Manual for the Design and Implementation of Recordkeeping Systems (dirks)

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Содержание

Preliminary investigation
Assessment of existing systems.
Identification of strategies for recordkeeping
Example: Sources of recordkeeping requirements

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Relationships to other steps

Steps A and B

You may have completed either all or parts of Step A: ^ Preliminary investigation and Step B: Analysis of business activity before undertaking Step C. The earlier steps contribute to Step C in the following ways:

the investigation in Step A and analysis in Step B allow you to understand your department/section and the context in which it operates, including areas of risk
the business analysis and scheme produced in Step B provides a workable structure that you can link recordkeeping requirements to in order to understand their context
the sources you examine in Steps A and B will contain a range of recordkeeping requirements.

If you have not conducted the earlier steps, you will need to have a good knowledge of the department/section and its functions and practices and be prepared to do some research into sources for Step C. You will also need to develop or have in place a suitable way of mapping your recordkeeping requirements to their business context.

Step D

The recordkeeping requirements identified and agreed to in Step C provide a benchmark for assessing the operation of your existing systems in Step D: ^ Assessment of existing systems.

While the identification of current recordkeeping systems is carried out in Step D, some initial work can also be done during Step C.

Example: Identifying systems that keep records

During the process of identifying records currently created in your office you may discover that records are kept in a variety of formal systems such as the centralized registry system, human resource management system, the financial management system, as well as ad hoc systems maintained by individual officers at their desks. Document this information as you come across it, rather than duplicating your effort at a later stage.

Step E

The strategies for meeting recordkeeping requirements that you select in Step E: ^ Identification of strategies for recordkeeping will be chosen to suit the nature of the recordkeeping requirements identified in Step C.

Sources for Step C

Overview

What sources are relevant?

Draw on other recordkeeping projects

Internal documentary sources

External documentary sources

Interviews

Overview

This section discusses the range of sources that can assist you with your Step C analysis.

What sources are relevant?

To identify recordkeeping requirements you need to find relevant internal and external sources. There are a wide variety of sources available and you will need to consider which of those is most relevant to the scope of your project. Different types of requirements will generally come from different sources.

^ Example: Sources of recordkeeping requirements

A regulatory requirement for the creation of evidence may be found in a documentary source, whereas the business need to retain evidence may come from an interview with staff and a community expectation from a discussion with an external stakeholder group.

Draw on other recordkeeping projects

If an identification of broad requirements has already been completed for your department/section, and it is still current, you may be able to draw on this for your analysis.

However, it is important to remember that it is the specific nature of your department/section and the context in which it operates that dictates:

whether it needs to create evidence of its activities
what type of evidence it needs to create
what form that evidence takes
how long the evidence should be retained, and
what access should be provided to that evidence over time.

Therefore, you need to complete your own analysis of broad and specific requirements.

Internal documentary sources

Previous analysis of system specifications

You should investigate any previous research into recordkeeping requirements carried out in your department/section. You may be able to use or tailor this information for your current purposes.

Analysis carried out in preparation for the design and implementation of other information systems within your department/section may have examined requirements for recordkeeping in specific functional areas. This is particularly likely in core functional areas that require high levels of reporting and/or financial accountability.

It may be worth looking at the requirements documentation compiled for these other systems or procedural guidelines that support particular business processes. Your information systems or business systems unit should be able to provide you with copies of any requirements documentation relating to in-house electronic information systems.

Records retention schedule

If your department/section has a current retention schedule you should look at this and the research that sits behind it to find previously identified requirements.

However, remember that in some cases the recordkeeping requirements listed here may not be comprehensive. Some requirements may have been superseded, while new requirements may come into effect at any time. They should be seen as a starting point only.

Corporate policies, guidelines, procedure manuals etc

Requirements for evidence may be found (or corroborated) in corporate policies, internal guidelines, procedure manuals, reporting structures (such as those between managers and staff), and quality assurance programs.

Consumer comments

To ascertain community needs or expectations you might also examine complaints received or comments made by consumer groups or customer councils and written reports addressing customer concerns.

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