• records
• real records captured, transferred or removed?
• authentic and reliable
• taken full advantage of available technology
• use in conformance with intended purposes
• mailregister application ? dossier management
  system
• e-mailsystem ? DMS

11
After the audit

• The audit basis for
• planning actions
• improvements
• new recommendations
• advizing and guiding role for the archivist

12
Conclusion

• Some benefits
• raising awareness
• discovering weaknesses in RM-procedures
• allows pro-active work
• cost effective creator, IT-staff and archival
  service
• more efficient and effective use of technology
• improving quality of the records

13
Questions? Comments?
http//www.antwerpen.be/david david_at_stad.antwerpen
.be