Bsi bip 0025 2 2002

BS ISO 15 8 -1:20 1 outlnes what your org anization ne ds to do to ensure the a propriate and a equate manag ement of its records because g ood manag ement requires g ood record ke ping

Par t 2: Practical implementat ion of BS ISO 15489-1

Part 2: Pract ical implementat ion

of BS ISO 1 5489- 1

Jul e McLeod

Ref: BIP0 25-2:2 0

© British Stan ar ds Institution 2 0

Repr inted 2 0

Co yrig ht

Copy rig ht subsists in al BSIpublcations Exc pt as pe mit ed u de the Copy rig ht, De ig ns an

Patents Act 19 8, no ex tract ma be r pr d c d, sto ed in a r triev al sy stem o transmited in any

fo m o b any means – ele tr nic, photo opy ing , r c rding o othe wis – without prio writ en

pe mis ion fr m BSI

I pe mis ion is g ranted, the te ms ma inclu e r y alty p y ments o a lc nsing ag re ment Detais

an adv ic can be obtained fr m the Copy r ig ht Manag er, BSI, 3 9 Chiswick Hig h Road, Lon on,

W 4 4AL, UK

BIP 0 2 - 2 ISBN 0 5 0 3 0 6 3

Foreword i

2 Rec ord a d rec ord sy st ems 3

3 De ig a d impleme tat ion met hodology 7

4 To ls for ma aging rec ords 2

Figure 1 Flow c hart of main ac t iv it ie a d major out puts for st ep A:

prelmin ry inv est ig t ion 12

Figure 2 SW OTa aly sis 14

Figure 3 Flow c hart of main ac t iv it ie a d major out puts for st ep B:

a aly sis of b sine s ac t iv it y 15

Figure 4 Flow c hart of main ac t iv it ie a d major out puts for st ep C:

ide t ific at ion of re uirements for rec ord 17

Figure 5 Flow c hart of main ac t iv it ie a d major out puts for st ep D:

a s s me t of ex ist in sy st ems 19

Figure 6 Flow c hart of main ac t iv it ie a d major out puts for st ep E:

ide t ific at ion of st rat egie for s t isfy in rec ord re uireme ts 21

Figure 7 Flow c hart of main ac t iv it ie a d major out puts for st ep F:

d sig of a rec ord sy st em 2

Figure 8 Flow c hart of main ac t iv it ie a d major out puts for st ep G:

impleme tat ion of a rec ord sy st em 25

Figure 9 Flow c hart of main ac t iv it ie a d major out puts for st ep H:

p st -impleme tat ion rev iew 2

All busine s s, whethe priv ate o publc s ctor , r ely on infor mation an r c r ds to c n uct their

afair in a sy stematic an leg aly c mplant way The strateg ic manag ement of r ec rds an

info mation is e s ntial to this pr c s an nev er mo e s than in an ag e of e-c mme c an

e-g ov er nment W ith a ra idly chang ing an dev eloping busine s c ntext the e ar c nside a le

o g anizational benefits to adopting a c nsistent an stan ardiz d a pr ach to the manag ement

of r c rds an info mation

In Octobe 2 01 the fir t inte national stan ard fo the manag ement of r c rds was lau ched in

Montr al, Canada The two-p rt publcation of Stan ard an Te h ical R epo t, implemented in

the United King dom as BSISO15 8 -1:2 01 an PDISO/TR15 8 -2:2 01, was the culmination

of thr e y ear ’ wo k b a g roup of inte national ex pe ts to sy nthe iz be t pr actic fr m ar u d

the wo ld in the strateg ic manag ement of r c r ds This Stan ard an Te h ical Repor t ar

a plca le to multinational c mp nie an smal ente pris s alke an pr v ide an e s ntial to l

fo the manag ement of r c rds an info mation

The Stan ard pr v ide a framewo k within which the ne e sary manag ement of r c rds an

info mation can take plac This publcation is the s c n in a s rie of publcations on r c rds

manag ement sup o ted b BSI an is inten ed to c mplement the Stan ard an Te h ical

Repor t an help plac them in c ntex t fo the us r The publcations ex pan on the framewo k

that the Stan ard cr eate an pr v ide both inte pr tation an i ustration of g ood practic Each

v olume has be n writ en pr dominantly fr m the United King dom per spe tiv e b leading United

King dom practitione s, who hav e fir st han , practical ex e ienc of, an insig ht into, the is ue

facing United King dom o g anizations today

I can wholeheartedly r c mmen this info mativ e s rie to the r ade , which pr v ide insig ht

into the a plcation of both BSISO15 8 -1:2 01 an PDISO/TR15 8 -2:2 01

The othe bo ks in this s rie ar :

— BIP0 2 -1:2 0 , Ef ct v r ec r d s ma na gement — Pa rt1: A ma na gement guid e to the

