A Proof of Concept Project

Online Recordkeeping Plan/Disposal Authority System

Project Summary

In November 2005, the State Records Office was successful in receiving funding from the .NET Solutions - WA initiative to develop a proof of concept system that would facilitate the development and management of Recordkeeping Plans and Disposal Authorities in a purely web-based environment.

The .NET Solutions - WA initiative is aimed at enabling WA State Government agencies to trial new concepts, innovative ideas and pilot solutions to address business needs.

Between December 2005 and May 2006, the State Records Office worked in partnership with Fujitsu and Microsoft to test the concepts behind the proposed system and to develop a working prototype database. The project was completed in May 2006 and the prototype system is currently subject to further review.

Project Background

The State Records Office wishes to acknowledge David Roberts and his staff from State Records NSW for providing the inspiration behind the proposed system and for sharing the key concepts that would allow Disposal Authorities to be developed between government agencies and archival authorities in a web-enabled environment.

David shared these ideas with the State Records Office in 2003 when the State Records Office was implementing its new archival management system which it purchased from State Records NSW.

In 2004, the State Records Office reviewed the concepts underlying an online Disposal Authority module and considered that they could be equally applicable to the whole-of-government Recordkeeping Plan regime that is a requirement under the Western Australian State Records Act 2000. In fact, the need for the State Records Office to manage and analyse such a large quantity of data which has resulted from the Recordkeeping Plan regime would suggest that a systems-based approach would be highly desirable.

To further test these concepts and the system methodology, the State Records Office applied for funding in 2004 through the .NET Solutions - WA initiative to carry out a proof of concept project.

A New Approach to "Document" Development

In Western Australia, the development of Disposal Authorities requires government agencies to submit to the State Records Office a draft Disposal Authority document. State Records Office staff undertake extensive review of such documents and liaise with agency staff with a view to bringing the documents to a state of mutually-agreeable finalisation. This process may require multiple drafts of a given Disposal Authority document as it is refined through subsequent iterations. The process often necessitates meeting with agency staff to talk through and seek clarification on various matters outlined in the Disposal Authority (i.e. record descriptions, disposal decisions, etc).

When the document is finalised, it is then submitted to the bodies who have responsibilty for authorising them (in Western Australia, the State Records Advisory Committee reviews all Disposal Authorities and make recommendations to the State Records Commission regarding authorised approval).

Although the transmittal of draft Disposal Authorities via email has led to some improved efficiencies in the process, the process of developing and finalising Disposal Authorities occurs largely in hardcopy format.

The proof of concept project aimed to test moving this whole undertaking into a web-enabled environment. This in itself poses a unique IT challenge: what is the best solution to enable such documents to be developed online inter-agency?

Rather than thinking of Disposal Authorities as documents, an alternative approach is to consider Disposal Authorities as entities containing linked data (i.e. at a basic level, a record class is linked to a record description which is linked to a retention period which is linked to a disposal action). A systems-based approach can then be employed to construct a Disposal Authority - the document can be considered the end product of that development.

A unique feature of the proof of concept system is functionality that would allow government agency staff and State Records Office staff to conduct a "dialogue" regarding disposal decisions via the system. This facility also provides a complete audit trail for such decision-making and is integrated into the system itself (rather than necessitating use of a separate email system, etc.).

These exact same principles can be applied equally to Recordkeeping Plans as they can to Disposal Authorities.

The development of the proof of concept system facilitated two modules for the preparation of both types of "document", although similiar methodologies have been used for each.

Key Features of the Proof of Concept System

The key features of the proof of concept system can be identified as follows:

HOLISTIC CONTROL: the proof of concept system aimed to facilitate complete management of the Disposal Authority and Recordkeeping Plan process - from initial registration, to "document" development, through to data tracking, storage, searching, reporting, reviewing, etc. The proof of concept system therefore integrates all processes into a single database module to maximise efficiencies. By moving these processes into a database format, it is believed that comparative reviews of decisions (e.g. across a range of government agency Disposal Authorities) could be conducted easily and that this would in turn aid the decision-making process;

CONSISTENT STRUCTURE: the proof of concept system aimed to provide a uniform and consistent structure for Recordkeeping Plans and Disposal Authorities. It is believed that this would assist the State Records Office, the State Records Commission and the State Records Advisory Committee in the assessment of Recordkeeping Plans and Disposal Authorities;

ONLINE COLLABORATION: the proof of concept system aimed to provide the facility for collaboration of Disposal Authorities and Recordkeeping Plans to be conducted online;

DETAILED EVALUATION: the proof of concept system aimed to to provide detailed evaluation and reporting of Recordkeeping Plans and Disposal Authorities at macro and micro levels. Such analysis is fundamental to the Recordkeeping Plan regime. A systems-based approach moves such analysis from a manual process to an automated one to facilitate instant data analysis and reporting;

IMPORT/EXPORT FUNCTIONALITY: the proof of concept system established import/export capability to allow Disposal Authorities developed using other software to be imported into the system. The export facility would also allow for finalised Disposal Authorities and Recordkeeping Plans to be exportable, in a variety of formats, to meet government agency needs (i.e. for integration into Records Management systems). The notion of systems-interoperability was recognised as an important feature for the proof of concept system.

INTEGRATION OF WORKFLOW : the proof of concept system aimed to integrate workflow processes into the system in a user-friendly way via the system's graphical interface (i.e. using different icons to signify the stage of development of Recordkeeping Plans and Disposal Authorities, through status reporting, etc).

SECURE ONLINE ACCESS: the proof of concept system aimed to facilitate secure online access to the test system. The intention is that only government agency staff (or consultants working on behalf of government agencies) would be able to access and develop Disposal Authorities and Recordkeeping Plans which they have authorised access to. This feature is vital to ensure data security and integrity. There may be additional scope to review this component with emerging Connected Government initiatives.

Proof of Concept System - Scope Document

For a more detailed overview of the proof of concept system, please refer to the initial Proof of Concept Scope Document.

Proof of Concept System - Slideshow Presentation

The State Records Office has prepared an online presentation of the proof of concept system which includes a number of screenshots from the prototype database, as well as explanatory notes. This presentation (accessible in Powerpoint and PDF formats) better illustrates the concepts and structure of the proof of concept system:

(If your browser is unable to view the Powerpoint presentation, the Microsoft Powerpoint Viewer can be downloaded free of charge).

Feedback

If you wish to comment or provide feedback about the proof of concept system, please email the Project Manager damien.hassan@sro.wa.gov.au

PLEASE NOTE:

It is important to note that the aim of the proof of concept project was to test system concepts and core functionality. The proof of concept system is currently not at a stage where it can be used for production purposes.

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