AIIM Knowledge Center Blog

Going Paperless: Take 2

 

Submitted by Alex Visser - AIIM

 

 

 

At the turn of the century we saw many slogans about the paperless office and clean desk policies, but in most case these efforts did not provide the benefits that they promised to deliver. More recently I have seen renewed focus and effort on this paperless working environment. The good news is that it seems these new efforts have had more success in meeting their goals. These efforts however have also started from a different concept than some of the early paperless offices and I believe that has been the key to the difference in success rate.

 

The first implementations often focused on just getting the paper off the desk. So at that point it was often more about scanning paper. For example one approach to the clean desk was that you had to throw out your printed version of a word document at the end of each day and then print it out again the next day to continue. Well off course the last part also has to do with our preference of reading things from paper rather than from a screen.

 

Nowadays however we look more at the value digital workflow can bring to the organisation and the paperless office as a consequence not the other way around. In research facilities for example documentation varied greatly by who would write them and the readability of these paper documents varied greatly too. So this led to a business problem, the learning effect for the organisation was not there because of inconsistency of the materials and the process efficiency was not there either. If you had to ask about some note that was written down you would have to disturb the person who wrote it.

 

Workflow solutions and use of template based documents solved this problem greatly and by having the document in a digital format the benefits were enhanced even more. The template “forced” all of the researchers to write similar type of notations. Because of this it was easier to compare research. The template enforced that notes were made which meant that there always some note versus the blank pages of old. The fact that these notations were digital meant that they were always accessible at all times without having to disturb research.

 

It seems to me that we have matured a bit in the last decade in regards to content management and paperless offices. We are now looking at process improvement and the benefits this brings versus the feeling of it being a fad that was around 10 years ago. Now I just hope it does not take another 10 years for this way of thinking to become mainstream.

 

Join us for training in the following locations:

 ECM

• Stockholm 03/09/10 - 03/12/10

· Toronto 03/23/10 - 03/26/10

· Kirkland 04/13/10 - 04/16/10

· Dallas 04/27/10 - 04/30/10

· San Diego 05/04/10 - 05/07/10

• Randburg 05/04/10 - 05/07/10

ERM

• London 03/09/10 - 03/12/10
• Miami     03/09/10 - 03/12/10
• Silver Spring    03/23/10 - 03/26/10
• Tampa     04/06/10 - 04/09/10
• Chicago   05/11/10 - 05/14/10
• Randburg 05/18/10 - 05/21/10
• London 06/22/10 - 06/25/10

 

We look forward to seeing you there. Do you have several individuals who need training? Contact us to find out how a private class can save you on registration costs.

 

Alex Visser – AIIM alex.visser@aiim.eu

 

Live from DC: Healthcare Debates

 

 Submitted by Bob Larrivee - AIIM

 

 

 

As I write this I cannot help but think about how cool this is that I can view/listen to this session with the President and members of the Senate and the Congress, live with options of access though TV or the internet. It certainly does align to the move for a more transparent government in that years ago you would not see or even be able to listen to such a session unless it was presented in bite sized pieces on the news. This also further confirms some of the data presented by University of California, San Diego’s Global Information Industry Center’s report titled “How Much Information?” about the availability and consumption of information of all types from all sources.

 

According to the study, without counting business information, Americans consumed approximately 1.3 trillion hours or roughly 12 hours of information daily. This would be equal to 3.6 zettabytes of information in total. Think about that for a minute, a zettabye is a million-million gigabytes and this is steadily growing. The question of course is one of what information is relevant to you and your interests. I have 1,100 channels with my cable service and more often than not, I find nothing of interest to watch which means I am filtering this information coming at me to determine what is relevant for me now.  This is something we must also do in life and in business.

 

What I am talking about is the value of information. What value does information bring or add to your business? Is it relevant to the decision making process? Does it bring value to your customers whether internal or external? What information do you capture and maintain as a result of its value? These are the challenges we face in our organizations and as such, should establish and publish information value guidelines for the user community. These guidelines would address areas like legal or regulatory requirements to retain the information and reasons for decision making and business continuity. What are the key bits of information?

