Taming Information - InfoManagement2015

36 MAY/JUNE 2015 INFORMATIONMANAGEMENT

Taming the Information Explosion with Enterprise Content ManagementShiva Hullavarad, Ph.D.; Russell O’Hare, Ed.D., CRM; Ashok Roy, Ph.D., CBA, CIA

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MAY/JUNE 2015 INFORMATIONMANAGEMENT 37

retention rules that ensure it is kept for the required time and automati-cally deleted after the retention re-quirement is fulfilled.

3) Features/Attributes – An ECM system is equipped with features meant to achieve specific business purposes. For example:

• Data archival provides a sys-tematic approach for archiving and retrieving information us-ing select keywords.

• Intelligent data capture con-

Information is among every orga-nization’s most valuable business assets, regardless of its size or busi-ness. As the fuel that powers their

unique business processes – from product development, to sales and marketing, product/service delivery, and business management – infor-mation must be captured, processed, accessed, measureed, integrated, and stored efficiently and effectively.

For most, this is an ongoing chal-lenge; implementing enterprise con-tent management (ECM), which is broadly defined as the strategies, tools, processes, and skills needed to manage all information assets over their life cycle, can be a good solution.

Implementing an ECM system, which is a single, decentralized sys-tem that can serve multiple systems and business areas, offers robust func-tionality for systematically control-ling and analyzing an organization’s increasingly complex and voluminous information, whether it is in a struc-tured format (e.g., in databases), un-structured format (e.g., e-mail, word processed, spreadsheet, image, audio, video), or hard copy.

ECM FunctionalitiesAs shown in Figure 1, an ECM

solution typically consists of four es-sential functionalities:

1) User interface – The user in-terface brings information (digital or non-digital) into an ECM system. This is accomplished, for example, by scanning hard-copy documents to convert them into electronic images, by uploading a born-digital document such as a Google doc word processing file, or being fed from an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system the organization uses to collect informa-tion from many business activities.

2) Information governance – This key functionality is what separates ECM solutions from other digital archival systems. For example, the information governance functionality assigns incoming information-specific

for connecting different data streams.

• Information disposal affixes a post-dated time to information that will be automatically ap-plied to delete it in compliance with its retention require-ments.

4) Repository – ECM systems provide a secure approach to storing information for on-demand access. A variety of information storage proto-cols allow information to be stored on

Figure 1: Typical ECM Architecture

verts image-based information to a computer readable format by using optical character rec-ognition.

• Workflow provides an auto-mated process for informa-tion flowing through different stages; this is based on a pre-configured logic.

• Integration/Data process-ing is a built-in information management functionality

arrayed disks to allow for enhanced data security. The repositories can be onsite or in the cloud.

ECM Implementation GoalsThe main goal of an ECM imple-

mentation is to provide transparent content sharing by making different and incongruent applications (for ex-ample, web content management and records management) interoperable.

With a complete suite of product

ECM User Interface

Scanner/Image Capture

DeviceERP Google Apps Microsoft

Office

RecordsManagement

RecordsSecurity

RecordsRetention

Records Interoperability

Data ServersFile Servers

InfrastuctureStorage

Cloud StorageServices

Magnetic TapeDVD

Microfiche

Data Archival Integration Security Workflow

IntelligentData Capture

DataProcessing Access

InformationDisposal

ECM Information Governance

ECM Features

ECM Repository


options, an ECM system can manage and integrate data systems, automate document handling, reduce workload by streamlining tasks, provide trace-ability and version control, reduce duplication, and improve search and retrieval for information across platforms. This reduces costs and the burden on IT departments for infor-mation storage and retrieval.

Therefore, transitioning to an ECM can help an organization in-crease its decision-making capa-bilities, improve customer service, enhance employee creativity and productivity, facilitate compliance with regulations, eliminate unneeded information on servers and in filing cabinets, implement business con-tinuity measures, and, ultimately, enhance its reputation in the eyes of its stakeholders.

ECM Implementation StagesAs shown in Figure 2 and de-

scribed below, there are four stages of an ECM implementation plan: 1) Roadmap Strategy; 2) Development; 3) Deployment; and 4) Support.

