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 /