 

In my view, we need to find ways and provide tools to help organizations sort through the zetta levels of information and capture that which has meaning and value. It is easy to say capture it all or capture none but reality is that we need to find a middle ground that makes sense and supports our business activity. While it is not an easy task, and can seem extremely daunting, with the right tools like metadata, taxonomic structure and technology it can be done effectively. In order to move forward you must assess what you have and what you need, plan on how you will determine value and capture valued information, implement your plan, and institute a continuous improvement effort to update and refine your practice regularly.

 

What say you? How do you assess the value of information? Do you have a story to tell? I want to hear from you.

 

Looking to learn more about intelligent information and process management?

 

Join us for the BPM Certificate course in:

San Francisco 05/25/10 - 05/28/10

 

Join us for the ECM Certificate course in:

Toronto 03/23/10 - 03/26/10

Kirkland 04/13/10 - 04/16/10

Dallas 04/27/10 - 04/30/10

San Diego 05/04/10 - 05/07/10

Denver 05/18/10 - 05/21/10

Calgary 05/25/10 - 05/28/10

Silver Spring 06/08/10 - 06/11/10

Houston 06/15/10 - 06/18/10

 

We look forward to seeing you there. Do you have several individuals who need training? Contact us to find out how a private class can save you on registration costs.

 

Bob Larrivee – AIIM blarrivee@aiim.org

Follow me on twitter – BobLarrivee and remember to visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org, AIIM’s free social network created just for you.

 

 

Who's watching your Health Records?

 

Submitted by Bob Larrivee - AIIM

 

 

 

 

Not unexpectedly, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has officially posted, as required by Section 13402(e)(4) of the HITECH Act, a list of breaches of unsecured health information that affects more than 500 individuals. In all the current listing presents 36 entities where breaches have been reported. These range in size from major hospitals to private practices. The information presented shows the following data on the breaches:

· State

· Approximate number of Individuals Affected

· Date of the Breach

· Type of Breach

· Location of Breached Information

 

While theft and/or Unauthorized Access dominate the list of breach types, there are a few entries indicating loss or misdirected email as the cause. The location of the information varies from paper and films to computers of all types to USB devices. The more dominant appears to be laptop computers. One of the questions that come to mind is accountability of such devices as laptops. What are the policies around their use and security? When in the office, are these tethered to a desk? One of the things we do not see in this list is prevention methods that were used, if any. Were the laptops with someone outside of the office and perhaps stolen from their car at the local Starbucks? 

 

In my opinion, the fact that HHS is now listing breaches is a good thing and I for one will visit regularly to see if any of my care providers show up there. (I would hope notification would be sent to me if I were among those affected.) I also think that as content and record stewards, it is up to the organization to put into place a strong governance policy on the proper use of the various tools provided, like laptops and USB drives, that include internal and external use and access. For example, never leave your laptop unattended in public places. This is something I see often while traveling. Someone working on a project gets up to refill coffee and leaves their laptop open and unattended while doing so. In some cases, leaving sight of the device and available for someone to read or take.

 

As a client/patient it might be in your best interest to ask your practitioner how they manage your information and what precautions they take in securing your private information. As a medical practitioner, or the content/records steward for said practitioner, it is time to assess your current information management practices and processes. What governance do you have in place to secure information and how do you audit the environment to monitor and track activity? If a breach should occur, what steps can you take to identify the source of the breach and what actions will you take to correct the breach and prevent it from happening in the future? The time to act is now, before you are listed.

 

What say you? How do you address information security and breach prevention? Do you have a story to tell? I want to hear from you.

 

Looking to learn more about intelligent information and process management?

 

Join us for the BPM Certificate course in:

San Francisco 05/25/10 - 05/28/10

 

 

Join us for the ECM Certificate course in:

Toronto 03/23/10 - 03/26/10

Kirkland 04/13/10 - 04/16/10

Dallas 04/27/10 - 04/30/10

San Diego 05/04/10 - 05/07/10

Denver 05/18/10 - 05/21/10

Calgary 05/25/10 - 05/28/10

Silver Spring 06/08/10 - 06/11/10

Houston 06/15/10 - 06/18/10

 

We look forward to seeing you there. Do you have several individuals who need training? Contact us to find out how a private class can save you on registration costs.