Stage 1: Roadmap StrategyThe primary goal of ECM imple-

mentation roadmap strategy is to es-tablish the information governance for the life cycle of the information based on establishing an amalgam-ated, interoperable space that will reduce the content classification bur-den for the end user. A well-developed strategy:

• Encompasses the majority of records, including paper and electronic, unstructured and structured

• Meets the needs of a wide va-riety of stakeholders

• Enables the organization to respond to legal discovery

• Automates business processes, removing the inconsistency of manual processes

• Brings the organization up to date with respect to technology

Follow these steps to develop the roadmap strategy.

Conduct a needs assessment. The “Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Content Management, Q3 2013” re-port by Alan Weintraub, Craig Le Clair, and Cheryl McKinnon said ECM requirements are driven by user productivity goals and compliance needs. This means that identifying the best ECM solution depends on knowing how the organization intends to use the information that will be stored in it.

An organization’s business needs are inherent and specific to the nature of its business and culture, so the needs assessment should sufficiently cover:

• Existing technology infra-structure/environment, readi-ness

• Change management • Immediate and long-term

training • Information security and

alignment with regulatory compliance

• Taxonomy and metadata re-quirements for data classifica-tion and retrieval

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• Records management and in-formation governance

• Storage capacity – on premises and in the cloud

• Disaster recovery strategyGet stakeholder buy-in. An in-

formation governance team compris-ing representatives from all stake-holder groups should act as a catalyst to enforce consistent governing poli-cies, such as for the adoption of an organization file plan or classification scheme; use of the taxonomy; and ap-plication of retention, disposal, and archival rules.

Identify the perceived benefits. Identification of tactical benefits may include improving internal and exter-nal collaboration, enhancing content quality and maintaining consistency, standardizing workflows, producing organizational metadata attached to content objects, and provisioning for regulatory requirements.

Determine strategic require-ments. These requirements can be broadly grouped under three catego-ries: 1. Organizational Requirements:

• Information governance • Management of official records

Figure 2: ECM Implementation Stages

ECM Implementation Considerations

ECM Roadmap Strategy

ECM Development

ECM Deployment

ECM Support

BusinessNeeds

NeedsAssessment

StakeholderBuy-In

PerceivedBenefits

StrategicRequirements

Business Requirements and Analysis

CustomizeSolution

DesignSolution

BuildSolution

TestSolution

Plan Implementation

Test andValidate

Plan

Prepare Deployment

DeploySolution

ConfirmBenefits

TechnicalSupport

Structure

SystemUpgrades

UserTraining

Support LevelCustomization

In-HouseSupport

ECM

Sta

ges


• Regulatory compliance • Knowledge of industry best

practices2. Access and Collaboration Require-

ments • User-easy access, easy retriev-

al of information • Information sharing • Defined access rights & privi-

leges based on roles • Automation, workflow

3. Functional Requirements: • Based on information/records

governance and access • Information protection from

loss and retained per retention • External investigation and ob-

ligation may be met easily • Reduction in information over-

loadA well-planned roadmap strategy

will help ensure user adoption.

Stage 2: ECM DevelopmentECM solutions are not plug-and-

play and can be customized based on application data and content. Every business process is different with varying inflow of information originating internally and externally. Although ECM solutions for specific business types, such as health care, finance, education, insurance, and research and development, provide some basic functionality that is spe-cific to those industries, a certain degree of product customization is necessary.

Numerous ECM providers offer a suite of solutions suitable for organiza-

tions of all sizes and with varied types and volumes of information. The Infor-mation Systems Audit & Control Asso-ciation’s COBIT 5 (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technolo-gies) framework – which is globally accepted and provides an end-to-end business view of the governance of enterprise IT – recommends a model for selecting ECM solutions based on the organization’s nature of business, size, risk tolerance, resources avail-able, program governance, ease of standardization across the enterprise, and opportunity for continuous review of quality improvements.

