Corporate Information Resources Team…
Working to create a knowledge led organisation
BS ISO 15489 and Priority Outcome G19
MAY 2006
Priority Outcome G19
To support authorities in the electronic delivery of their ‘priority,’ services, the Office of
the Deputy Prime Minister, (ODPM) has defined a set of e-government ‘Priority
Outcomes,’ which Local Authorities are expected to deliver and funding has been made
available to do this.
Priority Outcome G19 requires the, “Adoption of ISO 15489 methodology for
Electronic Document Records Management and identification of areas where current
records management policies, procedures and systems need improvement to
meet the requirements of FOI and Data Protection legislation.”
As a ‘Good Priority,’ outcome, authorities are expected to be at green stage by April
2006.
What does this mean for SCC?
Discussions between IDeA and the ODPM suggest that to comply with the target:
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Authorities do not need to have an Electronic Document Records
Management System to comply with the outcome1
Instead they need to adopt the ISO 15489 methodology when managing
electronic documents and records and auditing their current systems for
compliance with Freedom of Information (FoI) and Data Protection (DP).
Also they do not need to have completed the methodology by April 2006 –
but they do need to have committed to its implementation2
How will SCC demonstrate commitment to implementation of the methodology?
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SCC has put together a plan outlining the methodology and how it will be
undertaken in a series of individual projects
SCC will also need to monitor progress and be able to demonstrate that they
are working towards full implementation
What is BS ISO 15489 methodology?
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1
2
BS ISO 15489 Information Documentation/Records Management is the
British and International Standard on Records Management.
It is split into two parts: Part 1 – General and Part 2 – Guidelines
http://www.publicsectorforums.co.uk/page.cfm?LANGUAGE=eng&pageID=950
http://www.publicsectorforums.co.uk/page.cfm?LANGUAGE=eng&pageID=1019
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Date: 17/07/2016
BS ISO 15489-1. General (The Standard)3
Provides a comprehensive description of what a professional records management
system4 should comprise to ensure that an organisation’s records are created,
captured and managed as authentic, reliable and useable records. It introduces an
eight-staged methodology as a means of achieving this.
BS ISO 15489-2. Guidelines5
Provides one way of implementing the measures outlined in BS ISO 15489-1 and gives
an overview of the processes and factors to consider if compliance with the Standard is
to be achieved. It expands on the eight-staged methodology for designing and
implementing records systems:
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Stage A: Preliminary Investigation
Stage B: Analysis of Business Activity
Stage C: Identify and clarify requirements for keeping records
Stage D: Assessment of existing systems
Stage E: Identification of strategies to meet record keeping requirements
Stage F: Design of a record keeping system
Stage G: Implementation of a records system
Stage H: Review
The stages above do not have to be carried out in order; some stages can be carried
out concurrently, but some stages will be dependent on the completion of certain others.
IT IS THE ADOPTION OF THIS METHODOLOGY THAT IS THE FOCUS OF
PRIORITY OUTCOME G19.
3
BS ISO 15489-1: 2001, Information and Documentation-Records Management-Part 1: General.
British Standards Institute
4 Please note a, ‘records management system,’ does not necessarily refer to one system or even
an electronic system; it refers to the collective provisions to manage records, (may be made up
of individual systems, procedures, policies, etc).
5 PD ISO/TR 15489-2: 2001, Information and Documentation-Records Management-Part 2:
Guidelines. British Standards Institute.
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Date: 17/07/2016