 

Bob Larrivee – AIIM blarrivee@aiim.org

Follow me on twitter – BobLarrivee and remember to visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org, AIIM’s free social network created just for you.

AIIM Member needs your help!

What do you think of this ECM conundrum?

 

An AIIM member is currently working on an ECM project with approx. 1,000 users. They have chosen to use the ECM solution for all kinds of documents -- formal (e.g. documents that need a signature) and informal (e.g., concepts) -- except non-work related documents. This aspect is now being criticized; the focus is shifting to capture only the formal documents, which is supposed to make things easier for users but leaves them with two kinds of document structures.

What do you recommend: focus on formal documents or implement a solution that captures both informal and formal documents?

 

To provide some guidance and advice, please go to the LinkedIn discussion. (Go there now)

Work Process Analysis for Records

 

Submitted by Carl Weise - AIIM

 

 

In 2008, ISO published ISO/TR 26122:2008.  This technical report describes a framework for conducting a work process analysis for those processes that are used to create and/or manage records. It consists of two types of analysis: a functional analysis to break functions into component work processes, and a sequential analysis within each process to identify the flow of information as the transactions progress.

 

An initial assessment has a number of goals.  First, it allows the implementation team to understand what the organization looks like in terms of its functional structure.  This might be provided in the form of an organizational chart.  Next, it attempts to determine how the organization actually works.  Often, organization charts are either out-of-date or do not reflect the reality of how work gets done.  The assessment seeks to determine which roles and groups perform which tasks and processes. The assessment provides a baseline understanding of existing processes for the rest of the records program and describes the organization “as-is”.  It can be used to identify areas of concern for the records program (and for the organization and its efficient operations, as a whole).  It also helps to prioritize attention and resources on the most critical areas in need of assistance.

 

There are a number of benefits to conducting this type of assessment before making significant decisions and changes regarding the records program.  First, the assessment helps to identify dependencies between processes and/or transactions.  Some processes and some transactions are isolated and stand alone, but many of them are interdependent – that is, the output of one transaction or process serves as the input to another one.  The assessment can also help to identify what types of records should be created and what information needs to be created or captured as part of the record. In some processes, the assessment can be used to isolate the points at which potential records are created or received within those processes. 

 

The assessment can serve to identify the contextual links between certain records.  This can be useful to determine how best to categorize and classify records.  This is also important because logically categorized and arranged records are easier to manage throughout their lifecycle. 

 

And finally, the assessment can be used to identify opportunities to integrate records capabilities directly into the process so that records management becomes an integrated part of the flow of the process rather than something that is an additional step, or afterthought.  As with most other analytical processes, you need to start by identifying the stakeholders and getting their buy-in for the assessment process. 

 

ISO/TR 26122:2008, Information and documentation – Work process analysis for records makes it clear that the first step in any process analysis is to review the context in which the organization operates.  This consists of two steps: a review of the regulatory environment and a review of the operational environment.  Part of this involves noting any mandatory standards of practice, which might be found in some industry sectors, but not others.

 

How about voluntary codes of conduct and codes of ethics which the organization has agreed to abide by?  It is important for organizations to adhere to their own rules and procedures – in fact, within records management generally, there is an argument that can be made that it is better to have no policy at all than to have one and not follow it. 

 

It is also important to consider community expectations.  Public sector organizations are considered to have a primary responsibility to their citizens and an expectation of openness, transparency, and accountability even where there are no specific statutes.  For private sector organizations, there is an expectation that the organization will not harm the public, or its shareholders, or its employees, even where that harm is simply bad publicity. This assessment also includes an examination of the organizational context of the work processes.  This involves identifying the work processes to be reviewed and whether they take place within a particular department, across departments, or even cross organizational boundaries.

 

This review should determine whether the processes are centralized or decentralized and who is responsible for the performance of them – both at the individual staff/transaction level and from a management perspective.  The review concludes by describing the framework that will be used to identify and break down functions, processes, and transactions and how they relate to each other. ISO/TR 26122:2008 is a worthwhile standard to procure and use.

 

Has anyone used this standard for a records management assessment within their own organization? What are your thoughts on this ISO standard for records management?

