RECORDS MANAGEMENT An Introduction to Marine Corps Records Management.
Introduction to Digital Records
Transcript of Introduction to Digital Records
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
1/32
INTRODUCTIONTODIGITAL
RECORDS
Contents
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
2/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page2of32
1Welcome 3
2Lessonobjectives 4
3Whatisarecord? 5
4Examplesofrecords 6
5Digitalrecords 7
6Bornorconverted? 87Recordcharacteristics 9
8Givingrecordsmeaning 10
9Removecharacteristics 13
10Characteristicsmatter 16
11Reviewingadigitalrecord 17
12Informationtypes 20
13Structuredversusunstructured 21
14Recap 23
15Movingtodigital 24
16DigitalTransitionPolicy 2517Managingdigitalinformation 26
18Digitalcontinuity 27
19ArchivesAct 28
20Otherlegislation 29
21Digitalrecordssystems 30
22Protectingrecords 31
23Summary 32
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
3/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page3of32
1WELCOME
WelcometotheNationalArchivesofAustralia's Introductiontodigitalrecords eLearningmodule.
Themoduleshouldtake30minutestocomplete,andisintendedfor:
informationandrecordsmanagersandstaff ICTmanagersandstaff,and businessmanagers.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
4/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page4of32
2LESSONOBJECTIVES
Theaimofthismoduleistointroduceyoutodigitalinformationandrecordsmanagementconcepts.
Theseconcepts:
provideanessentialfoundationforthemanagementofdigitalinformationandrecordsinallAustralian
Governmentagencies,and
areakeypartofensuringrecordsareaccessibleandusablebythosewhoneedthem.
Aftercompletingthismoduleyouwillknow:
whatdigitalrecordsare characteristicsimportanttodigitalrecords conceptsofstructuredandunstructuredinformation conceptsofdigitaltransitionanddigitalcontinuity,and keylegislation,standardsandguidelinesrelatingtodigitalrecords.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
5/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page5of32
3WHATISARECORD?
Putsimply,arecordisanyinformationcreated,sentor
receivedinthecourseofyouragency'sbusiness.
Recordsprovideevidenceofyouragency'sbusinessand
underpinaccountabilityandefficiency.Theycanbe
paper,digitalorinotherformats.
Peopleoftenworryaboutwhatarecordis.Forpracticalpurposes,youshouldfocusonmanagingall
youragency'sbusinessinformationwell.Insteadoftryingtofigureoutwhatisorisn'tarecord,you
shouldmanageallinformationasrecords.
Howevernotallrecordsareofequalvalue,sotheydon'tallrequirethesamelevelof
management.Forexampleadeliverydocketdoesnotrequirethesamelevelofmanagementasa
Cabinetsubmissionaboutnewlegislation.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
6/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page6of32
4EXAMPLESOFRECORDS
Recordsincludeinformationfoundinmanyformatsandlocations,suchas:
email faxes spreadsheets mapsandplans samplesandobjects informationinbusinesssystems,suchasdatabases,casemanagementandfinancesystems letters textmessages minutes policyandbriefingpapers photographs researchdata,and socialmediasites.
Sowhatdowemeanwhenwetalkaboutdigitalrecords?
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
7/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page7of32
5DIGITALRECORDS
Digitalrecordsarerecordscreated,communicatedandmaintainedbymeansofcomputer
technologyorotherdevicessuchasmobilephones.
Digitalrecordscanbeborndigital,ortheycanbeconverted.
Borndigital
Recordsthatareborndigitalarerecordscreated
usingcomputertechnology,includingemail,web
pages,digitalphotographs,digitalaudiofiles,
geographicinformationsystem(GIS)filesordatabaserecords.
Converted
Converteddigitalrecordsarerecordscreatedin
anotherformatandthenconvertedintodigitalform
forexample,ascannedordigitisedversionofa
paperrecord.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
8/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page8of32
6BORNORCONVERTED?
Togiveyouabetterunderstandingofwhichrecordsareborndigital,convertedandwhicharenot
digitalatall,let'slookatsomeexamples.
Firstatweetsentfromanagency'stwitteraccount.
Thisrecordwasborndigital.
Secondisascannedtaxinvoice.
Thisrecordhasbeenconverted.
Thirdisanemailbetweenaprojectmanager
andteammember.
Thisrecordwasborndigital.
Fourthisphotocopieddeliverydocket.
Thisrecordisnotdigitalatall.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
9/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page9of32
7RECORDCHARACTERISTICS
Recordsareusedtoprovideevidenceofyouragency'sbusiness,whichmeanstheyensureor
underpinaccountability.
