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

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Introducing DIRKS – Characteristics and functionality of recordkeeping systems
Example: System assessment

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Report to management

For most DIRKS projects, your prioritized recordkeeping requirements should be formally submitted to management for endorsement. It is also particularly important to justify your recommendations if you are not meeting certain recordkeeping requirements. These management-endorsed recordkeeping requirements will provide a mandate/specification for the creation of records in the department/section and for the design of systems to meet those requirements.

You may also wish to draw on the generic characteristics of systems that keep records to inform management about the structures necessary to support these recordkeeping requirements (see ^ Introducing DIRKS – Characteristics and functionality of recordkeeping systems). This report can also be used as an opportunity to gain management support for future steps.

If you are developing a retention schedule, you may wish to postpone seeking management approval until after you have completed disposal recommendations. However, it is important that management endorses the full set of recordkeeping requirements including creation, access, content and form, not just those relating to retention or disposal.

[Drafting note: ARMS would like to provide a model report to management on agreed recordkeeping requirements. If anyone has examples they consider suitable, and are willing to share them, they would be greatly appreciated].

Maintain and update documentation

Recordkeeping requirements will form the agreed benchmark against which your recordkeeping practices will be judged, therefore it is important to track changes to recordkeeping requirements over time. Records about past and current requirements should be maintained, because such information provides context for the evidence that your department/section chooses to keep.

Changes to recordkeeping requirements could occur as a result of:

changes to business practices or needs
changes to the regulatory environment
changes in perceptions of risk or priorities
the department/section losing or gaining functions
tests in Steps E, F or G that expose flaws or inconsistencies in the requirements
the discovery, during systems design and implementation, that a particular requirement cannot reasonably be met due to financial, personnel, design, equipment or other considerations, or
the results of a post implementation review of a recordkeeping system (Step H) or ongoing monitoring.

In these cases, you will need to review your analysis of recordkeeping requirements and risks and document the changes.

Footnotes

[1] 'Across the Board Review on Out of Court Settlements,' Auditor General's Report to Parliament 2000, Volume 6, p.22. Accessed in February 2003 at: ссылка скрыта

Step D - Assessment of existing systems

Identify and analyze existing recordkeeping systems and other information systems to measure their performance against the requirements for records.

ISO 15489.1, Information and documentation - Records management, Clause 8.4

Content and scope of Step D

Identifying systems for Step D assessment

Sources for Step D assessment

Assessing and documenting systems

Content and scope of Step D

Overview

Aim of Step D

Summary of Step D

Why should you do Step D?

Case study - issues identified in Step D assessment

Relationship to other steps

Overview

This section is an introduction to Step D: Assessment of existing systems. It:

outlines the aim of Step D, and what it can help you to achieve
summarizes the major elements of Step D
explains why it is important to undertake Step D for particular DIRKS projects, and
shows how Step D relates to the other steps in the DIRKS methodology.

Aim of Step D

The objective of Step D is to determine how well systems in your department/section are meeting your recordkeeping requirements.

Summary of Step D

Step D is the benchmarking step of the methodology.

In Step D you:

assess all relevant business information systems
determine whether these systems are in fact recordkeeping systems, capable of meeting your department/section's requirements for record creation and management
identify the gaps that may exist between your desired or required practice and your actual system operations

This requires you to have a good understanding of your department/section's recordkeeping requirements and to be able to identify and examine current business information systems.

^ Example: System assessment

In your department/section you have identified that it is necessary for your system to:

maintain a history of past transactions that can be accessed as evidence of its business activities
employ recordkeeping controls to facilitate management of this evidence through time.

If your system is not designed to do this, or cannot be modified to do so, you may be exposed to business and accountability risks. You need to assess this system to ensure it is capable of meeting your recordkeeping requirements.

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