 

Join us for an ERM Certificate course in:

• Miami     03/09/10 - 03/12/10
• Silver Spring    03/23/10 - 03/26/10
• Tampa     04/06/10 - 04/09/10
• Chicago   05/11/10 - 05/14/10
• Toronto   06/22/10 - 06/25/10

 

Join us for an EMM Certificate course in:

• Chicago   03/16/10 - 03/19/10
• Silver Spring    05/04/10 - 05/07/10

 

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Carl Weise – AIIM    cweise@aiim.org

Also, visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org – AIIM’s free social network created just for you.

Capture those Tweets!

 

Submitted by Bob Larrivee - AIIM

 

 

On February 17, 2010 USA Today presented a brief online post titled

Tweeting for History. The focus of this article is on Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, his recent use of Twitter and the Presidential Records Act of 1978. According to his statements in a press briefing, any and all correspondence which includes emails and Tweets, is subject to the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and as such, will be captured as would any written product created as part of his duties with the White House.

 

There are two schools of thought on this topic, based upon who you talk to. One perspective is to prohibit the use of all such tools for communication purposes outside of the organization and the other view is to allow their use and capture the messages/content. I am in favor of the latter approach as I feel the use of new and emerging technologies is an essential part of growth and expansion into new markets. As such, I feel you need strong governance policies and processes on their use and responsibilities associated with the capture of the information generated.

 

I wanted to point this article out to you to once again stress the importance of such tools and the need to capture the information whether it be regulatory in nature as with the government or internal policy which if you do not have one, you should consider it and include it as soon as possible. Remember one thing, if it is created, and is associated to your business, you need to govern how it is used as not only is it an asset for communication, and it can also be a liability if not managed properly.

 

What say you? How do you address Twitter and Social Media use? Do you have a story to tell? I want to hear from you.

 

 

Looking to learn more about intelligent information and process management?

Join us for the BPM Certificate course in:

San Francisco 05/25/10 - 05/28/10

Join us for the ECM Certificate course in:

Toronto 03/23/10 - 03/26/10

Kirkland 04/13/10 - 04/16/10

Dallas 04/27/10 - 04/30/10

San Diego 05/04/10 - 05/07/10

Denver 05/18/10 - 05/21/10

Calgary 05/25/10 - 05/28/10

Silver Spring 06/08/10 - 06/11/10

Houston 06/15/10 - 06/18/10

 

We look forward to seeing you there. Do you have several individuals who need training? Contact us to find out how a private class can save you on registration costs.

 

Bob Larrivee – AIIM blarrivee@aiim.org

Follow me on twitter – BobLarrivee and remember to visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org, AIIM’s free social network created just for you.

Are you the Gold Medal Winner?

It is no secret that dedication and focus along with the right levels of training can mean the difference in how you place. Gold medal winners have the drive, the focus and invest their time in training for the big event. They choose the right trainer and team to support them and provide new directions and perspectives that give them the competitive advantage they seek.

 

We know you are a Gold medal winner ready to invest your time and effort with the right trainer; a trainer willing to invest time in you who is focused on helping you get your content, records and processes under control.

 

AIIM knows how serious you are in your race to win the Gold and we are ready to work with you as your trainer. To show our commitment to your success, we are offering you a 30% discount on the master class training program of your choice. Choose from any of the 4 day training options listed below, and save over $800.

 

Mar 9-12, Miami, FL – Electronic Records Management

Mar 9-12, Silver Spring, MD – Enterprise 2.0

Mar 16-19, Chicago, IL - Email Management

Mar 23-26, Toronto, ON - Enterprise Content Management

Mar 23-26, Silver Spring, MD - Electronic Records Management

 

Don't settle for Bronze or Silver. Go for the Gold and call us today to begin your training. Register today! Go to www.aiim.org/training use the promotional code F18MAR or call +1 301 755 2631. If you have questions, please feel free to email us at training@aiim.org.

 

We look forward to seeing you there. Do you have several individuals who need training? Contact us to find out how a private class can save you on registration costs.

 

Bob Larrivee – AIIM blarrivee@aiim.org

Follow me on twitter – BobLarrivee and remember to visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org, AIIM’s free social network created just for you.