1.1 The standard

BSISO 15 8 -1:20 1 is the fi rst international stand ar d on r ecord s manag ement an has

its ro ts in the fir t ev er national stand ard on records manag ement, the Austral an

st a n d a r d AS4 9 -1/6 I i s a ccompa n i ed b a T ech n i ca l R epor t, P D ISO/T R 15 8 -2:20 1,

which prov ides further detais and ex lanation tog ether with a methodolog y for

implementing the stand rd Both publ cations are implementations of ISOd ocuments

PD ISO/ TR 15 8 -2:20 1 is an implementation g uide for records manag ement

profes ionals ( and other ) who ha e be n as ig ned responsibi ty for manag ing their

org anization’s records

This bo k is also a g uide to implementing BS ISO 15 8 -1:20 1, so how do s it difer

fom PD ISO/TR 15 8 -2:20 1? It aims to complement it and prov ide an alternativ e,

easi y ac es ible and practical ‘how to’ g uide for any one who wishes to implement

BSISO15 8 -1:20 1, but in p rticular for new or non-records manag ement

profes ionals Its focus is BSISO15 8 -1:20 1, clauses7, 8and 9, which can be se n

as the ‘n ts an bolts’ of implementing records manag ement in any org anization

Therefore, u l ke PD ISO/ TR 15 8 -2:20 1, it d oes not cover al sections of

BSISO15 8 -1:20 1 Instea it as umes that a d ecision to a opt a record s

manag ement a proach has be n taken, b sed on the recog nition of what records

manag ement is and why it is important to y our org anization In reaching this decision

it wi also ha e be n recog niz d that there wi be a rang e of roles and responsibi ities

for manag ing records in y our org anization, a topic which is hig hlg hted later in this

g uide W hi st BIP0 25-1:20 2, also p rt of this series, consider the role and purpose

of records manag ement in detai, it is worth summarizing these before considering the

key aspects of implementation

1.2 Why are rec ords and rec ords management important ?

Records ca ture the actions and transactions of y our org anization They are the output

of its busines activ ities, in the broa est sense of the word They are u ique to your

org anization and, along side the org anization’s pe ple, money and estate, are therefore

a v alua le as et Manag ing them is c ucial if they are to be used for evidence and if

their information content, y our org anization’s memory , is to be efectively and

eficiently ex loited BS ISO 15 8 -1:20 1 outlnes what your org anization ne ds to do

to ensure the a propriate and a equate manag ement of its records because g ood

manag ement requires g ood record ke ping and records systems

Althoug h BS ISO 15 8 -1:20 1 is not a compl ance stand ard, using it as a famework

wi ena le y our org anization to c eate, ca ture and manag e its records a propriately

and a equately Implementing BS ISO 15 8 -1:20 1 wi improv e the eficiency and

efectiv enes of the manag ement of what is arg ua ly y our org anization’s most v lua le

resour e in tod y ’s information and service economy

1.3 What does t his guide c ov er?

This bo k beg ins b prov iding the context and considering the characteristic and

requirements of systems for manag ing records It moves on to ex lore the nature of

record s sy stems an one wel d eveloped methodolog y for desig ning and implementing a

record s sy stem Some of the main to ls which sup ort the manag ement of records, as

identified in BSISO15 8 -1:20 1, clause9, are then hig hl g hted

The final section takes the form ofan action plan, comprising a series of simple

checklsts, which you can use as a reference to l or starting point for implementing

BSISO 15 8 -1:20 1

Since it is impos ible in a g uid e of this leng th to provide y ou with al of the neces ary

detai of how to implement BS ISO 15 8 -1:20 1, references are ma e to it within the

text and to PD ISO/ TR 15 8 -2:20 1 as wel as other useful publcations, se

Biblog ra hy Sour es of further information are g iv en at the end

Also not covered in this g uide are monitoring , auditing an measuring the per ormance

of records manag ement systems, polcies and procedures A sep rate g uide,

BIP0 25-3:20 3, is dev oted to this v ery important aspect of record s manag ement

2.1 What are t he c harac t erist ic s and requirements of rec ords

and rec ords sy st ems?

This section lo ks at what is meant b a record and the key characteristic and

requirements of a records sy stem which are the precur or to the d esig n and

implementation of such a sy stem

BS ISO 15 8 -1:20 1 defines a records sy stem as an “information sy stem which

ca tures, manag es and prov ides ac es to records throug h time” an records as

“information c eated, receiv ed and maintained as ev idence and information b an

org anization or per on, in pur uance of leg al oblg ations or in the transaction of

busines ” So, records are integ ral to ‘doing busines ’ and BS ISO 15 8 -1:20 1 is

concerned with their manag ement ov er time fom conception to ‘retirement’ or

destruction

All records ha e:

• content, i.e information;

• context relating to the busines proces of which the record is a p rt; and

• structure, i.e format

It is c ucial to recog niz that records are fixed in time, in that they are the output of

an therefore ev idence of a p rticular transaction I the information contained in a

record is uti iz d and chang ed as p rt of another action the result is a new record of a

diferent transaction

I records are to be authoritativ e then they should demonstrate p rticular

characteristic which set them a art fom some other forms of information, for

instance, publshed information that mig ht be boug ht or acquired at no cost They

should be:

• a uthentc, i.e what they claim to be, c eated or sent b the per on claimed to ha e

c eated them and at the time claimed;

• r elia ble, i.e trusted to be ful and ac urate representations of the busines

transactions;

• integr a l, i.e complete and u altered;

• usa ble, i.e locata le, retriev able, presenta le and interpreta le

Records systems should be ca a le, therefore, of sup orting the manag ement of record s

with these characteristic over time

You should also ensure that records sy stems manag e both the phy sical dimension and

the log ical dimension of the records The phy sical dimension is g eneraly as ociated

with the record ’s medium or format ( especialy in relation to p per records) and the

log ical dimension with its mes ag e or content ( especial y in relation to electronic

record s) But this is a rather simplstic as ociation

In the world of p per records, for ex mple, the physical dimension relates not only to

their format ( i.e structure) but also their context The physical ar ang ement and order

of records in a p per fi ng system, for instance, prov ides important information and

u d er tanding a out the busines or org anizational context of which they were a p rt

In the world of electronic records this is g eneral y not the case Althoug h electronic

record s can be bou d tog ether or ac es ed v ia org aniz d directory structures on a disk,

the bits an by tes that make them up are randomly stored on the disk So the v irtual

ar ang ement, i.e ‘phy sical’ d imension, of electronic record s do s not alway s prov ide

suficient information a out their context The context is therefore ca tured log icaly in

the form of meta ata ( i.e d ta a out the record)

The two concepts of records and records systems are v ery important Howev er, the

interpretation of the terms can v ry f om one org anization to another In some

org anizations a record is considered to be a sing le document, for ex mple a contract In

other org anizations a record is a col ection of related documents, for ex mple al of the

documentation relating to a contract including cor espondence, initial bid s, etc which

are manag ed tog ether and ‘fixed ’ as the definitiv e record at some point in time, perha s

when the contract is ag re d or completed

The terminolog y should be used in a wa that makes sense in your p rticular busines

context and ensures that the aim is to me t the characteristic and requirements

outl ned a ov e

2.2 What do rec ords sy st ems inv olv e?

Because records are fixed, your records systems should document records transactions,

i.e al proces es or actions as ociated with indiv idual records ( se

BSISO 15 8 -1:20 1, 8.3.2) This can be achieved in one of two way s either by :

i at aching , as ociating or embed ing d ta a out these proces es or actions with the

record, these d ta are usualy refer ed to as meta ata; or b

i ca turing the detai s in the form of an audit trai

In either case y ou should ke p the detai s of the transactions ( i.e the meta ata or audit

trai for at least as long as y ou ke p the records to which they relate

In a dition to documenting records transactions, manag ing records ov er time within

record s sy stems involv es the fol owing operations:

• storag e and protection of the physical medium, including busines contin ity

plan ing and disaster prev ention;

• distributed manag ement, i.e the use of alternative locations for the phy sical storag e

of records in any med ium;

• conv er ion and mig ration as a result of a system chang e, for instance conv er ion

f om p per to electronic format or mig ration fom one software a pl cation to

another;

• ac es , retriev al and use which ne d to be control ed to ensure the integ rity of the

records as wel as eficient ac es ;

• retention and disposition which can be audited ; idealy retention decisions should be

ma e at the point of records c eation or system desig n and , where a propriate,

disposition should be activ ated automatical y

For further information a out these aspects of a records sy stem, se

BSISO15 8 -1:20 1, 8.3

In summary then, records sy stems sup ort the manag ement of both phy sical ( med ium)

an log ical or intelectual ( mes ag e) aspects of records ov er time, i.e f om the point at

which they come into existence and for as long as they are ne ded This is to ensure

their authenticity, rel a i ity and integ rity, for ev idential purposes, and their usa i ity

for corporate/ busines purposes, i.e for ‘competitive’ a v antag e

met hodology

3.1 Int roduc t ion

Hav ing esta l shed the role and purpose of records and the busines ne d s for systems

to manag e them, the chaleng e is to d esig n and implement such systems How can this

be d one?

This section shows you how to use one methodolog y which is b sed on the g eneric

principles of sy stems analy sis and desig n but which has be n specifical y tai ored for

desig ning and implementing a records system The eig ht step methodolog y , k own as

DIRKS ( Desig n and Implementation of RecordKe ping Systems), fir t a peared in the

Austral an records manag ement stand rd, AS4 9 -3:19 6,6.2and is the one refer ed

to in BSISO15 8 -1:20 1, 8.4

The National Ar hiv es of Austral a, initial y with State Records New South W ales,

dev eloped a DIRKS Man al [ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [4] to ‘prov ide org anizations with practical

g uid nce on using the methodolog y’ se Section 2 of Part 1 of the DIRKS Manual [1]

S bsequently State Records New South W ales ha e released their own ver ion of the