Forthisreason,therearecertaincharacteristicsthatrecordsneedtohave.Theyneedtobe:
Authentic
Arecordmustbeauthenticsothatwecanbesurethatit
iswhatitsaysitis,includingwhocreateditandthetime
itwascreated.
Reliable
Arecordmustbereliablesowecanbesurethatthecontentisanaccurateaccountofwhathappened.
Secure
Arecordmustbesecurefromunauthorisedtamperingor
alterationtopreserveitsintegrity.
Usable
Arecordmustbeusablesothatuserscanlocate,access
anduseitovertime-forexample,whensoftwareis
upgraded.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
10/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page10of32
8GIVINGRECORDSMEANING
Inadditiontothecharacteristicsthatensurerecordsareacceptableasevidenceofagencybusiness,
thereareothercharacteristicsthatgiverecordsmeaning.
Thesecharacteristics:
helpyouunderstandtherecords,and ensurethattheymaintaintheirvalueasevidence,nowandinthefuture.
Thecharacteristicsthatgiverecordsmeaningare:
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
11/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page11of32
Content
Thecontentofarecordisbasicallywhatitsays.Forexamplecontentcanbethe:
textofanemailmessage,SMSmessageorblogpost imagesonawebpage audiooutputofapodcast,and substanceofareport.
Structure
Thestructureofarecordisitslayoutorform,andthewaytheelementsareorganisedand
interrelated.Forexamplea:
navigationpathandmenuofawebpage report'stitlepage tableofcontents,and bibliographyandappendicesproducedinadocument.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
12/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page12of32
Context
Thecontextinwhicharecordiscreatedgivesitmuchmoremeaning.Forexample,toproperly
understandarecorditmaybeimportanttoknow:
whichbusinessactivityitisevidenceof whocreateditandthepositiontheyheldwhentheycreatedit,and whenitwascreated.
Appearance
Appearancereferstotherecord'svisualpresentationandincludesthingslikethe:
fontsizeandstyle backgroundcolour,and widthofmargins.
Theappearanceofarecordcanhaveasignificantimpactonthemeaning.
Behaviour
Describesthe'feel'orinteractivecharacteristicsofdigitalrecordsthatallowustomanipulateand
usethem.Forexample:
thewaypopupsappearonawebpage theabilitytoopenanattachmenttoanemail,and theabilitytoopenahyperlink
Theseareallbehaviouralcharacteristics.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
13/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page13of32
9REMOVECHARACTERISTICS
Sometimestheimportanceofthecharacteristicsthatgiverecordsmeaningisntclearuntilafter
they'vebeenlost.Let'slookatsomeexamples.
First-yourorganisationhascreatedaseriesofspreadsheetsregardingexpenditureonahighrisk
project.
Fig.1
Thecontentandcontextareobviouslyimportanttomaintain,butwhatelseisimportant?What
happensifwechangetheappearance?
Fig.2
Asyoucansee,althoughthechangedappearancemakesthespreadsheetmoredifficulttoread,the
informationisstillavailableandcoherent.
Whileitmaynotbenecessarytoretainallofthelookandfeelofthespreadsheets,itneedstobe
clearwhatcontentbelongstowhatcolumnsandrows.
Ifthelayoutorformatofthedatachanges,themeaningmaybeobscured.Whathappensifthe
structureofthedatachanges?
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
14/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page14of32
Fig.3
Asyoucansee,changingthestructureofthisdatamakesitmeaninglesssomeelementsofthe
structureofadocumentlikethisareessentialcharacteristics.
Let'slookatanotherrecord.
Fig4.
Adigitalreportiscreatedbyanagency.
Thereportcontainsacolouredmap:thecoloursrepresenttheareaswithinthatregionwherethe
soilhasbeencontaminated.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
15/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page15of32
Fig.5
Toreducethefilesize,oneoftheprojectteammembersconvertedthemaptoblackandwhite.As
youcansee,withoutthecolour,thereportcannotbeunderstoodinthewaythatisintended.
Inthiscase,appearanceintheformofthecoloursonthemapisanessentialcharacteristicwhich
mustbeidentifiedandretained.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
16/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page16of32
10CHARACTERISTICSMATTER
Aswe'vediscussed,recordsprovideevidenceofyouragencys
business.Tobeusedasevidence,theymustretaintheir
meaning.
Akeyissuewhenmanagingdigitalrecordsisthatthe
characteristicsthatgivemeaningmaybealteredorlost
overtime,orduringprocessessuchassoftwareupgradesor
changingfromonesystemtoanother.
