International Standards and Best Practices in RIM.

• Author: STEPHENS, DAVID O.

National and international efforts in developing records and information management (RIM) technical standards and best practices are significant. The absence of such tools has historically been one of the biggest problems in the field. However, there have been many initiatives during the past several years that have the potential to revolutionize RIM practice throughout the world.

Indeed, public and private organizations worldwide are looking for models that they can apply to improve their RIM programs. In a larger context, increasing globalization intensifies the need to apply best business practices. Thus, new standards will be favorably received among multinationals throughout the world.

This column reviews important new international efforts at establishing best global practices in traditional and advanced areas and makes brief mention of some older initiatives as well. The terms standards and best practices used here refer to guidelines on aspects of managing business records issued by governmental bodies or standards-setting organizations for widespread adoption in specific countries or throughout the world. The guidelines are developed by soliciting opinions from a wide community of technical experts, and thus reflect a professional consensus as to recommended practices in given areas.

Standards nearly always embody best practices, but best practices are not always standards. Broadly, there are two types of standards: 1) de jure or legal standards -- those officially issued by governments or standards bodies and 2) de facto standards -- those not issued by such bodies but nevertheless considered valid standards because they have been widely adopted by a community of users. De facto standards are synonymous with best practices and often result from the practices of specific vendors who dominate a given market. Thus, whatever technical approaches they adopt to a given aspect of information management become, in effect, de facto standards for the entire industry and user community. Such vendors are in a position to dictate standard practices, regardless of whether any standards-setting body officially endorses them.

Standards and best practices are also characterized by whether compliance is mandatory or voluntary, monitored by any independent audit or review bodies, and whether any business benefits result from compliance (or, conversely, whether there are adverse consequences for noncompliance). In the RIM field, most standards and best practices consist of voluntary codes of practice; that is, compliance is not mandatory, nor are the organizations implementing them subject to audits or other reviews to determine compliance.

In some cases, however, compliance is either required or highly advisable if the organization wishes to be certified by some reviewing authority. Finally, in the case of standards that address computer hardware or software capabilities, compliance is often highly advisable (even though not required) if the vendor wishes to attain a favorable position in its marketplace.

The World's First International RM Standard

Probably the most significant initiative in records management today is the effort underway to develop the world's first international standard. A worldwide standard issued by an international body legitimizes records management as a discipline worthy of global adoption. Moreover, the standard provides an officially endorsed benchmarking model of best professional practices for global emulation. In its entire history, the RIM discipline has never had anything like this.

In 1996, Standards Australia (that country's equivalent to the American National Standards Institute) issued AS4390 - National Standard for Records Management. This document defined the scope of records management and included technical details relating to its implementation in the public sector and private organizations in...