DIRKS Manual which takes ac ou t of the specific jurid ical context

1

The aim of this

g uide is not to cov er the DIRKS methodolog y in the same lev el of detai, but instea to

sug g est how DIRKS mig ht be a pled in a p rticular org anization to achiev e the

required outcomes

3.2 What is DIR K S?

The DIRKS methodolog y comprises eig ht steps which are refer ed to b let er

Step A:Prelminary investig ation

Step B:Analy sis ofbusines activ ity

1

Av ila le ia the Nato nal Archive s o f Aus tralia’ s we bs ite t htp:/w w.na go v.au/re cord e eping/dirks /dirks man

an the S tate Records New S outh Wales web s ite t htp :/w w.record nsw.gov.au/p ub lics ector/DIRK finalt le.htm

Bo th manuals are xtensiv e an v ery detailed

Step C:Id entification of recordke ping

2

requirements

Step D:Asses ment of existing sy stems

Step E:Id entification of strateg ies for recordke ping

Step F:Desig n of a recordke ping system

Step G:Implementation of a recordke ping sy stem

Step H:Post- mplementation review

Steps A to C are a out ‘doing the rig ht thing s’ whist steps D to H are a out ‘doing

thing s rig ht’ The fir t thre steps can be p rticularly resour e intensiv e and u les

your org anization is fairly smal and/or has relatively straig htforward busines

proces es, these steps wi require the k owledg e and ski ls of a mix of diferent pe ple

In a dition to the record s manag ement staf, or the per on( s) with responsibi ity for

manag ing records, IT and systems pe ple, project manag er , busines ex erts and,

most importantly , the user and c eator of records are l kely to be inv olved

Tog ether these eig ht steps make for a rig orous a proach to desig n and implementation

which can take time an money but, as Section 3 of Part 1 of the DIRKS Manual [ 1]

points out, a opting this a proach can help to:

• under tan the busines , reg ulatory and social contexts in which y our org anization

operates and to develop a busines case for rev iewing your records sy stems;

• identify y our org anization’s recordke ping requirements b analy sing its busines

activ ities and env ironmental factor ;

• as es the extent to which y our org anization’s cur ent strateg ies ( such as its

pol cies, procedures and use of IT) satis y its record s requirements;

• either red esig n cur ent strateg ies or dev elop new ones to a dres any requirements

which are not being met or are po rly satis ied;

• implement, maintain and rev iew the records manag ement strateg ies

It is important to remember that y ou do not neces ari y hav e to conduct the eig ht steps

in the proces sequentialy Parts of some steps can be conducted at the same time as

other a p rently earl er steps and y our starting point wi depend on the cur ent status

of records manag ement within y our org anization The proces is potentialy iterative

with fe d back lo ps betwe n diferent steps These lo ps are i lustrated in the DIRKS

methodolog y diag ram in Section 4 of Part 1 of the DIRKS Man al [1] which is

reprod uced in PDISO/ TR15 8 -2:20 1, 3.2.1 ( Note that the ac ony m DIRS has be n

used in PD ISO/TR15 8 -2:20 1 instead of DIRKS.)

3.3 What is t he stat us of rec ords management in y our

organizat ion?

Giv en this overv iew of the DIRKS method olog y and the per eived benefits of a opting

it, the folowing statements should be considered so that an initial as es ment of where

your org anization cur ently is, in terms of manag ing its records, can be ma e

2

Note the use of the term ‘record ke ping ’ here rather than the term ‘records sy stem’ which is the prefer ed

term of BSISO1 4 9-1:2 0 an therefore of this g uide

Assessme t scale: SA= stro gly agre , A= agre , D = disagre , SD = stro glydisagre

W ith the exception of the last statement, if the outcome of y our as es ment is mostly

‘ag re ’ or ‘strong ly ag re ’ then your org anization is clearly alrea y some wa towards

manag ing its records and prob bly has a strong commitment to doing so There ma be

diferent reasons for this There ma be a champion Your org anization ma operate in

a reg ulated environment Ma be y our org anization is information intensiv e, or there

ma be some other reason Perha s a s are story prompted action

I many or some of your as es ments are ‘disag re ’ or ‘strong ly disag re ’ then you ha e

further to g o but, the fact that you are rea ing this g uide sug g ests y ou are interested in

implementing the records manag ement stand rd, and improving the wa records are

manag ed in your org anization

Hav ing reflected broa ly on the cur ent records situation in your org anization, and

with the overview ofone methodolog y for desig ning and implementing records sy stems,

the most a propriate overal a proach or strateg y to take in uti zing this methodolog y

ne ds to be considered

Asses me t

SA/A/D /SD

Polc ies a d stan ards (or rec ords) are in plac e

Proc ed res a d/or g id ln s are in plac e

Th re is se ior ma a eme t su p rt or ma a in o r rec ords

R esp nsibi t ies for ma a in rec ords h v e b e as ig e

R ec ords ma a eme t serv ic es ex ist e.g st ora e, a v ic e, d st ruc t io )

S pec ific rec ords ma a eme t sy st ems ex ist

R ec ords ma a eme t u c t io alt y is b it int o ITsy st ems

R ec ords are prot ec t ed (p y sic al sec urit y a d/or ac c es rest ric t io s)