Ifthereisonlyminimalloss,recordscanstillfunction
effectivelyasevidence.However,significantlosscan
meanthatrecordslosetheirmeaning,andtherefore
cannolongerfunctionasevidence.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
17/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page17of32
11REVIEWINGADIGITALRECORD
Byidentifyingandunderstandingthecharacteristicsthatgiverecordsmeaning,weareabletobetter
manageandprotecttheessentialcharacteristics.Thismeanstheyretaintheirvalueasevidenceof
business.
Tofurtherdevelopyourunderstandingofthecharacteristicsthatgiverecordsmeaning,let'slookat
eachofthecharacteristicsthatmakeuparecord.Therecordyouarereviewingisareportonfish
populations.
First,thecontentofthereport.Animportantpartofthecontentofthisreportwouldincludethetext
andimageswhichindicatethenumberoffishpresentinthearea.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
18/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page18of32
Secondisthestructureofthereport.Anelementofthestructureofthisreportisthereport'stable
ofcontents.
Thirdisthecontextofthereport.Inthisreport,keycontextualinformationincludesthenameofthe
personwhocompiledthereport.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
19/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page19of32
Fourthistheappearanceofthereport.Anelementofappearancewouldincludethecolourinthe
barchartlegends,whichisimportanttounderstandingwherefishpopulationsarefound.
Finally,thebehaviourofthereport.Thisreportcontainsanindexthatallowssectionsofthereport
tobedirectlyaccessedbyclickingonthem.Thiswouldbeconsideredpartofthebehaviourofthe
report.
We'velookedateachofthecharacteristicsthatmakeuparecordandyoushouldnowhavean
understandingofthecharacteristicsthatgiverecordsmeaning.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
20/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page20of32
12INFORMATIONTYPES
We'vetalkedaboutstructureasacharacteristicofrecords,buthaveyoueverheardtheterms
structuredandunstructuredinformationordata?
Everwonderedwhattheymean?
Structuredinformationisinformation
capturedinanorderlyformwithstrict
controls.Itisusuallyinorganisedfieldsina
database.
Unstructuredinformationisinformation
createdwithoutstrictcontrols.Examples
includeinformationcontainedindocuments,
emailsandblogs.
Themajorityofbusinessisconductedusingunstructuredinformation.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
21/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page21of32
13STRUCTUREDVERSUSUNSTRUCTURED
Togetabetterunderstandingofthedifferencebetweenstructuredandunstructuredinformation,
let'slookathowdifferentlythesamepieceofinformationcanbeinterpretedwithoutlabellingor
tagginginanunstructuredenvironment.
InAustralia,thiscouldbereadasadatethefirstofApril,2012.
IntheUS,itwouldreadasadatethefourthofJanuary,2012.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
22/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page22of32
Itmightbeatelephonenumber(orpartofatelephonenumber)oranaccountnumber.
Withoutlabellingortaggingthenumbers,thecomputercannotinterprettheinformationandasa
result,understandingtheinformationwillrequirehumaninput.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
23/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page23of32
14RECAP
Sofar,we'vecovered:
whatrecordsare whatdigitalrecordsare thecharacteristicsofrecordsneededtoensurethey
provideevidenceandunderpinaccountability
thecharacteristicsthatgiverecordsmeaning,and thedifferencebetweenstructuredandunstructured
information.
Nextwe'lllookathowweensuretheserecordscanbeusedforaslongastheyareneeded.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
24/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page24of32
15MOVINGTODIGITAL
RapidadvancesintechnologyandtheonlineenvironmentmeanthatAustralianGovernment
agenciesfacemanytechnicalchallengescreating,usingandstoringinformation,inawidevarietyof
digitalformats.
However,therearemanybenefitstobegainedfrommovingtodigitalinformationandrecords
management:
improvedbusinessprocesses betterinformeddecision-making moreefficientuseofstafftime moreinformationsharing lowercompliancecosts,and reducedstoragecosts.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
25/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page25of32
16DIGITALTRANSITIONPOLICY
TheGovernmentrecognisesthesebenefitsandhasreleasedaDigitalTransitionPolicytomove
agenciestodigitalinformationandrecordsmanagementforefficiencypurposes.
ClickonthefollowinglinktoviewtheDigitalTransitionPolicypageontheNationalArchivesof
Australia'swebsite:
DigitalTransitionPolicypage
Sowhatisdigitalinformationandrecordsmanagement?
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
26/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page26of32
17MANAGINGDIGITALINFORMATION
Digitalinformationandrecordsmanagementmeansthat
mostofyouragency'srecordsarecreated,storedand
manageddigitally.Wherepossible,incomingpaperrecords
aredigitised,sothatnewpaperfilesarenotcreated.
Mostinformationisnowcreatedindigitalform.Printing
digitalinformationtopapertostoreandmanageitis
becomingincreasinglyimpracticalasGovernmentbusiness
becomesmorereliantondigitaltechnologies.
