MGT3200 ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT

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MGT3200 ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT

• Module 5 The Electronic Records Pyramid

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Why we need a clear RM strategy

• Inadequate records and recordkeeping can result
  in
• Failure of employees/systems to make records
• Records that are inadequate to meet
  accountability and other organisational
  requirements
• Failure to capture records into recordkeeping
  resulting in arbitrary destruction or inability
  to be found
• Failure to identify and retrieve the
  authoritative version of a record where multiple
  versions exist
• Failure to maintain records during the time
  necessary to meet specific accountability
  requirements
• Failure to assign responsibility for different
  aspects of recordkeeping at appropriate levels
  resulting in noone taking responsibility

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Goals of Recordkeeping strategy

• Ensure records can be readily retrieved
• Ensure records can be readily disseminated
• Ensure security requirements are met
• Ensure records are retained for the appropriate
  time
• Control volume of information produced
• Improve cost effectiveness of information
  processing
• Control standard of presentation of information
• Ensure information is timely
• Minimise duplication of information
• Ensure uniform procedures for records processing
• Control record sizes and media types

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Records in transition issues for record
strategists

• The transition from paper to electronic records
  has created the need for change in recordkeeping
  strategy
• Go through Section 5.2 of Module 2 and answer all
  questions in the reading and in Activity 5.1
• It is vital that you understand the content of
  this section it explains the basis of a number
  of organisational problems being experienced in
  relation to electronic records management

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The Electronic Records Pyramid
LEVEL 4 Retention and Disposition
LEVEL 3 Classification and indexing
LEVEL 2 Capturing full and accurate records
LEVEL 1 Appraisal and Disposal
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The ER Pyramid Level 1 Appraisal and Disposal
(1)

• Appraisal and disposal process determine
  recordkeeping requirements ie
• Working with functional specialists to identify
  the information that must be captured to ensure
  that business transactions are adequately
  documented
• Investigating statutory requirements for
  recordkeeping to which the organisation is
  subject
• Identifying other external sources of
  recordkeeping requirements which may impact upon
  the organisation
• Looking at areas of potential liability and
  assess the risks which may exist if records are
  not captured and retained
• Listing the existing record series
• Reviewing the adequacy with which existing
  records meet recordkeeping requirements
• Developing systems and procedures to ensure RK
  requirements are met and gaps in existing
  practices filled
• Determining how long each record series should be
  retained
• Developing disposal procedures and controls
  including a disposal schedule

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The ER Pyramid Level 1 Appraisal and Disposal
(2)

• Appraisal
• the process of evaluating business activities to
  determine which records need to be captured and
  how long the records need to be kept to meet
  business needs, the requirements of
  organisational accountability and community
  expectations
• Comprises three stages
• Analysis
• Determination of which records should be captured
• Determination of how long the records need to be
  maintained

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Appraisal Step 1 - Analysis

• Comprises an assessment of
• The environment in which the organisation
  operates in order to identify
• The legal framework which impinges on the
  organisations operations
• The internal and external stakeholders whose
  interests must be considered and
• Community expectations of business, social and
  ethical standards
• The business functions and activities of the
  organisation focusing on
• The goals and strategies of the organisation
• The broad functions of the organisation
• The activities which constitute each function
• The groups of transactions which constitute each
  activity

This step is regarded as developing the Business
Classification Scheme
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Appraisal Step 1 (cont) - Business Classification
Scheme

• Used to help identify and document recordkeeping
  requirements
• Fulfils a number of important functions eg
• Provides linkages between individual records to
  provide a continuous record of activity
• Ensures records are named in a consistent manner
  over time
• Assists in the retrieval of all records relating
  to a particular activity
• Facilitates the determination of appropriate
  retention periods for records
• Facilitates the determination of appropriate
  security protection for different sets of records
• Facilitates the allocation of user permissions
  for access to or action in respect to a
  particular group of records
• Allows the distribution of responsibility for
  management of particular sets of records
• Facilitates the distribution of records for action

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Appraisal Step 1 (cont) - Developing a BCS
Define organisational objectives
Complete Activity 5.2, p 5.7 of your study book
Determine organisational functions undertaken in
order to achieve objectives
Determine the activities undertake to carry out
the various functions
Determine the transactions undertaken as part of
each activity
Determine the processes ie activities which cut
across functions
Develop a map of functions, activities, processes
and transactions
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Appraisal Step 2 Determining which records
should be captured
Information from the Business Classification
Scheme
BROAD LEVEL OF RECORDS WHICH MUST BE KEPT
MAINTENANCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR BUSINESS
ACTIVITY
Information from analysis of legal and regulatory
environment and community expectations
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Appraisal Step 3 How long do records need to be
kept?
Retention period specified in legislation of
recommended for best practice
Further use to which record is likely to be put
after current usage
Links to other systems within the organisation
The use to which record is put within the system
RETENTION PERIODS FOR EACH TYPE OF RECORD
DOCUMENTED IN A DISPOSAL AUTHORITY
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Disposal

