The principles, IG maturity model: tools for professional growth.

• Author: Gable, Julie
• Position: THE PRINCIPLES - Information governance

In a field of endeavor where change is incessant and uncertainty is constant, the Principles and the IGMM are signposts that point out current position, future direction, and the means for getting the RIM program--and the professional--from one place to the next.

For the last three years, articles in this space have discussed the value of the Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles[R] (Principles) and the Information Governance Maturity Model (IGMM) to the enterprise. Emphasis has been on how these tools benefit organizations by providing a framework on which to build an information governance (IG) program and an objective set of criteria for measuring progress toward its maturity.

Yet the Principles remain abstract ideals until they are put into practice. They tell what good governance comprises, but they do not offer recipes for how to make it a reality. The hard work of translating the Principles into practice rests with an important, but often overlooked, element in program success: the records and information management (RIM) professional.

While RIM professionals have embraced the Principles and IGMM as tools they can employ to help their organizations attain excellence, they may not have realized they can also be used to their personal advantage. In addition to serving as the basis upon which to build, measure, and judge RIM and IG programs, the Principles and IGMM can also be a means by which RIM professionals can grow, achieve, and advance their careers.

The Tools' Explicit Uses

The Principles and the IGMM have both explicit and tacit aspects. Explicit uses are those for which the tools were developed. For example, the Principles of Accountability, Compliance, and Transparency show how a program should operate, and the Principles of Availability, Integrity, Protection, Retention, and Disposition show what a program should include. Taken together, these function as a roadmap for building or revising a RIM program; this is their explicit use.

The IGMM's explicit use is as a maturity meter, defining characteristics associated with sub-standard, developmental, essential, proactive, and transformational IG program levels. The IGMM tells what must be in place at each level, and its explicit use is as an assessment tool to take stock of a program and determine what it lacks. Once these deficiencies are clear, RIM professionals can prioritize them according to the risk they pose and formulate systematic plans to address them, ensuring...