Creatingnewpaperrecordsinadigitalworldiscostly,
reducesefficiency,stiflesinnovationandintroducesrisks
toagencybusiness.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
27/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page27of32
18DIGITALCONTINUITY
Toprovidepracticalguidanceonmanagingdigital
informationovertime,aDigitalContinuityPlanhas
beendevelopedbytheNationalArchivesin
consultationwithotheragencies.
Theaimofdigitalcontinuityistoensurethatdigital
informationisaccessibleandusableforaslongasit
isneeded.
TheDigitalContinuityPlanisbasedonsixprinciples
anditincludeskeyactionsaimedatachievingdigital
continuity.
Youcanfindoutmoreaboutdigitalcontinuityfrom
theNAAwebsite.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
28/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page28of32
19ARCHIVESACT
Sowhatarethelegalrequirementsthatneedtobemetwhenmanagingrecords?
TheArchivesAct1983isoneofthekeypiecesoflegislation
thatrequiresustomanagerecordsintheAustralian
Government.
UndertheAct,theNationalArchivesregulateswhenAustralian
Governmentrecordscanbedestroyedoriftheymustbe
transferredtotheArchivesforpermanentretention.
TheActprovidesforpublicaccesstomostrecordsoncetheyreachacertainage(between20and30years).
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
29/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page29of32
20OTHERLEGISLATION
InadditiontotheArchivesAct,therearemanyotherpiecesoflegislationthatincludeatleastone
requirementtocreate,keepordestroyrecords.Someexamplesare:
FreedomofInformationAct1982
PrivacyAct1988
CrimesAct1914
FinancialManagement&AccountabilityAct1997
Telecommunications(InterceptionandAccess)Act1979
AnumberofActsfacilitatethespecificuseofdigitalrecordsandtheiracceptanceasevidence.
Twothatarethemostrelevanttodigitalrecordsare:
ElectronicTransactionsAct EvidenceAct
ElectronicTransactionsAct1999specifiesthatdigital
communicationmaybereliedupontoconductbusiness,
providingcertainconditionsaremet.
EvidenceAct1995statesthatdigitalrecordscanbeintroducedinto
courtasevidenceandcopiesofrecords,includingdigitalcopies,can
beaccepted.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
30/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page30of32
21DIGITALRECORDSSYSTEMS
Thesystemsweusetocreate,manageandstorerecordsplayanimportantroleinensuringrecords
areusable,trustworthyandreliableforaslongastheyareneeded.
TheNationalArchivesendorsesinternationalstandard ISO16175-PrinciplesandFunctional
requirementsforrecordsinElectronicOfficeEnvironmentsforusebyAustralianGovernment
agenciesfordigitalsystemsthatmanagerecords.
Thisstandardshouldbeusedtoreviewandevaluateexistingsystemsorwhendesigning,upgrading
oracquiringnewsystems.Thisensuressystemsareappropriatefortherecordsthattheycreate,
manageandstore.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
31/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
Page31of32
22PROTECTINGRECORDS
Animportantpartofmaintainingthecharacteristicsofdigitalrecordsismakingthemsecuresothey
cannotbetamperedwithordeletedinappropriately.Accesstosomerecordsshouldberestricted.
Tofindoutmoreaboutthespecificsecurityrequirementsforyouragencysdigitalrecords,you
shouldconsultyourAgencySecurityAdviser.
Formoreinformationandadvice,youcanalsorefertotheProtectiveSecurityPolicyFrameworkand
theAustralianGovernmentInformationSecurityManual.
TheProtectiveSecurityPolicyFrameworkorPSPFismanaged
bytheAttorney-General'sDepartmentandprovidespolicy
andguidanceonprotectivesecurityforpeople,information
andassetsintheAustralianGovernment.
TheAustralianGovernmentInformationSecurityManualor
ISMisproducedbytheDefenceSignalsDirectorateandapplies
toinformationthatisprocessed,storedorcommunicated
digitally.
-
7/27/2019 Introduction to Digital Records
32/32
NationalArchives Introductiontodigitalrecords
23SUMMARY
Thatbringsustotheendandyoushouldnowhavean
understandingof:
whatdigitalrecordsare thecharacteristicsofrecordsneededtoensurethey
provideevidenceandunderpinaccountability
thecharacteristicsthatgivedigitalrecordsmeaning whatisdigitalinformationandrecordsmanagement digitaltransitionanddigitalcontinuity,and keylegislation,standardsandguidelinesrelatingtodigitalrecords.
Moreinformation,standardsandguidelinesareavailableontheNationalArchiveswebsiteat
naa.gov.au