The likelihood of ECM success depends heavily on the outcome of connected workflow execution order and process schedules. The following may be considered in designing the ECM to:

• Route documents in a stan-dard, controlled, and prompt manner

• Accommodate exceptions by assigning specific users with rights to add or exempt stages on an ad hoc basis

• Forward documents without delay to each successive phase

• Prioritize documents in each queue. If there is no priority assigned, the documents are sorted by the date and time they enter the life cycle.

• Monitor and measure the time to complete a process

• Audit queues for periodic re-view for quality assurance

• Add or adjust processes at the document, process, group, or enterprise level by specified users or administrators

• Enable point-and-click config-uration to customize both the routing and the user interface without programming

Stage 3: ECM Deployment The detailed deployment and vali-

dation plan is critical to achieving timely implementation of the ECM. The deployment should be piloted in a test environment to discover any process-related bottlenecks before ECM is migrated to the production environment. Figure 3 provides in-dustry standards for stress testing key functionalities, such as large data handling or varied types of data in-flow, for understanding any missing feature during the course of deploy-ment.

Stage 4: ECM SupportTraining personnel and keeping

pace with upgrades for the deployed ECM solution should be part of the ECM vendor’s product support. Some ECM providers require power users who serve in an ECM administra-tive capacity to get certified against standardized testing.

The ECM implementation team must develop training methods that are carefully customized for user preference (e.g., video vs. PowerPoint presentation) to ensure that they will engage personnel through all stages

Stress Test Type Process

Volume handling Assume 50% of employees log on to the ECM, handling at least 60% of the total data/information volume. Repeat for two different scenarios.

Processing power • Based on information load, write at least 250 scanned pages per minute• Response to user input – retrieval rate • Recover from server failure within 10 minutes

Test Configuration •Multiple physical servers, hosted on VMWare and running VMWare for failover •Dynamic reallocation of computing resources across cluster

Figure 3: Industry Standards for Stress Testing Key ECM Functionalities


of testing, upgrading, and extending ECM functionalities.

Barriers to SuccessAN ECM implementation is often

hindered by incompatibility between the ECM platform and the existing technology environment. The ECM solution must be compatible with the existing software applications in use for routine job functions, such as editing documents, storing data files, searching, and electronic record fabrication and preservations.

In other cases, projects fail dis-mally for lack of:

• A proper initial needs assess-ment

• A broad stakeholder pool • A good deployment plan • Executive support for the proj-

ect See the sidebar “Keys to a Success-

ful ECM Implementation” for strate-gies to avoid these barriers.

Keys to SuccessThe success of an ECM imple-

mentation lies in articulating the perceived benefits and potential of system efficiency. To achieve these benefits, organizations must involve all stakeholders in selecting the ECM product and vendor, developing the implementation plan, deploying the plan, and training users. Mapping the organization’s information manage-ment needs, culture, and business processes and threading those into an ECM implementation roadmap strategy will enable organizations to weather the big data and be in compliance.

A small gap between perceived benefits and user adoption is a clear indication of a well-planned roadmap.

Shiva Hullavarad, Ph.D., can be contacted at [email protected]. Russell O’Hare, Ed.D., CRM, can be contacted at [email protected]. Ashok Roy, Ph.D., CBA, CIA, can be contacted at [email protected]. See their bios on page 47.

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Keys to a Successful ECM Implementation1. Identify realistic functional needs and configure the ECM solution to meet them –

not the other way around. The functional needs should drive the technology; the technology should not drive the implementation.

2. Include all stakeholders at the initiation of the process, including top-level execu-tives, and get their buy-in.

3. Analyze the content before deciding on an ECM solution.

4. Delineate security access controls, roles, and responsibilities.

5. Document access and approval procedures.

6. Define the quantitative expected outcomes for the organization.

7. Be prepared to accept the fact that launching an ECM is just the beginning of a long process that involves training, routine upgrades, and certifications.