• .. A range of processes associated with
  implementing appraisal decisions. These include
  the retention, deletion or destruction of records
  in or from recordkeeping systems. They may also
  include the migration or transmission of records
  between recordkeeping systems, and the transfer
  of custody or ownership of records
• AS4390 Section 6

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The disposal authority/schedule

• lists the decisions made during the appraisal
  process in relation to the retention time for the
  various classes of records
• Should contain details of business activity as
  determined by the formulation of the business
  classification scheme
• Should state the type of records which result
  from each business activity
• Should specify the retention period and disposal
  action for each type of record
• May also contain details of transfer of records
  to less costly forms of storage
• Must be approved by senior management and
  preferably also legal advisors
• Should state who has responsibility for the
  various stages of the disposal process
• Information from disposal authority should be
  incorporated into the design of recordkeeping
  systems so that triggers for disposal or
  continuing retention are automatically linked to
  records as they are captured in the recordkeeping
  system

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Review of appraisal and disposal practices (1)
What records need to be captured as evidence of
business activity?
Should records be kept in hard copy or electronic
format?
How long do records need to be retained?
Where should records be located?
How well do existing records and recordkeeping
systems fit these requirements?
WHAT CHANGES ARE NECESSARY?
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Review of appraisal and disposal practices (2)

• Commonly required in the transition from paper to
  electronic records
• Records manager needs to be proactive
• Records manager needs to work in consultation
  with
• Functional managers
• Users of the records
• Legal experts

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Review of appraisal and disposal practices (2)

• The traditional approach to appraisal and
  disposal of records has been challenged by the
  increasing trend to create, use and store
  information in electronic format
• Traditionally appraisal and disposal decisions
  were made once a record reached the end of its
  useful life
• This method of making appraisal and disposal
  decisions cannot be applied to electronic records

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Review of appraisal and disposal practices (4)

• Why will making appraisal decisions at the end of
  a records useful life not work for electronic
  records?
• With electronic records special control measures
  have to be put in place to ensure
• All records of business activity are created in
  the first place
• All records of business activity can be accessed
  when required
• All records of business activity are protected
  from premature destruction

• Have you ever?
• Deleted an email before assessing whether or not
  it constituted a record?
• Used an electronic filing system that no one else
  could possibly follow?
• Deleted electronic records randomly because you
  were running out of drive/disk/server space?

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The Records Inventory

• a comprehensive listing of the records of an
  organisation including details obtained from a
  records survey such as quantity, type, function,
  location and usage
• (Smith and Kallaus, 1997)
• Conducted at the level of the record series
• May be conducted using either
• Work thru methodology
• Questionnaire

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Creating and capturing full and accurate records
(AS4390-1996)

• AS4390-1996 lists the essential characteristics
  of full and accurate records as records having to
  be
• Compliant
• Adequate
• Complete
• Meaningful
• Comprehensive
• Accurate
• Authentic and
• Inviolate

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A different view on the essential characteristics
of a record (ISO15489)

• AS4390-1996 was superceded by ISO15489 in October
  2002.
• The new international standard contains an
  adaptation of the concept of full and accurate
  records covered in AS4390 1996.

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ISO15489 Characteristics of a record

• A record should correctly reflect what was
  communicated or decided or what action was taken.
  It should be able to support the needs of the
  businesses to which it relates and be used for
  accountability purposes.
• As well as the content, the record should
  contain, or be persistently linked to or
  associated with, the metadata necessary to
  document a transaction as follows
• The structure of a record, ie, its format and the
  relationships between the elements comprising the
  record, should remain intact
• The business context in which the record was
  created, received and used should be apparent in
  the record (including the business process of
  which the transaction is part, the date and time
  of the transaction and the participants in the
  transaction)
• The links between documents, held separately but
  combining to make up a record, should be present

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AS4390-1996 full and accurate records v
ISO15489 authoritative records

• AS4390-1996
• Full and accurate records
• Compliant
• Adequate
• Complete
• Meaningful
• Comprehensive
• Accurate
• Authentic
• Inviolate
• Read Text Section 5.10 and complete Activities
  5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9

• ISO15489
• Authoritative records
• Authenticity
• Reliability
• Integrity
• Useability
• See next slides for details of the
  characteristics of authoritative records

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Authenticity

• An authentic records is one that can be proven
• To be what it purports to be
• To have been created or sent by the person
  purported to have created or sent it and
• To have been created or sent at the time
  purported
• To ensure the authenticity of records,
  organisations should implement and document
  policies and procedures which control the
  creation, receipt, transmission, maintenance and
  disposition or records to ensure that records
  creators are authorised and identified and that
  records are protected against unauthorised
  addition, deletion, alteration, use and
  concealment

