Searching For Searches That Search For Records

I'm trying to compile a list of the most commonly performed searches in a Records Management System.

The plan, in case you where wondering, is to include these common searches in the next release of the Alfresco Records Management Module as pre-defined saved searches appearing in the Records Management site.

This is my list so far:

• Records due for review
• Incomplete/undeclared records (records that have been filed, but may not have all the necessary meta-data filled out correctly)
• Records ready for cut off
• Records ready for transfer
• Records ready for destruction

Not a very inspiring list I know, so this is where you may be able to help!

Do you have an opinion on what the top searches performed on a Records Management System might be?  If so please let me know and I'll try to include them on the list.

MoReq2010: The New Kid On The Block

On the 6th June the DLM Forum finally published MoReq2010.  Some 5 months later than expected and weighting in at a respectable 520 pages the Modular Requirements for Records Systems – Volume 1: Core Services & Plug-in Modules is the latest offering in the MoReq series of specifications.  So what's all the fuss about and what's so different this time around?


Those familiar with the first iteration of the MoReq series of specifications will already know that the Mo stood for Model and the Req for Requirements.  In MoReq2010 Mo now stands for Modular, giving us Modular Requirements for Records Systems.  The deceptive innocence of this grammatical change underlies the fundamental shift in this new specifications focus from that of it's predecessors.


MoReq(1) focused, as the name suggests, on providing a set of model requirements for a records system.  MoReq2 extended these concepts with the important addition of a rigorous testing and certification regime, meta-data specification and data transfer formats, the later in the form of an XML schema.  All noble additions, allowing vendors to gain certification and proof of compliance and customers confidence when buying a records management system.


This approach, however, was not without difficulties.  Once customers had the compliant systems on site it became complex to make modifications for local variations by extending the specification.  The vendors also found it difficult to anticipate the changes that might be made.  These factors combined to make systems complicated and cumbersome to implement.


MoReq2010 was conceived to address these issues.  It moves it's focus away from the model and instead concentrates on defining services that deliver records management functionality.  This allows the specification to be partitioned into functional areas and focuses on the functional contract a records system needs, rather than the underlying data structures.


This division of the specification into discrete services means a pick-and-mix approach to a records system can be taken.  No longer is it an all or nothing situation, now you can use only the parts you need.


A service perspective distances MoReq2010 from the traditional monolithic records system architectures of old.  It suggests a greater focus on in-place records management, where record systems control the records, but not always the storage and management of the content itself.  A requirement I have seen increasing demand for especially in the new world of consolidated content, via CMIS, and dispersed content in the cloud.


I've yet to dig into the nitty gritty of the various service definitions, but I'm hoping this approach gives vendors greater flexibility when deciding on how to implement the specification and enables easier extensions for local markets.  Certainly from first glance it's a much easier specification structure to work with and compliments Alfresco's service based architecture.


Over the next few weeks I will continue to thumb through the details of the specification and report back with what I find.


You can download the MoReq2010 specification here.

Multi-Level File Plans

Currently the Alfresco Records Management Module provides Records Managers with three levels of hierarchy when building a file plan.  Records series, record categories and record folders.

Having only 3 levels of hierarchy can make it difficult to model large record taxonomies.  The resulting flat and wide structures exhibit a reduction in performance and usability, because of a large number of folders at each level.


Further to this, because disposition schedules can only be defined at one hierarchical level common schedules must be defined repeatedly.  Apart from being inconvenient, this also presents a maintenance headache for the Records Manager.


The introduction of multi-level file plans into the Alfresco Records Management Module will help to address these issues.  


Records Managers will be able to create record keeping taxonomies of any arbitrary depth, allowing large file plans to be modelled easily and more intuitively.  Performance and usability will be improved, because users will be able to navigate a more structured hierarchy with fewer folders at each level.


In this new world, disposition schedules can be defined at more than one level within the file plan, with details of the schedule being disseminated down to the disposable items as expected.


These new features are being added as we blog and we expect them to be available in the next major release of the Alfresco Records Management Module.


Note: For those unfamiliar with the terms used in the Alfresco records management module please hold tight.  I'm putting together a reference page with definitions and will update with links once it's complete.

Why is records management so important?

Content is everywhere, I don't think anyone would contest that!


The emails we send,  the documents we write, the presentations we give, the brochures we distribute.  We organise them, store them, create then, change them, print them, share them.  Content is the medium a business uses to communicate with itself and the rest of the world.


So where does records management fit into all this and why is it so important?


For me, one of the keys to understanding this is accountability.


A business makes decisions daily.  These not only affect the destiny of the business itself, but possibly that of other businesses and individuals.  They may have dramatic financial, health or environmental impact, both positive or negative, and the business will be held accountable for these decisions.


Recording the content used to communicate these decisions provides a business with an audit trail of thought.  The who, why and what of how they got to where they are today.  This history of events can be used to protect the business from blame or responsibility, to justify why things are the way they are or be used as a template for future decisions.


Ensuring these records are safe, retrievable, consistent, reliable, archived and ultimately disposed of appropriately is what records management is all about and why it's so important to every successful modern business.