Guidelines for Managing Electronic Documents in Australian Government Agencies - Introducing a document management system

Copyright © Commonwealth of Australia 1995

1. INTRODUCING A DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
   1. THE CONTEXT: INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
   2. DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
   3. SENIOR MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT
   4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
   5. STAFF INVOLVEMENT
   6. PROJECT TEAM SKILLS
   7. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
   8. SEEKING EXPERT ADVICE

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Introducing a document management system

SENIOR MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT

Once the review of the existing situation has been completed, management will be in a position to consider and approve an appropriate course of action. It should be clearly recognised that the review may have identified several options, ranging from an enhancement of existing manual procedures to a significant revision of corporate procedures, which may or may not include the acquisition of a technology solution. However, if the introduction of an electronic document management system is considered to be the most appropriate, to be undertaken as a corporate project, then agency commitment should also be formal, and specific resources and staffing allocated.

Firm senior management acceptance and commitment is vital to the success of any project. To achieve this, the project coordinator should draw up a project proposal recommending :

• the proposed electronic document management strategy;
• acceptance by management of project goals, outcomes and performance measures;
• endorsement of the preliminary project plan and its further development;
• proceeding to the development/implementation stage;
• allocating an appropriate level of resources;
• a time frame for the achievement of the objectives; and
• arrangements for periodic reviews of progress with the project at key intervals.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

It is most important to use effective project management techniques, whether developing procedures or implementing a system. It is usual to begin with a broad plan and to manage in phases such as project initiation, feasibility study, functional analysis, software evaluation, system design, product integration and testing, implementation, and post- implementation review. Just which phases are appropriate will depend on the nature of the agency, its resources, and the kind of solution chosen. There is an ample literature on the subject, and numerous training courses are available.

STAFF INVOLVEMENT

Once management approval has been given, it is very important that all staff likely to be involved in the exercise are informed of the decisions that have been taken, and the likely impact on current procedures.

This can be achieved by :

• widespread publication within the agency of the agreed electronic document management procedures and significant features of the Information Management Plan;
• providing appropriate understanding of new work practices and training in new procedures;
• providing regular progress reports to staff; and
• undertaking periodic reviews of user participation and satisfaction.

Progress reports to management will reflect the outcomes of the staff awareness activities.

THE PROJECT TEAM

As for the review, the skills required on the project team may include those of records managers, librarians, archivists, and information technologists. The project manager and the senior manger responsible may need to be able to address issues across the various professions. The legal, audit and security areas may also need to be consulted.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

There are two main schools of thought on how electronic document management procedures may be implemented in an organisation. These are:

• introduce the procedures across all areas of the organisation simultaneously
• introduce the procedures into selected areas only, gradually introducing them throughout the whole organisation.

Points to consider when making a decision on which approach best suits an organisation are:

• the value of a pilot installation using a joint team of staff to be involved in using the revised procedures and technical staff, followed by a trial period to help refine implementation procedures, work practices and training requirements. A technical review can also be conducted (eg the effect on network performance, disk space requirements, file server performance etc)
• the size of the organisation (smaller means easier to do all at once); physical location (diverse sites - even within the same city - make it more difficult);
• homogeneity of work (different areas may have different clients, with different requirements - this can apply at Division, Branch, Section, or Work Group level);
• the need to train staff in the new work practices, not just in the use of software;
• the relative independence of each area;
• staff understanding of corporate needs/requirements/responsibilities;
• level of management support/commitment may not be uniform across the organisation (do the ‘runs-on-the-board’ areas first - as a positive example to others);
• level of resources available for education (pre-training information sessions, dissemination of information) and staff training;
• quality of training;
• timing of training (more difficult to implement organisation wide when only a few percent of the organisation can be trained in any one week);
• the benefits to be gained by all staff working to the same work practices at the same time rather than small pockets of staff coming 'on-line' progressively; and
• integration of electronic document management with other document and corporate systems such as electronic mail, word processing systems and standard work practices.

SEEKING EXPERT ADVICE

There is no single preferred implementation process, given the diversity of Government agencies, their methodologies and their activities. Advice from records managers and others with practical experience in other Commonwealth agencies is invaluable, and some relevant details have been provided at Appendix ??? to these Guidelines.

OTHER POSSIBLE CONTACTS:

• Australian Archives, PO Box 34, DICKSON ACT 2602
• The Records Management Association of Australia - Contact: Secretary (ACT), PO Box E330, Queen Victoria Terrace, CANBERRA ACT 2600
• The Australian Information Management Association, (Training & Consultancy Services) Ltd - Contact : Managing Director, AIMA, National Library of Australia, CANBERRA ACT 2600

RECOMMENDED ACTION

When undertaking a project to implement electronic document management procedures and systems, consider the following key steps :

• formally nominate a project coordinator
• identify project responsibilities;
• assess functional requirements
• obtain senior management commitment and user agreement
• ensure that staff involved in the implementation are fully informed
• seek expert advice in developing the implementation process