Ab sin s c ont in it y /disast er pla c ov ers rec ords

L g l/re ulat ory re uireme ts are k now n

Th re is a p y sic al sp c e pro lem relat in t o rec ords

R ec ords are retain d for sp c ifie p rio s

Th re is a elec t ro ic st ora e/sy st em resp nse t ime pro lem

S tan ards w hic h h v e a rec ords dime sio are in plac e

(e.g B ENISO9 0 series, B EN14 01, B ISO/IEC17 9 , B 7 9 -1,

B 7 9 -2)

Th org nizat io h s h d a p sit iv e ex perie c e (i.e a suc c es st ory ) d e t o

a pro riat e rec ords ma a eme t

Th org nizat io h s h d a n g t iv e ex perie c e (i.e a sc are st ory ) d e t o

in d q at e rec ords ma a eme t

3.4 What ov eral approac h should y ou tak e?

Depending on the time, money and other resour es that can be ma e a ai a le, y ou

ma ha e to a a t the wa in which y ou use DIRKS You ma decide to take one of the

folowing a proaches:

• Core functions

Focus on core fu ctions, i.e those fu ctions which are specific to the sector in which

you work; for ex mple they ma be drug d evelopment in the pharmaceutical sector,

teaching or resear h in the aca emic sector, transactions in the financial services

sector

• Non-core fu ctions

Focus on common or non-core fu ctions, i.e those fu ctions which sup ort any and al

org anizations to do ‘busines ’ these includ e, for ex mple, finance, per on el and other

a ministrative functions which are often hig hly transactional in nature and g enerate

larg e quantities of records This ma be an a propriate focus if phy sical sp ce or

sy stem response times are an is ue

• Part of the org anization

Focus on one area of the org anization, for ex mple an area or dep rtment which is

prep ring for a major audit or review, is a out to be relocated or is a out to be

re-structured

• DIRKS steps in sequence

Complete steps A to C fir t, so that y ou make a d etai ed as es ment of the rig ht thing s

to do, fol owed b step D in which you as es y our existing systems ag ainst the ‘ideal’

requirements identified

• DIRKS steps in p ral el

Conduct step A and p rts of step D concur ently so that, at the same time as y ou are

car y ing out your prelminary investig ation, you are also making an inventory or

surv ey of y our cur ent sy stems; this a proach has the obv ious potential benefit of

eficiency

• DIRKS steps out of sequence

Beg in with step D and use the results to esta lsh a busines case for a more extensiv e

record ke ping project ( se Section D4 of Part 2 of the DIRKS Manual [ 2])

3.5 What informat ion w il y ou need t o support t he DIR K S

met hodology ?

In a ply ing the DIRKS methodolog y y ou wi l ne d ac es to a wid e rang e of

information sour es You wi l often use the same information sour e for more than one

purpose, i.e in more than one step, but it takes time to g ather and ma be more or les

rea i y av aia le For instance, some of the information ma be ex l citly recorded in

documents of v rious ty pes but other information wi l be tacit, i.e in the minds of

pe ple in the org anization An as es ment should be ma e in terms of the av aia i ity

of or ac es to the main ty es of information required to sup ort the use of DIRKS

Assessme t scale: A= avaia le, AU = avaia le a d a tvelyused, IP= in prep arato , N = n eds to

b prep ared

Because y ou and/or other can use some of these information sour es in more than one

step, you ne d to decide on how best to record the information So, before you beg in y ou

should decide on some systematic mechanism for record ing what information y ou use

an what y ou find There ma be a method for documenting information sour es in

common use alrea y in y our org anization, for ex mple a Lotus Notes Library , a

d ta ase or a section of y our intranet I there is not, then you could use or a a t the

template provided in Ap endix 5 of Part 3 of the DIRKS Manual [3] or the DIRKS

Documentation Data ase [5]

3.6 S t ep-by -st ep guide t o DIRKS

Int roduct ion

Hav ing introduced the DIRKS proces the next step is to consider what each of the

eig ht steps inv olves This wi l neces ariy be at a mac o lev el but it wi l ena le y ou to

make an initial ‘desk-b sed ’ as es ment of where you cur ently are in y our org anization

in terms ofmanag ing record s It should alow y ou to formulate a picture of what is

being done, what is important and why it is important W orking throug h the proces in

this ‘quick and dirty ’ man er wi help you to become more fami iar with the proces in

anticip tion of actual y using it It wi also help you to prep re an action plan which

outl nes how you are g oing to me t y our org anization’s record s manag ement

requirements

St ep A : prel minary inv est igat ion

Collect infr ma tion fr om documenta r y sour ce a nd thr ough inter views; identf

a nd document the r ole a nd pur pos o the or ga niza tion, is str uctur e, is lega l,

regula tory, busine s a nd polit ca l envir onment, critca l fa ctor s a nd cr itca l

wea kne s s a ssocia ted wi h r ecor ds ma na gement Se BSISO15 8 -1:20 1, 8.4

A sses me t

A/AU/IP/N

Ta i informato :

• y our k now le g of t he org nizat io ;

• t he k now le g , ex perie c e a d ex pert i e of ot her p o le in y our org nizat io

The main activities an major outputs of this fir t step are shown in Fig ure1.