ECM System Components and Major FeaturesThe major components of an ECM system, according to Gartner’s September 2014 ECM Magic Quadrant, and their major features are summarized below:

• Document management – has check-in/out capabilities, version control, security, library services

• Web content management – controls the website content through manage-ment tools; includes content creation and deployment functions

• Records management – allows long-term retention of content through au-tomation and policies to ensure legal/regulatory/industry compliance

• Image-processing applications ¬– captures, transforms, and manages im-ages of paper documents

• Social content – allows document sharing and collaboration support for project teams and knowledge management use

• Content workflow – supports business processes, routes content, assigns tasks, creates audit trails

• Extended components – can include mobile applications, digital asset management, search, analytics, and packaged integration capabilities

DisclaimerThe views and opinions expressed in this article are solely by the authors. No

reliance should be placed upon this article for making legal, business, or other important decisions. The University of Alaska and the authors do not endorse and/or approve any affiliations to any commercial entities, and the study re-ported in this paper is for education and knowledge dissemination purposes only.


Digital Vellum and Other Cures for Bit Rot Page 20Marc Kosciejew, Ph.D. is a lecturer of library, information, and archive sciences within the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Science at the University of Malta. He received his honours bachelor degree in political science from the University of Toronto and his masters and Ph.D. degrees in library and information science from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. He also holds certificates in web search strategies, records management, and freedom of information and protection of privacy from the Univer-sity of Toronto. He can be contacted at [email protected].

The Principles: Using the Principles to Guide EDRM Soft-ware Decisions Page 26Julie Gable, CRM, CDIA, FAI, is the retired president and founder of Gable Consulting LLC, a firm that served clients’ information governance needs for the past 25 years. The author of numerous articles on information-related topics, she has a master’s degree in finance from St. Joseph’s Uni-versity and a bachelor’s degree in management from Drexel University. Gable can be contacted at [email protected].

Avoiding the Hammer: Defensible Strategies for FRCP Pro-posed Rule 37(e) Page 32Katherine Aversano, J.D., is an historic research and informa-tion specialist at the U.S. Department of Justice. For more than six years, she has served government agencies on en-gagements involving environmental litigation. Her practice includes electronic discovery, information management, and litigation consulting. Aversano, who earned her legal degree from Howard University School of Law, can be contacted at [email protected].

Joe Starnes, J.D., is a senior associate with Deloitte Transac-tions and Business Analytics LLP, focusing on discovery and supporting federal litigation involving environmental claims. He has more than three years of experience serving federal government agency clients. Starnes earned his law degree at Vermont Law School. He can be contacted at [email protected]

RIM Fundamentals: Taming the Information Explosion with Enterprise Content Management Page 40Shiva Hullavarad, Ph.D., is the University of Alaska System enterprise content management (ECM)/enterprise records

management (ERM) administrator, where he oversees the active and inactive records. He is also responsible for main-taining the ECM platform and providing oversight for the implementation and management of the system. He has authored 81 technical papers and presented at national confer-ences. Hullavarad can be contacted at [email protected].

Russell O’Hare, Ed.D., CRM, is the chief records officer for the University of Alaska System where he is responsible for the university records information compliance program, ap-proves university retention and disposition schedules, and oversees the statewide records center, micrographics, and enterprise content management offices. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Ashok Roy, Ph.D., CBA, CIA, is the vice president for finance & administration / chief financial officer for the University of Alaska System, as well as associate professor of business administration. He has authored more than 88 publications on business topics, including a chapter in two encyclopedias. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Culture and Community: IG in the Global Arena Page 42Nancy Dupre Barnes, Ph.D., CRM, CA, holds a Ph.D. in educa-tional psychology and research from the University of Kansas and a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts. She has provided records and information management, data analysis, and research-related services to organizations in a variety of sectors. Barnes is a self-employed consultant who can be contacted at [email protected].

Making Sense of Brontobytes Page 46Judy Vasek Sitton, CRM, is an information governance analyst for Kinder Morgan in Houston. A Certified Records Manager for more than 25 years, she has designed, implemented, and managed record systems for organizations in a variety of industries. Vasek Sitton co-authored the ARMA-published book Managing Active Business Records in 2014, has written several articles for national publications, and is a frequent speaker for university classes and association meetings. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Our Lady of The Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. Vasek Sitton can be contacted at [email protected].

AUTHORINFOContact Information

AVERSANO DUPRE BARNES GABLE HULLAVARAD KOSCIEJEW O’HARE ROY STARNES VASEK SITTON

Taming Information - InfoManagement2015

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