Five Areas That Will Need Your Attention When Implementing M-12-18The 2011 Presidential Directive on Managing Government Records, called M-12-18, was clarified in an implementing directive in August 2012. Many agencies are still coming to grips with the idea that managing government information resources will demand more electronic record handling and less reliance on paper. The reliance on paper as a way to process transactions and activities may no longer be the most effective, efficient, or sometimes even the most secure way to accomplish an agency’s information management objectives.The good news is that there are plenty of products and tools on the market that can help agencies implement and support these goals. However, buyers beware! If you try to implement just ANY electronic records management (ERM) product without first preparing both your organization and your information management strategy for the implementation, you may waste lots of time and money trying to retrofit old practices into a new electronic landscape. This paper identifies five areas that require attention before and during an ERM implementation to align a government agency with the objectives of the directive: efficiency, transparency and accountability.IQ Business GroupIQBG_2fcce552-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb6Your organization can most certainly find many companies that address one or more of these five key RM areas. However, having a provider that has all these practice areas together in a proven framework, working on your behalf, reduces confusion and time-consuming hand-offs from one consulting group to another. Using one provider in turn reduces project implementation costs, speeds implementation time and helps your organization move more securely into 21st century records management practices and technologies.Jack FrostVP-Federal GroupCarol BrockVP-Information GovernancePricilla EmeryPrincipal Information Management (State and Local)All permanent records are managed in electronic format _2fcce553-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb6To identify areas that require attention before and during an ERM implementation to align a government agency with the objectives of the M-12-18 directive: efficiency, transparency and accountability._2fcce554-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb6TransparencyThe Directive requires Federal agencies to implement electronic recordkeeping to ensure transparency, efficiency, and accountability of government activities. EfficiencyAccountabilityElectronic RecordsIn order to achieve those goals, agencies must manage all permanent records in electronic format by the year 2019 and manage all permanent and temporary e-mail records in an accessible electronic format by the year 2016.Records SchedulesSimplify Your Records Schedules_2fcce5ac-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb61ERM’s are excellent tools to help organizations manage the retention and eventual disposition of large volumes of electronic records, including e-mails and other electronic content. With careful planning, even your legacy physical records can be tracked by the ERM system. ERMs are not really effective at understanding and interpreting nuance, however, so automating traditional records schedules is not a suitable option for success. Retention policies, procedures and schedules should be reviewed and revised to take the nuance out of the instructions for retaining permanent records. Making sure your retention schedules are clear and unambiguous can make implementing ERM systems easier to configure and manage. Most ERMs can support event-driven retentions but a record that is subject to multiple events, screenings and other caveats before disposition can make implementing an ERM much more complicated than is sometimes warranted. Update your retention schedules with simplified, functional schedules. Big Buckets should be considered as one way of organizing schedules to simplify the ERM implementation process. ERM systems do not create records schedules – they manage them. Large, complex schedules add time and cost not just to the initial implementation of the system but to the ongoing maintenance and administration of the system as well. In fact, large government agencies should consider going beyond Big Buckets and move toward the development of Super Buckets. Use Big Buckets when functional retention schedules are to be created for a single organization. Use Super Buckets when functional retention schedules are created for multiple organizations under an umbrella organization, such as, multiple bureaus in a Department._2fcce67e-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb6TrainingTrain Records Management Staff_2fcce764-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb62Records Management StaffTo prepare for electronic records management, records management staff need exposure to multiple systems; learning about the strengths and weaknesses of each system and the business process redesign enabled by moving to electronic records. To acquire this ERM information, staff needs access to vendors, trade shows, and their peers. Visiting agencies that have already implemented ERM and identifying lessons-learned and best practices from those with ERM experience provides RM staff with models for their own choices and implementation._2fcce840-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb6Change ManagementEstablish a Change Management Initiative_2fcce99e-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb63Project ManagersAgency AttorneysTraining ProfessionalsInformation Technology StaffRecords ManagersEstablishing a change management initiative is necessary to make sure all stakeholders that should be involved at different stages of the ERM implementation are fully engaged in the process. Stakeholders include project managers from affected organizational areas of change, agency attorneys, training professionals, information technology staff, security, records managers and liaisons and anyone else that will be impacted by these changes. A comprehensive change management initiative addresses communication, engages the stockholders, provides the right training at the right time, and identifies and mitigates resistance._2fccea66-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb6The CloudEmbed Records Management Requirements in the Cloud_2fcceb2e-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb64Using cloud architectures can save agencies millions of dollars each year in infrastructure and software licensing costs. Not all clouds are created equal and not all records management software has been sufficiently optimized to operate effectively in the cloud. ERM in the cloud is not just finding the right cloud or on premise solution but includes defining the security, access and privacy practices that will need to be supported by the ERM