Rear-view Mirrors!

Submitted by Alex Visser - AIIM

 

I can still remember that when I was taking my driving lessons I found it hard to use the rear-view mirrors properly. There were comments from the instructor about the need to check them frequently and that I had to twist my head as I did so. And there was that thing about looking over your shoulders because mirrors have an uncovered area. As with many things it took we a lot longer to learn the importance of these things then the lessons actually lasted and I can clearly remember a few near misses that were the result of lack of use of a mirror.

 

Now there are many links that can be made about looking in the rear-view mirror and learning about history, thing left behind and messes to clean up. However that is not the angle I want to take with this blog.

 

Can you, dear reader, imagine driving a car while only using the rear-view mirror? Yes I have learned to check my mirrors better and to use those as a tool but most of my time while driving I still look out of the front window to see what’s coming up. It seems however that we do not always do this in the ECM world though.  Only recently did I come across this problem once again.

 

This large government organisation was and is only looking at the problems that are already present. Examples of this are incomplete archives, limited lifespan of the data carriers, unlocking the actual information, and so forth. Naturally I am not dismissing the seriousness of these problems and they have to be solved, but what about the road that lays ahead of us. Should we not consider that one as well?

 

If the future is not considered there will be a new problem, aka fire, ahead of us to fight. Things this government was not looking at were such small items as e-mail, blogs, texting and twitter. These are not small trivial things. These are items that deal with a large volume of information in the case of email, texting is being used more and more as a service tool towards customers, and blog and twitter are carving out their own position in the government more and more. In other words these are areas that should be proactively considered or this government organisation will drive into these obstacles head on since they were only checking the rear-view mirror.

 

Do you feel that many organisations are only trying to put out little fires from the past or are they using the rear-view mirror while scanning the road ahead? Please let us know.

 

Join us for training in the following locations:

 

ECM

• London 02/23/10 - 02/26/10

· Tampa 02/23/10 - 02/26/10

• Stockholm 03/09/10 - 03/12/10

· Toronto 03/23/10 - 03/26/10

· Kirkland 04/13/10 - 04/16/10

· Dallas 04/27/10 - 04/30/10

· San Diego 05/04/10 - 05/07/10

• Randburg 05/04/10 - 05/07/10

ERM

• London 03/09/10 - 03/12/10
• Miami     03/09/10 - 03/12/10
• Silver Spring    03/23/10 - 03/26/10
• Tampa     04/06/10 - 04/09/10
• Chicago   05/11/10 - 05/14/10
• Randburg 05/18/10 - 05/21/10
• London 06/22/10 - 06/25/10

 

We look forward to seeing you there. Do you have several individuals who need training? Contact us to find out how a private class can save you on registration costs.

 

Alex Visser – AIIM alex.visser@aiim.eu

 

Remember to visit www.aiim.org and www.informationzen.org, AIIM’s free social network created just for you.

 

 

What are you going to do? Building a Business Case

The boss calls you into the office and informs you that an opportunity is before you. An opportunity to help the organization become better and stronger through content and process management initiative to enhance business operations but they need to understand what it will take to get there. Your mission, should you accept it, is to put together a business plan. The question now is where do you begin?

 

This is a process you need to focus on and gather the right information that accurately portrays the various elements involved in your initiative. In order to assemble a strong business case, you have to do some upfront work, get seed funding, and elicit initial input from management to move your project forward in the early stages. What I refer to here is the development of what is known as a Concept of Operations of ConOps that describes at a high level, the different steps needed to move your project forward and set the right expectation on the effort required to position the initiative in alignment with stated outcomes or objectives. The tasks you should consider include:

· Identifying the issues

· Assembling a task team

· Preparing an initial assessment report

· Performing a feasibility study

· Studying the requirements

· Developing the business case

· Preparing a high level project strategy that outlines how the project is going to work

· Creating the project plan

· Developing an RFI, or request for information to validate your requirements

· Developing an RFP, or request for proposal, which is a more detailed requirement to specific vendors and suppliers who seem to meet your needs

· Conducting technology selection

· Building a prototype/ proof of concept

· Implementing the solution

 

 In large organizations or with large projects, you’ll find these elements happen in a phased order. You may have an interim start and then move into a more substantial project that will require a more substantial business case. Therefore, you may need to update the business case at different stages as you move along. Bottom line is you need to gather, analyze and present tasks and activities that will set the right expectations.

