Electronic Records: Gold-mine or Land-mine? The ARMA Auckland Conference 2001
Vera Giles
ARMA International's Auckland Chapter (www.arma.org.nz) held its Conference on 6 November 2001. The Conference explored the key challenges posed by electronic records, and how organisations could maximise quality records management practices to meet those challenges. The conference was aimed at managers of Information, Records, Information Technology and Risk, Lawyers and Knowledge workers. Most of these groups were represented by delegates from all parts of New Zealand. Australia was also represented.
Session one
The first session, "Using quality electronic records practices to mine the gold in electronic records," was presented by Dr Rich Lysakowski PhD, who is a Director of the Global Electronic Records Association(GERA) and Executive Director of the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association (CENSA). In addition, Lysakowski chairs the InterPARES project's Global Industry Team. During the session, Lysakowski drew on his involvement with these organisations, particularly in relation to collaborative R&D projects.
Challenges electronic records pose to business
The presentation explored both the advantages and challenges that electronic records pose and the importance of records as the foundation for an effective knowledge management programme. Lysakowski spoke of our increasing dependence on software systems that are not reliable from a legal perspective and the futility of attempting to solve long-term preservation problems with short-term technologies.
He explained that full electronic records are not really available at present with current solutions sometimes incorporating "two back ends" - one aimed at short-term reuse of records and the other for their long-term preservation. Describing both end-users and vendors as being focused on short-term results, he pointed out that the need for compliance with a legal and regulatory framework is ongoing, that technology acceleration, legal challenges and increasing threats to information security are all factors contributing to "an information age crisis." In relation to electronic information security we run the risk of a loss of authenticity, loss of data and loss of memory.
How can business ensure that information will be accessible over time? Clearly, IT museums are not a viable option for long-term access, so a migratory path is a necessary strategy. Lysakowski pointed out that there may be a disincentive for vendors to develop new products that are too "backward compatible" because of the risk that they will not sell. Nevertheless,electronic records will be required soon by all US agencies with the aim of all records being accessible electronically (readable) by 2003. Other countries are also gearing up for "electronic government" (e-government) and new regulations are emerging as a result. The growing dependence on complex technologies is an issue that is compounded by the additional challenge of migrating the following:
digital signatures;
public key infrastructure;
Internet and WWW;
complex data formats;<
portable document formats;
electronic record formats
Lysakowski described extensible mark-up language (XML) as the next "IT silver bullet." He went on to explain the importance of recordkeeping and preservation standards, referring to Victoria Electronic Records Strategy(VERS), the Australian archives and electronic records collection format, as an example of one of the XML languages currently being created. XML may be regarded as a "very low-level collection of emerging technologies" but it has implications for facilitating knowledge management.
Some of the standards to which Lysakowski referred included PDF for simple document-based records, the Australian Standard for Metadata, (http://www.nla.gov.au/preserve/pmeta.html),the International Standard for Records Management, ISO 15489 and others under development.
Bigger than Y2K?
Lysakowski described the design for preservation as potentially a larger problem than the Y2K problem. He explained how InterPARES,GERA and CENSA are addressing the challenge through collaborative efforts with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
The presentation continued with an exploration of the requirements for preserving authentic electronic records in relation to record reliability, record authenticity, and record trustworthiness. The necessity for quality records management practices was emphasised.
Key concepts in relation to records, systems and quality electronic records programs were discussed together with the need to plan for the entire lifespan of the electronic record. This prompted a question from the floor about the similarity to the Australian concept of a Records Continuum. Lysakowski acknowledged the similarity and made the point that there would now be a need for "process-integral archiving" for electronic records that would take over from the traditional "event-driven archiving method."
Lysakowski sees custodianship as a key for success because of the need for dedicated groups with expert knowledge of electronic records appraisal, indexing retention, management preservation and systems migration. Records and archives management knowledge is seldom distributed throughout an organisation but rests in the hands of a few information professionals.