in the cloud. ERM systems can be architected to provide limited access from the top folder level down to the document level. What elements within the records will need to be redacted? Who will have access? How will public/citizen access to information be managed? These questions demand thoughtful analysis, precision and experience to make sure records are protected._2fccebec-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb6ProcessesMake Government Work Smarter_2fccecbe-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb65Although not expressly written in the directive the underlying message is that using electronic records can make internal processes more efficient and cost effective than dealing with paper records. ProceduresRevise procedures to take advantage of new technologies_2fccee26-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb65.1Assess your agency’s procedures and revise them to take advantage of the new technologies available to support them. Forms ManagementRethink business processes involving forms management_2fcceef8-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb65.1.1For example, paper-based forms do not have to continue to look and feel like paper in an electronic world. Forms are meant to gather data to support a process. Electronic forms processing has come a long way in just the last several years and rethinking business processes involving forms management can save time and money.E-mail RecordsDetermine how to process e-mail records_2fccefd4-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb65.1.2As part of your assessment, remember, e-mails are records too and how your organization processes e-mails can have a significant impact on the efficiency of its email archiving and records management efforts. Transitory E-mailDefine and establish a policy for handling transitory (a record of temporary usefulness) versus non-transitory e-mails._2fccf0a6-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb65.1.2.1Ultra-Transitory E-mailCreate a procedure for managing ultra-transitory (e-mail automatically machine generated by a transaction as a confirmation of a machine activity) e-mails in the mix. _2fccf182-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb65.1.2.2Type DefinitionDefine what types of e-mails fit the category of transitory_2fccf308-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb65.1.2.3Transitory or non-record e-mail does not need to be archived. Define what types of e-mails fit the category of transitory by asking how long will they be kept and what approach will be taken to avoid “filling up” your organization’s records archive with transitory messages. Processes need to be defined in order to manage all these different scenarios.ExpertiseEvaluate the expertise on hand to manage and implement these practices_2fccfd58-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb66Experienced Practitioners Can Help Speed Up and Smooth Out the Path to Compliance -- Now you have an understanding of the five areas that need to be considered in order to move forward in implementing the Presidential Directive. The next step is to evaluate the expertise on hand to manage and implement these practices. Having a solutions partner, such as IQ Business Group (IQBG), which has real experience in all these practice areas can help speed the progress of your ERM initiative. This in turn will help your organization attain the efficiencies and cost benefits that support a true business case for complying with the Presidential Directive.Retention SchedulesWork with a Company That Has Expertise in Guiding Retention Schedule Optimization._2fccff74-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb66.1NARADepartment of the InteriorIn order for one of IQBG’s largest clients, the Department of the Interior (DOI), to better facilitate the planned use of auto-classification technology to manage over 66 million new e-mails each month, Super Bucket retention schedules were defined. Auto-classification is a computer-automated process of classifying records. In preparation for auto-classification, IQBG facilitated the process of consolidating its 200 retention schedules with 2,330 retention instructions from 14 Bureaus and Offices by mapping the schedules to functional lines of business. The result was a reduced set of schedules aligned into 4 Super Buckets with 37 lines of business and 207 retention instructions. DOI’s new schedule alignment is not just relevant for e-mails but all electronic content that must be retained as a record. Small Government AgenciesIn addition, although the DOI is a very large organization (~90K employees), IQBG also has experience with providing this guidance to smaller government agencies with different retention requirements.IQBG has records management professionals that understand the complexities of planning and implementing ERMs. From identifying opportunities for records retention and process simplification to managing the implementation of Super Buckets that will be compliant with NARA requirements, IQBG’s ERM practice area works with you to manage and complete these activities.The CloudWork with a Company That Has Expertise in Managing Records in the Cloud._2fccff75-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb66.2For many new cloud users the primary concern is the ability of the cloud provider to adhere to strict Federal security requirements and be able to support the large-scale needs of burgeoning electronic record repositories (including e-mail archives). IQBG is the provider helping the DOI implement e-mail Enterprise Records and Document Management System (eERDMS), the first Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) moderate-compliant, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud solution that addresses an entire Federal Cabinet’s records and information management issues. The eERDMS cloud solution was “stood-up” in 45 days. Scalability and security are a top priority for IQBG’s cloud services and the infrastructure is in place to support your agency’s needs.Change ManagementWork with a Company That Has Experience with Change Management._2fcd02c6-dcaa-11e3-aa6b-c83a73c0beb66.3Many organizations pay lip service to the idea of change management and just equate it to providing training and communications. While training and communication are indeed important components of change management, they are not the only activities that need to be managed well in order for an ERM implementation to be a success. IQBG’s Change Management practice provides a framework for project governance, communications management (both inside and outside the organization), user training and setting organizational expectations during the entire project implementation cycle. IQBG’s change management strategy is integrated into the implementation project plan.2014-05-15OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net