Managing Electronic Records
	in an Electronic Work Environment

	- Overview -

On an increasing scale, the defacto record of business decision making is being recorded in electronic form.  The electronic record is becoming the primary source of information required to support the delivery of programs and services and to permit organizations to hold themselves accountable.

In the emerging electronic work environment, however, records are often created, collected or received without being subject to the procedures or rules that govern when a record should be kept, where it should be kept, by whom, and for how long.

In order to address this issue, the National Archives of Canada issued a guideline to federal government institutions called Managing Electronic Records in an Electronic Work Environment. The guideline is directed to those electronic records that are generated or received in the form of mail messages (e-mail) and electronic documents consisting of text, illustrations, tables and charts prepared with the aid of computer software and hardware.

In the guideline, the National Archives proposes that in an advanced strategy, record keeping requirements would be incorporated into the automated applications that support the work processes of the organization.  The classification and filing of records would be done automatically based on rules and procedures stemming from approved corporate policies.  In order to promote this advanced strategy, the National Archives produced two documents.  The first, Electronic Work Environment (EWE) - Vision describes a future environment that is viewed from the perspective of the user at his or her desk top. The vision is based on the integration of previously separate applications such as library and records systems with automated work processes.  The second document, Record Keeping in the Electronic Work Environment - Vision, complements the EWE vision by describing an environment where the records of automated work processes are captured automatically, based on rules built into the design of the processes.  By setting out a vision where the user is the record keeper and the records manager is the facilitator and standards setter, where record keeping is transparent to the user, and where the physical custody of records is electronically distributed, the document is designed to serve as a catalyst for change.

If business processes have not been automated, the National Archives guideline proposes that institutions consider the following strategies to ensure that important records in the form of e-mail messages and electronic documents are kept.

a)	Establish shared space at the level of the entire organization, based on the use of automated records management systems or document management systems that address the filing and retention of electronic records.  In order to support this strategy, the guideline references the following document:

Records/Documents/Information Management (RDIM): Integrated Document Management System for the Government of Canada - Requirements was produced by a working group representing over 20 departments and agencies charged with the development of requirements leading to the selection of the automated system that will be recommended for use by government departments for the management of electronic and hard-copy records in the electronic work environment.

b)	Establish shared space at the level of the work group, based on features already available in many software applications used in office support systems.  This strategy is supported by the following guideline:

Managing Shared Directories and Files was produced to help work groups structure their file directories, establish naming conventions, develop retention and disposition procedures and assess options concerning who should look after the group space and to what extent, and under what circumstances it should be used to hold those records of the group that need to be retained for the corporate memory of the organization.  The guide also helps users in the group to interact with the  group space (e.g. filing and retrieving documents, etc.) in a manner that minimizes burden while maximizing its value to the group.

In managing shared space at the level of either the work group or the entire organization,  the guideline emphasizes that sufficient contextual information must be associated with the records to ensure that when they are accessed or retrieved, they are understandable within the context of the business actions that generated them in the first place.  While full text retrieval software alone is an excellent tool for facilitating access and retrieval, its effectiveness may be limited if the necessary contextual information is not available.

At the level of the work group or the entire organization, institutions are encouraged to consider one of the following options to help users store their electronic records (the first option should be favoured over the second):

·	Users are responsible for ensuring that the appropriate program/activity/subject information, and any other required contextual information, is included with their electronic documents, as well as for filing the e-mail messages and documents in designated electronic space managed by the records office or other authorized individuals.

·	Users forward their e-mail messages and electronic documents electronically to their administrative staff or directly to the records office for classification and filing.

If it is not possible to design shared space at either the level of the work group or the entire organization, the guideline suggests that significant e-mail messages and electronic documents should be printed onto paper and stored in the corporate paper filing system.

Although not a preferred strategy, the guideline suggests that institutions may store their records on the back-up tapes that are generated on a periodic basis in accordance with standard systems maintenance procedures.  Those tapes storing records of significant areas of the institution could be retained for an extended period of time to allow records retrieval through the "reconstitute" features of the back-up software or through special purpose retrieval software.  Criteria would be required to identify tapes for extended retention, and record keeping rules and procedures would be required to ensure long term retrievability of the records through time.

The strategies described herein are based on two fundamental pre-requisites.  The first is the need to understand the concept of "record"  and the second is to have in place a policy that addresses the management of records regardless of their physical form.  Electronic records are not a special media issue.  Their management must be addressed within the broader context of the policies, standards and practices that address the management of all forms of recorded information.

In Canadian legislation, the definition of record is comprehensive.  According to the National Archives of Canada Act (1987) and the Access to Information Act (1983), a record includes any correspondence, memorandum, book, plan, map, drawing, diagram, pictorial or graphic work, photograph, film, microform, sound recording, videotape, machine readable record, and any other documentary material, regardless of physical form or  characteristics and any copy thereof.  For the purposes of the guideline, an electronic record is a machine readable record that is suitable for manipulation, transmission or processing using a digital computer.

The guideline and supporting documents are based on the premise that records are required by organizations:

·	to support decision making and the delivery of programs and services;

·	to permit organizations to hold themselves accountable pursuant to the requirements of laws and policies;

·	to permit organizations to hold themselves accountable for performance effectiveness and efficiency, the achievement of goals, and the use of resources;

·	to provide the corporate memory required to ensure the continuity of programs and services regardless of changes to staff and responsibilities, and;

·	to ensure the protection of rights and entitlements.

In order to serve these roles, a record should be authoritative, reliable and purposeful.  It should also comprise content, context and structure sufficient for it to document or provide evidence of (i.e. a record of...) a given event or activity.  Finally, it should be maintained in an available, understandable and usable manner for the length of time required to meet the business and accountability requirements of the institution.

The guideline emphasizes that the implementation of any of the strategies described herein must be based on the establishment of a policy for the management of records regardless of their physical form.  Such a policy would address the following:

·	The assignment of accountability for records and record keeping across the organization.

·	The definition of roles and responsibilities of those who are involved in collecting, creating and receiving records as well as for those who are responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining the record keeping infrastructure (rules, standards and practices, etc.) of the organization.

·	The rules for record keeping based on the business and accountability requirements of the organization (including the provisions of legislation such as the National Archives of Canada Act, the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act).  The rules can be in the form of criteria to help identify what should be kept and how long it should be kept.

·	Functional requirements that express the record keeping rules such that they can be reflected in the design of systems supporting automated business processes.

·	Standards and practices that facilitate the implementation of the requirements.

To order the documents mentioned in this article, or to obtain further information, please contact:

Information Management Standards and Practices Division
Archives Development and Preservation Branch
National Archives of Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0N3

Tel:	(613) 947-1515
Fax:	(613) 947-1500

E-mail:	czongora@archives.ca
website:	www.archives.ca