Web 2.0 records management tips (Guideline 24)

Web 2.0 applications are changing the way NSW government does business. This means for records professionals that it is vitally important to not only be aware of these technologies and their uses within your organisation, but devise ways of capturing records created by these tools. To be able to do this, record professionals must begin to develop relationships with many different areas of their organisations.

Be involved

Records management can not be left to the people who create the data or control the technology as they may not have the skills required for good records management. A joint effort is required and relationships between web masters, system administrators, knowledge managers, information managers and records managers must be formed. Records professionals must be involved as early as possible in the adoption of any web 2.0 application in order to ensure that records are made and preserved where needed and that these technologies benefit the organisation and not pose unreasonable risks.

Policies and procedures

Not only technical controls but administrative controls are required for any organisation using web 2.0 tools for business. Administrative controls will include the policies and procedures within an organisation to manage involvement in web 2.0 applications. These controls may also limit the circumstances under which such technology is permitted for purposes of transacting agency business and generating records of that business activity.

As web 2.0 is not confined to a single user, the procedures should represent many users within the organisation. Not only will records management policies and procedures be required to be updated or reinforced, so too will many others. For example the:

code of conduct may need to be revised to demonstrate that whilst staff work with web 2.0 applications they are representing the public office and should behave accordingly.
human resources policy will need to reflect the adoption of web 2.0 applications and outline the boundaries between personal and professional.
ICT guidelines may need to be updated to incorporate appropriate access measures and acceptable use policy.
information security policy will need to be revised to dictate the security requirements of collaborative tools used within the organisation.

It is important that all users of web 2.0 applications know the purpose of the adoption of the technology. This will in turn make it easier to know what records are created and from where they need to be captured. Each application may behave in many different ways, yet the purpose of their use must be understood. For example, instant messaging may be used to connect people for an online meeting. Procedures and required practices must be known to all users involved so that all relevant records are created, including minutes, agenda and a record of who participated.

Risk assessment

The use of web 2.0 application may involve some risk to the organisation. These risks include security, integrity and long term accessibility of data.

It is a good idea to conduct risk assessments on the web 2.0 applications used and identify recordkeeping requirements related to the use of the particular tool. These requirements are then documented into the acceptable usage policies and workflows.

A good risk assessment will help in determining the appropriate user and management of the application.

Keep it in-house

Encourage creation and use of wikis and blogs to be hosted on the organisation’s web server. Make requesting a blog or wiki a simple process to encourage use. It is much easier to keep a record when it is on your organisation’s server.

Records generated by your organisation should be under your control. Ideally they will also be in your custody. Therefore it is a good idea to use in-house technology as much as possible when adopting web 2.0 applications. It may seem easier at the time to use third party sites and software. However this can lead to loss of intellectual property, copyright issues and a general lack of control such as continuity issues. If it is not possible to use in-house technology, be wary of third party sites and software, read the fine print and perhaps set more stringent capture requirements. The Panel Contract for the supply of Information Asset Management Systems (IAMS) software applications under the Government Selected Application Systems (GSAS) program for NSW Government includes collaborative and web content management tools that may be appropriate for your organisation.

To keep business in-house it may be necessary to encourage and assist with large outputs of online work being exported and managed locally. This may be the only way to manage record requirements of information made on third party sites or software.

For all technologies managed in-house, try to integrate them with recordkeeping systems as much as possible. For requirements on recordkeeping systems, please refer to the Standard on digital recordkeeping. By integrating with recordkeeping systems, the recordkeeping processes may be easier for the user.

Keep an open mind. As is outlined in the Standard on Digital Recordkeeping, a digital recordkeeping system does not have to be a dedicated records management system. Liaise with your ICT department and discover what business systems used in a collaborative manner may have suitable recordkeeping functionality or can be linked with the dedicated records management system. Once you have ascertained what needs to be kept as a record, an automated process will make the procedure much easier.

No perfect solution

Currently there is no perfect solution. The advice available for the management of web 2.0 records is continually evolving. Records professionals are asked to not ignore the concept but encourage its use, albeit with caution. There are many positives to using web 2.0 technologies and it appears that they are here to stay.

Some questions to consider when implementing web 2.0 applications

What is the purpose of the activities?
What business, accountability and cultural needs exist for records of these activities?
What would these records need to consist of?
How will the records be captured into a recordkeeping system?
How long do we need the records for?
Can the web 2.0 application currently create and store records?
Will the web 2.0 application serve as a recordkeeping system or will it interface with an IAMS tool (e.g. an EDRMS)
Is the application creating original material not captured elsewhere in the organisation?
Is the application available in-house or externally?
Will the records need preserving at intervals, or at a completion date e.g. end of a project?
Is it necessary to maintain the content, or its complete look and behaviour?
Will the links still work (and do they need to work) when the record is captured in the recordkeeping system?
If the captured record includes raw wiki mark-up, do you have the capabilities to rerender this as HTML?

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