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Reliability

• A reliable records is one whose contents can be
  trusted as a full and accurate representation of
  the transactions, activities or facts to which
  they attest and can be depended upon in the
  course of subsequent transactions or activities.
• Records should be created at the time of the
  transaction or incident to which they relate, or
  soon afterwards, by individuals who have direct
  knowledge of the facts or by instruments
  routinely used within the business to conduct the
  transaction

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Integrity

• The integrity of a record refers to its being
  complete and unaltered.
• It is necessary that a record be protected
  against unauthorised alteration.
• Records management policies and procedures should
  specify what additions or annotations may be made
  to a record after it is created, under what
  circumstances additions or annotations may be
  authorised, and who is authorised to make them.
• Any unauthorised annotation, addition or deletion
  to a record should be explicitly indicated and
  traceable.

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Useability

• A useable record is one that can be located,
  retrieved, presented and interpreted.
• It should be capable of subsequent presentation
  as directly connected to the business activity or
  transaction that produced it.
• The contextual linkages of records should carry
  the information needed for an understanding of
  the transactions that created and used them.
• It should be possible to identify a record within
  the context of broader business activities and
  functions.
• The links between records that document a
  sequence of activities should be maintained.

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E-mail and full and accurate records (1)

• Read Section 5.11, page 5.22 of your study book
  and review your own experience of email then
  summarise the debate which exists relating to
  email and recordkeeping.

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Email and full and accurate records (2)

• Access the NAAs guidelines to managing email
  from a recordkeeping perspective
• Complete Activity 5.10

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Consolidation

• Read Luciana Durantis article on the Concepts,
  principles, and methods for the management of
  electronic records
• Complete Activity 5.11

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The Record Series
File draw section heading/ electonic folder
File draw section heading/ electonic folder
SERIES
File draw sub-section heading/ electonic
sub-folder
SUB-SERIES(may be more than one)
File folder in draw/ electonic sub sub folder
FILE (paper records only
Documents within file folder/ individual
electronic files
DOCUMENTS
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Objectives of records inventory

• To gain information about
• Purpose and functions of each records series
• Location of each record series
• Types of equipment and supplies currently used
  for storing records
• Age of and Frequency of access to individual
  record series
• Current retrieval systems for record series
• Space (physical or server) taken by records
• Current disposal practices

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Information gathered by the records survey as
part of records inventory

• Title of each series
• Purpose of each series (why and how created and
  by whom)
• Format in which each series kept
• Content of each series
• Date range covered by each series
• Quantity of records in each series
• Location of each series
• Description and condition of storage equipment
  and supplies used to house each series
• Frequency of use and usage patterns for each
  series
• Access restrictions for each series
• Description of filing system and any indexes
  maintained

• Charge-out of tracking systems Whether each
  series is current/active
• When records in each series become semi-active
  and then inactive
• Legal requirements for retention of records in
  each series
• Duplication of records or information elsewhere
  in the organisation
• Linkages to other record series
• Whether other records for the same series are
  stored elsewhere eg off site storage
• Whether records in each series are considered to
  be vital records

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Additional information required for electronic
records

• The records survey needs to collect additional
  information relating to the context and structure
  of electronic records so that they represent
  meaningful and complete evidence of business
  activity eg
• What systems and computer programs) were used to
  create the records
• How records relate to other records in the system
  ie whether each record is
• A primary record of a transaction
• A security record eg audit trails and backup
  files and
• A facilitative record eg indexes and statistics
• Information about the records capture by the
  system eg author/data entry operator, authoriser
  of the transaction, receiver, dates and times
• How the records are accessed and used
• The format in which the records are stored
• What reports are produced and how often
• What back-up copies are made and where stored
  and
• Whether original versions of records are kept or
  only updated versions

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Methodology for record survey

• In-house staff/committee
• Familiar with organisation and staff
• Can gain access to records without difficulty or
  interference
• May not be sufficiently trained to conduct
  comprehensive inventory
• May need extra time/resources to train staff in
  role of inventory, categorisation and recording
  procedures
• May make assumptions instead of carrying out a
  thorough and objective inventory
• May take longer than a professional records
  analysts
• May involve additional cost through longer time
  taken, cost of additional staff or overtime
• May be rushed so employee/s can return to normal
  duties

• Outside consultants
• Specially trained to conduct records inventories
  and analyses
• Should understand the importance of records
  inventory in the development of a RM program
• Likely to be more objective
• Aware of practices followed by similar businesses
• Can make recommendations based on comparative
  data
• Limited knowledge of organisation and its
  operations
• May not gain the confidence of company employees
• May see only fragments of total operations and
  procedures

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