Closing points
In summation, Lysakowski points out that getting an organisation ready for electronic records can take "three to five years" and there is no silver bullet! Nor is there any point in waiting for the "right technology", as it will be necessary for organisations to mature along with the technology. The imperative is to "start yesterday" and to "empower records managers and archivists to understand, negotiate and become integral team-mates with information technology".
In addition, we must:
deliver full systems of electronic records;
recordkeeping - enable corporate infrastructures;
make electronic records thinking part of corporate culture;
integrate quality thinking into electronic records programmes.
Session two
Kenneth Shear, of Electronic Evidence Discovery, Inc.,presented "Computer data, litigation risk and information management: today's key challenges for records managers."
Why is litigation a key issue for records managers? Shear explained that risk provides opportunities for leadership for "those records managers, attorneys and IT professionals who learn about and take steps to minimise the electronic risks facing their organisations." Shear provided insights into the discovery process and made the point that "judges are seldom appointed for their computer knowledge."
He describes US and international laws as changing in response to new technologies with both "plaintiff firms and regulatory agencies investing time and money developing legal and technical electronic discovery capabilities." He pointed out that, in addition to the financial impact of discovery, the interruption to business is often a major inconvenience.
Typical discovery of electronic data would include: "word processing files, financial and accounting records," personnel records,databases, project management, back-up and archive tapes, spreadsheets, CAD,CAM, CAE, etc. together with electronic mail, voice/ video mail, Internet,intra- and extra- nets, deleted data, etc. Preservation of functionality, e.g. as in project management data, was identified as a major difficulty. Another important point is that "migrated data" are not "deleted data".
How then can we minimise potential problems when faced with litigation? Even if not specifically requested, "electronic data must be included in a review for potentially relevant materials." Shear warns that"evidence is evidence!" and that there are no "non-records or non-business records" because, if relevant, information is evidence regardless of its form.
Litigation from the IS perspective
Shear says, "Preservation is emerging as a key electronic discovery issue." He recommends that a strategic plan be developed to anticipate the use of electronic discovery.
Lessons learned:
electronic documents are not like paper;
electronic documents are not like electronic paper;
companies have a loss of electronic data;
you cannot avoid the law of small numbers;
handling electronic evidence is hard;
it is hard to anticipate other people's actions.
Where are our organisations vulnerable? The answer is in e-mail, back-up tapes, distributed data and the lack of a proper litigation response plan. Shear says that, in addition to a risk-reduction programme, we need to develop company-specific policies and procedures, and develop and deliver effective training programmes, then introduce ongoing audit programmes to ensure compliance with company policies and procedures. He stated that the ultimate goal should be the integration of electronic data with corporate records retention plans. He points out that traditional IT operates often in a way that is inconsistent with quality records management practices, because IT is essentially about increasing functionality, production and entertainment value. Records management professionals need to adapt. They must build teams,provide internal consulting or advisory services and collaborate with IT in software design and functionality. He also made the point that "nobody designed IT systems to meet legal requirements" and that "legal rules may be out of sync with rapid advances in IT."
Shear reaffirmed that there are new opportunities for records professionals and that the challenge is to learn both the technology and the terminology of electronic records and to grasp this opportunity. He acknowledged that, while New Zealand is not as litigious as the USA, many of the issues are universal.
Conclusion
Both sessions indicated opportunities for records managers and information professionals in taking on new roles and responsibilities, that quality records management practices need to be applied to an organisation's records to increase efficiency and to mitigate the impact of litigation. The importance of standards was emphasised. For example, the Dublin Core Metadata Standard, the Australian Standard for Metadata, the VERS (Victoria Electronic Records Strategy) and the MoREQ European model were explored. The emphasis was on the need for permanent preservation and access to information across time.
Further information can be obtained from Dr Rich Lysakowski. E-mail: Rich@censa.org and Kenneth Shear -Electronic Evidence Discovery, Inc., Seattle, WA. Web site: www.eedinc.com
Vera Giles(gilesv@akcity.govt.nz) is President, ARMA Auckland Chapter.