Figure 1 Flowc art ofmain a tivitie a d major outputs for ste A: prelmin ry in estig tio

The purpose of Step A is to:

• provide y ou with an u der tand ing of the a ministrative, leg al, busines and social

contexts in which y our org anization operates;

• identify major factor influencing the ne d to c eate and maintain records in y our

• provide a g eneral a preciation of your org anization’s main streng ths and

weak es es in manag ing its records; and

• provide a firm b sis on which to s ope a record s project and present a busines case

to manag ement

3

Giv en the purpose of this fir t step and its key output, a report to manag ement

prov iding the busines case for a record s manag ement project or initiative, how would

you summariz the cur ent situation and cur ent per eptions in your org anization? The

fol owing questions should be answered b sed on y our own k owledg e an ex erience

an d rawing on your responses to the initial as es ment ( se 3.2)

Based on y our answer to the a ov e questions and any other relev nt k owled g e y ou

hav e, using Fig ure2, how would y ou as es the main streng ths, weak es es,

op ortunities and threats in relation to manag ing your org anization’s records

3

This is b sed on PDISO/ TR1 4 9-2:2 0

I your org anization in the priv ate or publc sector

In es ence what d oes y our org anization do ( e.g prov id e a serv ice, man facture g ood s)?

W hat is your org anization’s cur ent strateg ic focus ( e.g ex ansion into a new market,

focus on new or specific product or serv ice lnes)?

How is y our org anization structured ( e.g hierar hical, project b sed, busines u its)

and where is it located ( e.g in one or a few places, g lob l ? W here do diferent

activ ities take place?

How would y ou des ribe the org anizational culture ( e.g power, task, role, per on)? [6]

I your org anization risk a er e?

Do y ou operate in a hea iy reg ulated env ironment or operate within specific

reg ulations

Are you subject to ex lcit recordke ping requirements throug h laws or the

reg ulations/ stand ards of external authorities

I there a sy stematic a proach to manag ing records in any p rt( s) of y our

org anization ( e.g b sed on pol cies, procedures and recog niz d responsibi ities)?

Are staf aware of the ne d to manag e record s, has there be n any training ?

I your org anization predominantly p per-b sed, electronic or a mixture of these plus

other media?

To what extent are information and commu ication tech olog ies used to sup ort

busines operations

W hat are the key driv er for manag ing records in y our org anization ( e.g compl ance,

competitiv e a v antag e, eficiency, ev idence, statutory obl g ation, other )

Any obv ious immed iate priorities in relation to manag ing y our org anization’s records

should be as es ed, for ex mple d eveloping procedures to me t forthcoming leg islation,

dev eloping a new electronic sy stem for sup orting a core busines proces more

eficiently and efectiv ely This ena les a picture to be buit up of what mig ht be

important in car y ing out this step in y our org anization I it lkely to be a sig nificant

u d ertaking or is evidence and input rea iy av aia le to bui d the neces ary busines

case? Inde d is there a busines case to be bui t or is there alrea y widesprea sup ort

for the implementation and/ or improv ement of records sy stems

Figure 2 SWO T a alysis

St ep B: analysis of business act ivit y

Collect inf r ma tion fr om documenta r y sour ce a nd thr ough inter views; identf

a nd document ea ch busine s fu cton, a ctviy a nd tr a nsa ct on a nd e ta blish a

hier a r chy o them, tha t is, a busine s cla ssifica tion system a nd id ent f a nd

document the flow o busine s pr oc s e a nd the tr a nsa ct ons which compr is

them Se BSISO15 8 -1:20 1, 8.4

The main activities an major outputs of the second step are shown in Fig ure3

The purpose of the busines activ ity analy sed is to:

• dev elop a conceptual model of what y our org anization do s and how it do s it;

• demonstrate how records relate to y our org anization’s busines and busines

proces es;

• prov ide an informed analysis and information to sup ort later decision making

a out the c eation, ca ture, control, storag e, disposition and ac es to records – this

is especialy important in the context of electronic sy stems which wi not ca ture

an retain record s u les they hav e be n specificaly desig ned to do so

(e.g new managemen resourc es, (e.g au it , lt i at ion, lost

merger/ de-merger, legislat ion s c h as re utat ion/rev en e)

Fre dom of Informat ion)

Fig re 3 Flowch art ofm a in a tivitie s an d m ajoroutp uts for ste p B: an aly is ofb usin e ss a tivity

