Meeting the challenges of digital recordkeeping
Minimising risks and maximising benefits
Kate Cumming
State Records NSW
Something to keep in the back of your mind…
• “Digital information lasts forever, or five years, whichever comes first.”
Jeff Rothenburg, Scientific American
Big picture risks in NSW government• lack of strategic vision• lack of long term vision • poor investment in
information infrastructure
• new technologies that make information management difficult
• accumulating volumes and silos of information
The digital recordkeeping challenges1. Identifying and
managing records
2. Understanding business systems
3. Communicating requirements
4. Influencing new business environments
Challenge 1: Identifying records• sadly not a piece of
paper anymore…
• needs to be determined system by system, process by process
• case studies: online training system, personnel system
Risks: From non-identification• lack of record capture• poor management • threats to data longevity• costs of data maintenance
‘rapidly escalating out of sight’
• volume control search, storage,
preservation and management problems due to overwhelming volumes
Tips for meeting this challenge• prioritise
focus on high risk, significant business
• know the recordkeeping requirements
• focus on business needs and augment with your
recordkeeping knowledge
• look for the easy way out
• act now
Challenge 2: Understanding business systems
• most digital business systems are not designed to make and keep records dynamism vs redundancy short now vs long now
• specific examples: US Pacific Gas and Electric
Company databases, geographic
information systems
System functionality makes it a challenge to manage records well
• need to maintain: accessibility integrity accountability evidentiality useability longevity
Key risks with business systems
• identifying them• locating system owners• system change• system integration and de-integration• protecting important stuff before it’s too late• legacy systems• non-standardisation
‘commodification of information’
Tips for meeting this challenge• get involved
• focus on information longevity
• talk to users and understand the business
• contribute to system design
• contribute IM tools and skills
• focus on system migration and decommissioning as high risk points
• focus on what you know use disposal as a tool
• keep it simple
Challenge 3: Communicating requirements• the difficulty of “getting a seat at the grown-ups’
table”: ARMA (US) survey (October 2011): records managers
have little or no input into strategic planning
• those who count don’t always want to hear from us: no ‘one size’ fits all answers solutions must be individually designed
• State Records 2010 ICT survey: some barriers in communication between records and ICT staff
Risks: The perception of recordkeeping• it is seen as operational
(which definitely components of it are)
• but it is also highly strategic: well designed
recordkeeping enables organisational objectives to be achieved
non strategic approach creates risks
strategic vision necessary in times of change
Risks: Poor information practices• systems that don’t meet
recordkeeping requirements continue to be implemented
• significant records continue to be at risk
• recordkeeping continues to be marginalised
• users and clients suffer in short and long term
• business suffers in short and long term
Tips for meeting this challenge• pick your battles• get involved• be persistent• focus on the business• involve the users• present solutions, not
just problems• take it one system at a
time
Challenge 4: Influencing new business environments
• business is moving: to wikis to the cloud to multiple business
applications
• and leaving large legacy system issues behind…
Risks: Limited recordkeeping functionality
• Wikis• Gmail• Google Docs• Sharepoint
GREAT BUSINESS APPS
NONE NATIVELY KEEP RECORDS
Risks: Geocities example• web 2.0 data can just disappear…
the ownership of the data on social media sites often resides with the service provider, not the individual or the organisation
Risks: Cloud ‘not yet sufficiently mature’
• CIO of ANZ Bank, Anne Weatherston: cloud can’t currently
enable business integrations and data consistency ANZ requires
Risks: Collaborative workspaces are completely reliant on good information management frameworks
• information needs to be created, well organised and classified so that it won’t be shared or used inappropriately sharing of confidential
marketing plans and budget documents via LinkedIn
Risks: Legacy systems
• ongoing responsibility • lack of accessibility• volumes of data• cost of ongoing
management• cost of any
retrospective management solution
• impact of admin change on legacy data…
Tips for meeting this challenge• promote importance of
system configuration and user training
• don’t let systems become legacy systems
• metadata become the metadata
champion in your organisation
standardisation, integration and quality
Key tips for meeting all the challenges
• act and act now• know what the
business and the users want
• know recordkeeping requirements
• prioritise based on risk• engage• trust your skills
State Records’ Standard on digital recordkeeping
• designed to facilitate recordkeeping in digital environment in order to: mitigate risk focus on high risk ensure that critical
business information is created and available as required
What does the Standard say?• know where your business is being performed• know what information you need to support business
not just what information you have
• know how long this information needs to be kept• know whether your business systems can make and
keep this information• if they can’t, develop alternate solutions:
system redesign system workarounds integration with records systems
“Do nothing, lose everything…”
• be strategic with recordkeeping• design systems with recordkeeping capacities• build for both the short and long now• do it now
Future Proof blog
http://futureproof.records.nsw.gov.au
• for current information, case studies, discussions on digital recordkeeping issues
• we really value comment, feedback, discussion!
Photo sources• Nothing lasts forever - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bixentro/4076703146/ • Tall building - http://www.flickr.com/photos/uggboy/4424044058/• Danger to cyclists - http://www.flickr.com/photos/64498037@N00/3841613511/ • Letter - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aprilandrandy/29366804/• This is important - http://www.flickr.com/photos/r_rose/110152340/• This is very important - http://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/290711738/• Beware of safety - http://www.flickr.com/photos/grahamtriggs/3846892124/• Blue high risk sign - http://www.flickr.com/photos/howardlake/5939827914/• Post its - http://www.flickr.com/photos/upsu_alexh/423349247/ • Climber - http://www.flickr.com/photos/moogan/2628010999/• Falling sign - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yewenyi/3009412645/• Toy soldier - http://www.flickr.com/photos/zryan/5924637958/• Radiation risk - http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredo/57971500/• Geocities - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tantek/4784387654/ • Clouds - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/2511369048/ • Bike jump - http://www.flickr.com/photos/teadrinkingtim/4670395304/• Old PC - http://www.flickr.com/photos/luc/2849334538/• Baked beans - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianfuller/205402306/ • Blank can - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliceskr/315475438/ • Keys - http://www.flickr.com/photos/practicalowl/248282683/ • Dangerous diamond - http://www.flickr.com/photos/shawnzlea/1677870357/ • Great gift - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmeidinger/3483485 /
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