 

What say you? How do you position projects and solutions to get support? Do you have a story to tell? I want to hear from you.

 

Looking to learn more about intelligent information and process management?

 

Join us for the BPM Certificate course in:

San Francisco 05/25/10 - 05/28/10

 

Join us for the ECM Certificate course in:

Toronto 03/23/10 - 03/26/10

Kirkland 04/13/10 - 04/16/10

Dallas 04/27/10 - 04/30/10

San Diego 05/04/10 - 05/07/10

Denver 05/18/10 - 05/21/10

Calgary 05/25/10 - 05/28/10

Silver Spring 06/08/10 - 06/11/10

Houston 06/15/10 - 06/18/10

 

We look forward to seeing you there. Do you have several individuals who need training? Contact us to find out how a private class can save you on registration costs.

 

Bob Larrivee – AIIM blarrivee@aiim.org

Follow me on twitter – BobLarrivee and remember to visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org, AIIM’s free social network created just for you.

 

 

 

Now required by US Federal Government Commission

Records Management Instrument:

Now required by US Federal Government Commission

 

ISO/TR 15489-2 Information and documentation — Records management — Part 2: Guidelines identifies records management instruments that are required to satisfy the requirements outlined in ISO 15489-1 Information and documentation — Records management — Part 1: General. These instruments are not technology – they are structures and controls that can be used with manual operations and are critical in the use of ERM computer solutions.

 

The principal instruments used in records management operations are:

a) A classification scheme that is based on business activities

b) A records disposition authority

c) A security and access classification scheme

 

Organizations may employ additional records-management-specific tools, such as:

a) A thesaurus of preferred terms

b) A glossary of terms or other vocabulary controls

 

In addition, there are other tools that are not specific to records management but that may apply to records management operations:

a) A regulatory framework analysis

b) A business risk analysis

c) An organizational delegations authority

d) A register of employees and system user permissions

 

In regards to records disposition authority, or records retention schedule, it is important to note that a US Federal Government Commission is now recognizing the importance of requiring this instrument and for organizations to make it known to both senior management and the staff. The United States Sentencing Commission has published its Proposed Amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines.  In section 6. Proposed Amendment: Organizational Guidelines, the Commission amends its Application Note 3 to include a new paragraph which clarifies what is expected of high-level personnel and substantial authority personnel, stating that such personnel “should be aware of the organization’s document retention polices and conform any document retention policy to meet the goals of an effective compliance program under the guidelines and to avoid any liability under the law”.

 

Organizations will need to develop retention policies in support of their information governance and will need to make senior management aware of them. The Commission amends Application Note 6 to clarify that when an orgainzation periodically assesses the risk that criminal conduct will occur, the “nature and operations of the organization with regard to particular ethics and compliance functions” should be included among the other matters assessed.  The amendment states, as an example, that “all employees should be aware of the organization’s document retention policy or policies and conform any document retention policy to meet the goals of an effective compliance program under the guidelines and to avoid any liability under the law”. Clearly, serious effort will have to go into the creation of organizations’ retention schedules and there will be a need for records management communication and training programs.

 

Iam delighted to see these amendments proposed, and I think government regulations have a place in support of sound records management programs within organizations.

 

What do you think? Are you aware of other legislation/regulations that support the need for comprehensive records management programs within organizations?

 

Join us for an ERM Certificate course in:

• London    03/09/10 - 03/12/10
• Miami     03/09/10 - 03/12/10
• Silver Spring    03/23/10 - 03/26/10
• Tampa     04/06/10 - 04/09/10
• Chicago   05/11/10 - 05/14/10
• London    06/22/10 - 06/25/10
• Toronto   06/22/10 - 06/25/10

 

Join us for an EMM Certificate course in:

• Chicago   03/16/10 - 03/19/10
• Silver Spring    05/04/10 - 05/07/10

 

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Carl Weise – AIIM    cweise@aiim.org

Also, visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org – AIIM’s free social network created just for you.