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Records Management Systems
"Records management systems are those information systems, which captures, manages and provides access to records through time."
Standards Australia: Australian Standard ISO 15489 - 2001
A records management system must meet the needs of the users as well as the legal and operational requirements of the organisation. We recommend that the system is based upon the International Standard ISO 15489 - 2001: Information and Documentation - Records Management Part 1 Section 8: Design and Implementation of a Records System, and must be fully endorsed and supported by management. This should be reflected in the form of adequate resources, including personnel and documented policy and procedures.
The standard states:
Records management strategies are based on developing and adopting policies, procedures and practices, and designing and implementing systems in ways that meet the operational needs of the organization and that accord with the regulatory environment.
Strategies adopted by an organization for documenting its business activity should determine what records are required and when, how and where they should be captured into records systems.
Implementation strategies for compliant records systems may include:
a) designing records systems,
b) documenting records systems,
c) training records practitioners and other personnel,
d) converting records to new records systems, formats and controls,
e) setting standards and measuring compliance and performance against them, and
f) determining retention periods and making decisions about records which have continuing value, in keeping with the regulatory environment.
Records management strategies should be documented in a strategic plan, such as an Information Management Strategic Plan, which should be incorporated into organization-wide planning documentation.
Information systems, business applications and communication systems, and the business processes which they support, should be designed, modified or redesigned so that adequate records can be created and captured as a routine part of undertaking routine business activities.