This step involv es two main tasks, a fu ctional analysis an the usual y more detai ed

proces analy sis These analy ses ha e potential uses beyond the desig n of records

sy stems A functional analysis can be used to identify g aps and duplcation in, for

instance, resour ing , to identify priorities and op ortu ities for outsour ing or new

way s of working Proces analysis can be used as input to contin ous improvement and

other qualty manag ement sy stems Inde d, althoug h this step ma a pear d u ting ,

you ma find that simi ar analy ses hav e alread y be n cond ucted for other purposes, for

ex mple for the BSENISO 9 0 series, an that y ou can uti z them

act ivitie a dt r an act io s (t he 'wh t ')

A b sin s cla sif icat io sch me

b s d o t his ma

I you hav e never conducted a fu ctional or proces analysis before then y ou should try

to answer the fol owing questions to g ain a sense of what they inv olve

In principle these analy ses are straig htforward , thoug h in practice they can be ta ing

and / or time-consuming to complete In some org anizations they ma be the remit of

other per onnel, such as busines analy sts, in which case their as istance or prev ious

work can be useful y enl sted W hatev er the situation, the analy ses should be se n as a

help rather than a hindrance and therefore conducted only at a level of d etai which is

a propriate for your org anization For ex mple, the output of y our fu ctional analy sis

wi be a hierar hical ma , much lke an org anization chart or famiy tre , which forms

the b sis of a busines clas ification s heme This s heme can be used to name

electronic directories on shared network drives, to name folder and fies and to

determine the retention of records I your org anization is relativ ely smal and not

especial y complex, then the analy sis and the busines clas ification s heme should not

be d etaied and complex I, on the other hand, y our org anization is g lob l an shares a

lot of information and record s, then efort put into these analyses wi l rea benefits at a

later stag e

St ep C: ident ificat ion of requirements for records

Collect inf r ma tion fr om documenta r y sour ce a nd thr ough inter views; identf

the r equir ements fr evidenc o a nd infr ma tion a bout ea ch busine s funct on,

a ctviy a nd tr a nsa cton which should be sa tisfied through r ecor ds The

requir ements ca n be der ived fr om a n a na lysis o the or ga niza tion’s r egula tor y

envir onment a nd the r isk o not cr ea ting a nd ma inta ining the r ecor ds D etermine

how ea ch r equir ement ma y be sa tisfiedthr ough r ecor ds ma na gement pr oc s e ,

a nd a r ticula te a nd document the r equir ements fr recor ds Cho s the

a ppr opria te r ecord s structur e which be t sa tisfie ea ch busine s funct on, a ct viy

o tr a nsa cton Se BSISO15 8 -1:20 1,8.4

W hat d oes y our org anization exist to do, what are its g oals ( e.g make a profit,

prov ide a serv ice, help other )?

W hat are the broa fu ctions or main responsibi ties that are u dertaken in the

org anization to achieve its g oals ( e.g a u iv er ity mig ht identify teaching and

learning , resear h an ad ministration as its broa fu ctions)?

W hat are the busines c itical fu ctions that ne d to contin e in the ev ent of a

disaster if y our org anization is to surv ive?

For one of the functions identified what are the main activ ities or tasks which are

per ormed to ac omplsh that fu ction ( e.g prep ring bids, conducting projects and

d is eminating results are some of the activ ities as ociated with the resear h fu ction)?

W hat transactions are as ociated with one of the activ ities identified ( e.g distribute a

draft bid for comment, receiv e comments on a draft, send the final bid to the fu d ing

ag ency )?

Can y ou identify a busines proces that cuts ac os functions ( e.g staf a praisal,

stud ent a ministration)?

For one proces what are the tasks as ociated with it and what records are or should

be g enerated?

The main activities and major outputs of this step are shown in Fig ure4.

Figure 4 Flowc art ofmain a tivitie a d major outputs for ste C:

ide tific tio ofreq u ireme ts for re ords

The purpose of the third and final step in terms of ‘doing the rig ht thing s’ is to:

• identify y our org anization’s requirements for making , receiv ing and retaining

records of its busines activities for ac ou ta i ty and operational purposes

( internal and external, leg al, a ministrativ e or societal ;

• document the records requirements in a structured and easy to maintain form;

• as es y our org anization’s ex osure to risk if these requirements are not met;

• provide a b sis for desig ning record s sy stems and a benchmark for measuring the

per ormance of cur ent sy stems

5

It is dificult to be sure when al of the requirements for c eating and ke ping records

hav e be n identified How long is a piece of string ? And it can be chal eng ing to rea

and interpret the record s requirements of laws and reg ulations – some requirements

are implcit rather than ex l cit To help y ou prep re for u dertaking this step consid er

the folowing questions

The answer to these questions help to bui d up a picture of who in your org anization

can provid e information and practical help for this step I there is no risk manag ement

fu ction then y ou can use one of a rang e of publshed and relativ ely easy -to-use risk

as es ment g uidel nes [3] [7] Benchmarking and perormance measurement are

considered in BIP0 25-3:20 3

Completing this step is p rticularly important in relation to dev eloping a records

retention or disposal s hedule, one of the key to ls for sup orting the practical

manag ement of records ( Se 4.3)

St ep D: assessment of ex ist ing syst ems

Ident f a nd a na lys existng r ecor ds systems a nd other inf r ma tion systems to

mea sur e their per forma nc a ga inst the r equir ements fr recor ds Se

BSISO15 8 -1:20 1,8.4

Step D is the fir t of the steps which focus on ‘doing thing s rig ht’ an the main

activ ities and major outputs of this step are shown in Fig ure5

5

This is b sed on PDISO/ TR1 4 9-2:2 0

W hat are the major k own records requirements ( leg al, busines or other)?

