The New International Records Management Standard: ITS CONTENT AND HOW IT CAN BE USED.

• Author: CONNELLY, JAMES C.

AT THE CORE

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES:

* the content of the first international standard for records management

* how it can be used for assessment

* how it can impact an organization's business plan

Earlier this year the world voted on and approved a final draft of the first international standard for records management, formally titled ISO 15489-1: Information and Documentation -- Records Management -- Part 1: General. Committees from more than 80 countries reviewed and commented on the draft that had been several years in the making. Soon to be published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), this standard is a normative document that sets the parameters within which a records management program should be established, regardless of the size of the enterprise, the type or location of the organization, or the level of technology to be used. It describes how records programs should be established, how they may be structured, and how they may be monitored and audited. It also identifies the benefits that can be achieved. For the first time, records managers will have a widely accepted standard against which to evaluate and improve their programs.

The international records management standard is to be supplemented by a more detailed technical report, ISO/PDTR 15489-2: Information and Documentation -- Records Management -- Part 2: Guidelines. Although still under development, ISO TR15489-2 will be an informative document, giving a specific useful -- but not mandatory -- methodology for implementing and complying with the standard.

ISO 15489 is meant to comply with other relevant international standards, such as the ISO 9000 series of quality management standards and the ISO 14000 series of environmental management standards. ISO 15489 cautions that organizations should make use of related national standards and the records management legislation that apply in their jurisdictions.

The records management standard is substantially different from AS4390, the Australian records management standard on which it is based. For example, it reflects the multiplicity of approaches, methods, and practices used in the global workplace. In the past 50 years, a number of related but less comprehensive approaches and de facto standards have been developed by individual countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia. (In fact, ARMA International has published two American national standards, Alphabetic Filing Rules and Glossary of Records Management Terms.) All of these have had a degree of impact on governments and major corporations that have followed these initiatives. Now, however, technical committees from all over the globe have banded together to develop the first common standard for records management. This is truly a milestone in records management history.

Impact of the Standard

What will be the immediate effect of ISO 15489? Will there be a sudden growth in records management programs? Will there be an increase in resources allocated to records management? Will there be more staff with raised profiles and increased salaries? Perhaps not.

Too often records management staff look upon policies or standards as levers to stimulate what they perceive to be listless management or line staff. In some cases, such documents are used for little more than gaining compliance from those unstirred by promotions of records management initiatives. A program that has to rely on enforcement, however, is likely doomed to fail. Records management is most often successful where its users have understood the benefits of a program and chosen to follow the concepts and principles of records management for their own self-interest in areas such as litigation support and operating cost reduction.

Published over the last two decades, the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards have strongly supported maintenance of quality and environmental procedures with their emphasis on uniform and effective documentation. Newer versions of them have increased the visibility and importance of standards for recordkeeping. The result of their implementation in many organizations has been either more reliable manufacturing of products or more consistent provision of services. In some process-driven organizations, especially in the manufacturing sector, improvements have been made. But, for the most part, the practices defined in these standards have little to do with what is an ever-mounting information-driven marketplace populated by governments, insurance companies, banks, educational organizations, and others. Many records management professionals, especially those working for multinational organizations, have embraced these standards wholeheartedly. An endless parade of seminars and technical papers has been sold to records management professionals. We must remember, however, that standards lend legitimacy to programs that follow them; they do not confer it.

Content of the Standard

In its latest form, the standard has two parts: 1) a high-level description of the broad principles and requirements of records management programs and 2) a technical report that outlines a variety of possible procedures and practices that comply with the standard.

The need for two documents arose from discussions during the writing of the first draft, which then combined many of the "thou shalts" with suggested implementation methods. With many countries participating, however, it was soon obvious that there were a number of diverse -- yet acceptable -- approaches to establishing records management programs. For example, many European countries focus on archival concerns; programs develop in different fashions accordingly. New Zealand, for instance, is one of the countries that does not espouse the concept of the records continuum (that records have value and must be managed at all stages of their existence). This is a precept that has been prevalent in Australia and Canada for several years. Likewise, definitions of terms vary from country to country. In fact, no agreement could be reached on a term for what in Canada is called "retention and disposition programs." As a result, one ISO 15489 section is titled "Determining how long to retain records."

Accordingly, a German proposal was made to split the document so that the standard would remain a high-level policy document usable by all countries, while the technical report would serve as a non-mandatory implementation guideline. This would allow organizations to be free to take guidance from the technical report without being bound by specific methodologies for establishing a records management program satisfying the standard's requirements.

Parts 1-3: Scope, Normative References, Terms, and Definitions

There are 11 parts to the standard. These divisions are also reflected in the technical report. The first three parts ("scope," "normative references," and "definitions") are introductory in nature. The scope indicates that the standard is to be used by both public and private organizations to ensure adequate recordkeeping (i.e. creation, capture, and management of records). The normative references link existing allied ISO standards. The definitions section provides a common reference point for technical terms (e.g., "archival authority" and "action tracking").

Many organizations may find that their internal definitions are more detailed than those in ISO 15489. The simple reason for this is that definitions shaped to apply to organizations in more than 100 countries by necessity must be at a higher, more general level than is necessary in single organizations.

Part...