I Support DOD 5015.2; and Encourage ALL Federal Agencies to Adopt It

Here's the longer version of my title: Why I Not Only Support the DoD 5015.02-STD Standard, I Encourage all Federal Agencies to Adopt it.  A Counterpoint to Don Lueder’s Post. Don, your analysi... read more

The Email Pyramid

One of the key issues in Records Management is how to manage email. Email is the dominant content type requested by FOIA and eDiscovery because it often contains the “smoking gun,” and because peop... read more

The State of the Art in Records Management – Part 2

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In my previous blog, the State of the Art in Records Management – Part 1, I discussed the new market drivers for records management: eDiscovery Audit Readiness Big Bucket Retent... read more

The Managing Government Records Directive - What Does it Mean to You?

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Below is an outline of the Managing Government Records Directive issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on August 24, 2012.  The full directive is found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sit... read more

The State of the Art in Records Management – Part One

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Over the past couple of years I have come to the realization that with the many changes taking place in our industry there is a new “State of the Art” in Records Management.  This change has come a... read more

Why the RMA is DEAD

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The Records Management Application (RMA) as defined in days past is now an anachronism.  The traditional RMA was a back-end system that only managed records once they were declared.  This “view fro... read more

eDiscovery and Records Management, a Perfect Storm?

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I have internalized a concept about Records Management and eDiscovery for several years, but it has been made evident to me from working on recent projects that this view of the world of RM is not ... read more

Enterprise "Content" Management - is that the right word?

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Many folks in the ECM and RM industries use the term "Content" to describe what is being managed by our automated systems.  The term "Enterprise Content Management" or ECM originated from the desir... read more

Implementing an Enterprise ECM/RM System for Government - Best Practices Part 2

In my previous post on this topic I outlined the benefits of an enterprise approach to implementing ECM and RM. Now I will cover key implementation steps you will need to make it a reality. 1. ... read more

Implementing an Enterprise ECM/RM System for Government - Best Practices

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Most ECM implementations in both government and the private sector are point solutions.  These systems are implemented for a specific business application, one or more agencies in a government, or ... read more

Linking ECM and RM to GIS

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One of the most interesting potential benefits of ECM and Records Management technology, especially for government, is linking the software solution to a Geographic Information System (GIS). Th... read more

SharePoint Musings

Like a lot of other folks, I have taken a look at how to use SharePoint in my environment.  I have been working with the 2007 version and have not migrated yet to 2010. I find SharePoint to be ... read more

What is a Record? The Old Rules No longer Apply

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For many years Records Management has been built around records retention schedules, File Plans, Records Declaration, and so on.  Defining what is a record, what type of record it is, how long to k... read more

RIM 2.0 - a Revolution or a Coup?

OK, here's a new buzzword: RIM 2.0.  The ARMA Northern Virginia chapter coined this term for its 2010 - 2011 chapter program theme.  It is not especially original, but it is designed to incorpo... read more

Will the RIM Profession Become Obsolete?

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I am president of the Northern Virginia Chapter of ARMA (ARMA NOVA). We had our summer planning meeting this week, preparing for the upcoming chapter year that starts in September. We agreed up... read more

The Value of Full-Text Search for Records Management

When setting up a full Enterprise Content Management System that includes Records Management, a major challenge is defining the metadata that is to be included for each document or record.  There i... read more

What's the Duration of Your RIM Strategic Plan?

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Recently I attended a meeting of IT folks and the discussion revolved around strategic plans.  A point was made that one year plans are best because everything changes very quickly in today's tech ... read more

Email and Records Management

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One of the essential ingredients of a Records and Information Management program is email management.  There is a tension between the competing polarities related to email management:  IT, on one h... read more

Records Management -- Physical versus Electronic

In looking at a Records Management solution for an organization, it is necessary to consider both physical records as well as electronic records.  Ideally, the solution covers both, so that users c... read more

What Does the Cloud do for Me?

These days there is lots of talk about Cloud computing for business or government.  We all use the Cloud for personal stuff - YouTube, Gmail, Hotmail and so on, but how does it stack up for busines... read more

How to QA documents After Scanning

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Building on my last few posts about how to pick a scanner and how to index documents, this blog targets QA methods. Quality Assurance processes have the objective of ensuring that: All ... read more

HOW TO INDEX DOCUMENTS

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Building on my last post about how to pick a scanner, this blog targets indexing methods. Indexing is required so that your users can find the documents and records that are stored in the ECM s... read more

How to Pick a Scanner

These days, even though we are experiencing the effects of social media, Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, electronic forms, digital signatures, and process oriented solutions, there is still a need to scan... read more

Musings from AIIM 2010

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This year I was only able to go to the show for one day, as a day trip. This year was my 24th show in a row. I understand next year the show will be back in DC, which will be a treat since that’s w... read more

Accelerated Adoption of ECM Across an Organization – Why is this Important, and How do I do it?

One of the great challenges of the Enterprise Content Management industry is that it is seldom truly deployed enterprise-wide. It is most often deployed for a specific business application or depar... read more

Hi Blogosphere

My name is Mark Mandel, and I am the Public Records Administrator for the District of Columbia. This position is the Chief Records Officer and also the State Archivist for the District. The Dis... read more