W ho, in your org anization, can help to fi the g aps, confirm requirements, ke p the

requirements up-to-d ate ( e.g leg al d ep rtment, per onnel, comp ny sec etary,

tech ical director )?

W hat would be the best wa of d ocumenting records requirements, including their

sour e, an who could do this ( e.g a d ta ase)?

I any one in y our org anization responsible for risk manag ement an could they as ist

in conducting the risk as es ment activity in this step?

The purpose of step D is to:

• survey your org anization’s existing records and other information sy stems;

• measure or as es the extent to which these sy stems ca ture an maintain the

records of your org anization’s busines activ ities;

• identify g aps betwe n existing sy stems’ ca a i ties and record s requirements;

• provide a b sis for redesig ning cur ent systems and/or developing new sy stems

6

It is worth noting the, perha s subtle, but important d iference betwe n information

an records systems Records systems are p rticular ty es or ex mples of information

sy stems whose key characteristic is to maintain the evidential v alue of the records So,

a p per-b sed fi ng sy stem in a per onnel dep rtment is a records sy stem, as is an

electronic stock ord ering sy stem; a d ta ase of financial movements ma or ma not be

a records system The c itical diferences are that records can ot be chang ed whereas

information can be dy namic an records are the ev idence of a busines proces or

transaction whereas information is not neces ari y related to a busines transaction

Figure 5 Flowc art ofmain a tivitie a d major outputs for ste D :

assessme t ofe istin systems

r ecor ds syst ems

An lys h w wel t hey

me t the pr ior itize r ecor ds

Aninve t or y of exist in r ecor ds

a d inf or mat io syst ems

In prep ring to complete step D there are two key areas to consider: how to make a

surv ey of y our org anization’s systems and how to conduct the g ap analy sis Consid er

the folowing questions

Section D.4.2 of Part 2 of the DIRKS Man al [2] prov ides an ex mple of how to

a proach a g ap analy sis

St ep E: ident ificat ion of st rat egies for sat isfying records requirements

Ident f str a tegie fr sa tisfing recor ds r equirements, which ma y include

a d optng policie , sta nda r ds, pr oc dur es a nd pr a ctc s, designing new systems

a nd implementng systems in a wa y which sa tisfie a r equirement f r r ecord s

Str a tegie ma y be a pplied to ea ch r ecor ds r equir ement s pa r a tely o in

combina tion Str a tegie should be s lected on the ba sis o the degr ee o r isk

inv lved thr ough fa ilur e to sa tisf a r equir ement, eiher wihin the busine s

fu ct on which the r ecor ds system is intended to sup or t, the existng systems

envir onment o the corpor a te cultur e in which the str a tegy should suc e d Se

BSISO15 8 -1:20 1,8.4

The main activities an major outputs of this step are shown in Fig ure6

The purpose of this step quite simply is to:

• determine the most a propriate pol cies, proced ures, stand rds and to ls for your

org anization to use to satis y its requirements for c eating , ca turing and

maintaining records

7

The main ‘strateg ies’ ( sometimes confusing ly refer ed to as ‘tactic ’) sug g ested in the

DIRKS methodolog y are the use of:

• pol cies, i.e statements of intent;

• desig ns, i.e the specification of sy stem functionalty ( especial y IT b sed systems);

• implementation to ls, i.e practical solutions to help the records c eator and user

( e.g the config uration of the electronic sy stem, the desig n of directory structures

and fie plans, or tips and g uidel nes on using sy stems, for instance emai systems);

7

This is b sed on PDISO/ TR1 4 9-2:2 0

Has a survey of record s/ i formation sy stems be n completed in the p st and , if so,

could it be used as it stands or as a b sis for up ating ?

Do y ou hav e a survey technique y ou can use? I not could y ou a a t one which is

publcly av ai a le? The The National Ar hiv es has recently publshed one for

electronic records colections but it could be ad apted to cov er al records and

information systems and simplfied depend ing on y our context [8]

Do y ou or do s anyone else in the org anization hav e any practical ex erience of

conducting g ap analyses

How can y ou conduct a g ap analy sis in a simple but efectiv e way ? Can you turn your

requirements lst f om the last step into a series of questions to which the answer

would be either Yes, No or In Proces ?

Are there any other methods y ou could a opt to as es how wel y our org anization’s

records and information sy stems me t its records requirements

• stand ards which can relate to any and al aspects of a records system, f om training

to d ocumentation to storag e cond itions an formats, etc

Figure 6 Flowc art ofmain a tivitie a d major outputs forste E: ide tific tio of

strate ie for satisfyin re ords req uireme ts