8 steps to effective information lifecycle management.

• Author: Dederer, Melissa G.
• Position: RIM FUNDAMENTALS

The need for an effective, compliant approach to managing information throughout its life cycle becomes very evident when a major event occurs, such as a lawsuit, an audit, a merger, an acquisition, or a divestiture. Without it, even daily business decision-making can be greatly compromised.

An organization that does not have an information lifecycle management (ILM) program will receive significant, long-term benefits from developing and implementing one, including:

Improved Availability--"Information age" employees must be able to find and access needed information quickly and be confident that it is the right information. ILM gets the right information to the right people (those who have the right to access it) at the right time.

Reduced Risk--By implementing an ILM approach, the organization has less information to manage, which reduces the risk of basing important business decisions on outdated or incorrect information. It also means there is less information to produce in a legal or regulatory investigation, which reduces the risk of exposing information.

Reduced Costs--Eliminating unneeded information reduces both electronic and physical storage costs. It also helps control the exponential growth of information and reduces overall operational costs by enabling employees to be more efficient.

Optimized Business Efficiencies--Having smaller volumes of information results in faster and more efficient searches and retrievals. Productivity will increase and, overall, the organization will be more effective.

Defining ILM

The information life cycle begins with information's creation or receipt; progresses through its organization and storage, retrieval, use, and maintenance with proper protection and preservation; and ends with its disposition. Disposition usually means destroying information, but it can sometimes mean permanently retaining it, based on the organization's retention schedule.

ILM is accomplished by strategically applying policies to manage throughout its life cycle all information--not just records, which Glossary of Records and Information Management Terms (ARMA TR-22-2012) defines as "any recorded information, regardless of medium or characteristics, made or received and retained by an organization in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business."

ILM includes determining:

* What information the organization has

* Where it is stored

* Who has ownership and/or accountabilities for it

* Why it is being retained

* How quickly and easily it can be accessed

* How it is tracked

* How long it must be retained

A best practices approach that will ensure success in developing and implementing an ILM program is supported by the following eight steps.

Step 1:

Learn About the Information

The first step in developing and implementing ILM effectively is to learn the 5 Ws and H--What? Where? Who? Why? When? How?--about the organization's information. Although these questions sound simple, finding their answers is a challenge. The following will help.

What Information Exists?

An organization cannot get...