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

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Содержание Relationship to other steps Focus of Step A assessment Know the scope of your project Examine your business environment The case of shared or decentralized business Tip: Focus on business activities Defining the scope of your organization

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Relationship to other steps

As stated, Step A, Preliminary investigation, is a useful step to undertake as an introductory component of all DIRKS projects. 

In addition, you can do much of the research required within other steps as part of your Step A investigations. For example you can:

• gather and assess information to assist with Step B: Analysis of business activity
  
• pinpoint recordkeeping requirements to assist with Step C: Identification of recordkeeping requirements, and
  
• identify systems currently used to conduct business in your department/section, to assist with Step D: Assessment of existing systems. 
  

Tip: DIRKS can be tailored to meet your needs DIRKS can be a very flexible process. It can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your department/section and implemented in ways that suit the business practices and operations.

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Focus of Step A assessment

Overview

Know the scope of your project

Examine your business environment

Examine your corporate culture

Examine your stakeholders and their requirements

Examine your technical infrastructure

Overview

This section identifies the particular areas you should examine in your Step A assessment. It highlights the importance of examining your:

• business environment
  
• corporate culture
  
• stakeholders, and
  
• technology
  

to obtain a good understanding of your department/section and how it operates. 
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Know the scope of your project

When undertaking Step A, it is useful to know the scope of your DIRKS project as this will help to give focus and structure to your Step A analysis. 

For example, if you are doing a DIRKS project that is focused on improving recordkeeping in one specific area of business, your Step A analysis will only be concerned with assessing and understanding this area of business. 

Alternatively, if you are doing a broad DIRKS project that requires knowledge of all your department/section's business operations, such as the development of a whole of department/section retention and disposal schedule, your Step A analysis will need to provide you with a good understanding of the broad business environment. 
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Examine your business environment

Irrespective of the type of DIRKS project you are undertaking, in Step A you need to examine your business environment. This will enable you to understand the factors that influence your organization's need to create and maintain records to support and sustain its business activities.

To understand your business environment you can examine:

The role and structure of your department/section, or the relevant section of the organization 

• the organizational or workgroup structure
  
• the business functions and activities performed by your department/section (these will be examined and defined more closely in Step B)
  
• how it performs this business
  
• why it performs this business
  

Legal and best practice requirements

• the regulations that govern or affect the operations of the organization
  
• the business, social and ethical standards the community expects the United Nations to meet
  

Stakeholder influences

• the internal and external stakeholders whose interests your department/section must take into account
  

Case histories

• litigation or legal disputes the organization has been subject to
  
• the business, social and ethical standards the community expects the United Nations to meet
  

Recordkeeping practice

• how recordkeeping is undertaken
  
• critical factors affecting recordkeeping (this could include audits, court cases, new administrative requirements to keep records, introduction of new ways of doing business)
  
• critical weaknesses associated with recordkeeping (including business inefficiencies or losses brought about by poor recordkeeping)
  

Relationship to other United Nations offices

• identify whether other agencies report to your department/section
  
• determine whether your department/section oversights the performance or operations of other offices
  

Example: A DIRKS project focused on a specific area of business If your DIRKS project is focused on improving how a specific business activity is performed, your Step A analysis could focus on:  what regulations affect this activity?  how is the business currently transacted?  what are current recordkeeping practices and how are these helping or hindering business objectives?  what systems are staff using? is this area of business subject to significant risk? These and a range of other issues may be important to identify in order to give you the context and understanding you need to progress with your project.

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The case of shared or decentralized business

In assessing your business environment, you may identify, or need to consider, whether your business shares any of its business functions with other offices or if it conducts its activities in a decentralized way. 

In devolved decentralized business structures, the same business function can be shared between a number of sections or be undertaken in a variety of business locations. These types of arrangements should be noted in your preliminary analysis as they will affect the strategies you choose to improve recordkeeping in the latter steps of the methodology. 

 

^ Tip: Focus on business activities If you want to improve business practices in one specific business unit, it is important to keep your focus on the business activities performed by this unit. Business functions frequently cross across sections or organizational structures. If you keep your focus on the work this unit is doing, the activities it performs and the systems it uses, you will ensure that you consider all relevant areas in your assessment.

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Defining the scope of your organization

Depending on the nature of your DIRKS project, it may be necessary in your preliminary investigation to determine the functional and administrative boundaries of your department/section. These boundaries can sometimes be hard to determine, particularly if your office carries out secretariat activities for and maintains records of advisory councils, committees or boards. Although these councils, committees or boards can be closely linked to your department/section and may have other staff members carrying out tasks for them, they may need to be regarded as separate bodies for recordkeeping purposes. Depending on the nature of your project, you may therefore have to exclude these separate sections from your Step A analysis.