Ready, set, whoa! Plan before implementing RM technologies.

• Author: Gatewood, Brent
• Position: Records and information management

Congratulations! Your organization has made the commitment to move forward with an electronic records and information management (RIM) system. Through careful planning and research, you've found and selected the "right" solution and are ready to deploy. Now what?

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Though the urge is strong to jump right in and begin the records and information management (RIM) software installation process as soon as it's purchased, a cautious and methodical approach is advised. Getting to the point of approval and moving forward is often a long and arduous task, and once approved, it is tempting to jump into the implementation. It is advisable to pause and review the entire process before starting.

It is vital that the records management (RM) team be part of this process from the beginning. If initial RM team involvement wasn't possible to this point, a process should be in place for its engagement at the earliest possibility. To proceed smoothly, your organization will need to have several teams in place.

Role of Teams

Assuming there was a team in place to define the needs and parameters throughout the acquisition process, it will need to remain involved throughout the deployment of the solution. This is important, as its members will provide continuity throughout the entire process. At a minimum, there is a need for two teams--an executive project team, which ideally will be the one involved from the beginning of the process, and an implementation team. The makeup of these teams is very- important, as their members will be directly focusing the implementation and, ultimately, the look and feel of the end solution.

A RIM technology solution will affect many facets of the organization, so key groups will need to be part of the executive team, which will act as a resource for the implementation team as questions or needs that require executive comment or approval arise. Obviously, the ultimate makeup will be different for each organization, but the team should be as small as possible while respecting the organization's cultural needs. Representatives from information services/technology, legal, records management, and human resources, as well as from key operational groups, are traditional candidates for the executive team.

The implementation team will be more focused on the technology and its implementation, including proof of concept (POC), pilot, and ultimate rollout. As this team will be heavily involved in the implementation, it is vital that it be made up of knowledgeable workers and management with broad exposure to the organization. These individuals must also have a deep understanding of the organization's culture regarding tools and expectations.

Again, it is advisable to keep this team as small as possible to allow it to be nimble in responding to the project's challenges and demands. Information services/technology, records management, project management, corporate education/training, and pilot department representatives are all candidates for this team.

Setting Goals and Identifying Scope

With your teams in place and the software solution selected, it must be time to move forward, right? Wrong! Now is the time to step back and fine-tune the goals of your implementation. (The general goals should have been in place as you investigated available vendors and their solutions)...