audio discovery guide
Introduction to Requesting
and Collecting Audio Data
A Guide by Nexidia, Inc.
© 2008 Nexidia Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Nexidia products are protected by copyrights
and one or more of the following United States patents: 7,231,351; 7,263,484; 7,313,521; 7,324,939; 7,406,415 and other patents pending.
audio discovery guide
Introduction to Requesting and Collecting Audio Data
Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2004-2009, Nexidia Inc. All rights reserved.
This manual and any software described herein, in whole or in part may not
be reproduced, translated or modified in any manner, without the prior written
approval of Nexidia Inc. Any documentation that is made available by Nexidia Inc.
is the copyrighted work of Nexidia Inc. or its licensors and is owned by Nexidia Inc.
or its licensors. This document contains information that may be protected by one
or more U.S. patents, foreign patents or pending applications.
TRADEMARKS
Nexidia, Enterprise Speech Intelligence, Nexidia ESI, the Nexidia logo, and
combinations thereof are trademarks of Nexidia Inc. in the United States and other
countries. Other product name and brands mentioned in this manual may be the
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby
acknowledged.
© 2008 Nexidia Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Nexidia products are protected by copyrights
and one or more of the following United States patents: 7,231,351; 7,263,484; 7,313,521; 7,324,939; 7,406,415 and other patents pending.
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audio discovery guide
Introduction to Requesting and Collecting Audio Data
Introduction
Digital audio data systems have much in common with other digital systems, so the process
for identifying and handling discoverable material is much the same as for other Electronically
Stored Information (ESI). The following is a brief introduction to the ways that audio systems
and discovery may be different from other ESI.
Digital Recording Systems
Digital recording systems that you may commonly encounter in discovery include a variety of call loggers, PBX systems,
and unified messaging systems (UMS, in which voicemail is delivered via email). Audio recording systems are often complex,
containing a large number of components, and are also highly configurable, which makes it hard to anticipate what any given
system will yield. However, these systems do share some basic characteristics.
Input: Calls come into the system, and are routed via a computer or switch to one or more servers that handle further routing,
recording, notification, and messaging, and then ultimately to either a telephone extension or recording device (or both).
Some data about all calls may be created, captured, or stored (if only briefly) in any of these devices.
Recording: Call information (metadata) such as caller ID, or time-based information is created by the system and is stored
in a database of some kind. If the call or voicemail message is recorded, a media file is created and stored, generally on a hard
drive. Because the media file and metadata may be stored separately, it is critical to identify and maintain the links between
them when calls are extracted from the system. In some systems, the audio filename itself contains all of the metadata.
Output: Every system has one or more ways to access stored sound recordings and related data. With UMS, the recorded
file may be attached to an email message, accessible via a number of devices like computers or phones. Call logging systems
generally have reporting and reviewing tools available, which are usually available to system administrators and managers, rather
than the users whose calls were recorded. Virtually every system has some sort of bulk output mechanism, and it is important
to understand how it works.
Storage: Recordings may be moved from the recording environment to a separate storage device or media. Recording vendors
have products that are used to offload calls from the “recorder” system to an off-line “storage” system. UMS may store older
messages in email archives. Depending on the system, separate backups may also be created.
File formats: Audio recording and storage use many different file formats. Some formats may be accessible only via the
proprietary recording equipment that created or stored them, so it is not uncommon for audio files to require conversion to
a PC-compatible format for review, even by the party that owns the system.
© 2008 Nexidia Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Nexidia products are protected by copyrights
and one or more of the following United States patents: 7,231,351; 7,263,484; 7,313,521; 7,324,939; 7,406,415 and other patents pending.
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audio discovery guide
Introduction to Requesting and Collecting Audio Data
Get to Know the Data
Effective discovery requires a clear understanding of audio systems and data. You need to get a clear picture of the ins and outs
of the audio systems, such as:
•
what data is captured by the system and how the system is configured;
•
what data is moved to a storage system and via what methods;
•
what changes, if any, are made to the data along the way; and,
•
the possible ways to extract as much data as possible out of the recording and storage systems.
Recording Systems
Information to gather includes
•
the type of system used;
•
the setup of the recording system (who, what, when, where);
•
a clear description of recording policies — plus exceptions to the policies;
•
formats and encoding;
•
channels or extensions recorded;
•
metadata captured; and
•
the methods for moving data from the recording system to the storage system.
Remember
•
A system can be configured to address future discovery needs by setting it up to capture metadata that will streamline
future extraction and review processes.
•
Many administrators never change the default settings, and are only able to capture a limited amount of call information.
Storage Systems
Information to gather includes
•
the type of storage system used;
•
what gets extracted or moved from the recording system and how much of it is stored;
•
the location and type of media;
•
retention policies and security.
Remember
•
Audio files and metadata are often captured and stored separately. If you collect only the audio files, you may be missing
some extremely valuable data, such as call times, caller ID, or other important information that can expedite the review process.
© 2008 Nexidia Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Nexidia products are protected by copyrights
and one or more of the following United States patents: 7,231,351; 7,263,484; 7,313,521; 7,324,939; 7,406,415 and other patents pending.
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audio discovery guide
Introduction to Requesting and Collecting Audio Data
File Formats
Information to gather includes
•
The digital audio formats and encoding used by the recording and storage systems (the recording formats may be converted
to a storage format), and
•
what data is available to be extracted and converted in response to a discovery request.
Remember
•
It may not be feasible to produce audio files in “native format,” since proprietary systems may keep even the producing
party from accessing them natively.
•
Take care to understand and fully document any conversion to other formats in order to be able to show that no data
has been lost or changed.
•
XML is often the default format for the metadata export.
Develop An Effective Plan
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure now require a Discovery Plan from the parties. The complexity of electronic discovery and
the consequences for failing to meet discovery obligations mean that this plan is a critical part of any litigation. A successful
discovery plan requires considerable up-front work and a thorough understanding of technical issues.
The meet-and-confer conference is the time for attorneys and technical representatives to deal with basic issues regarding audio
files. Pay close attention to the flow of data within the system, the format and encoding options, associated metadata, and
recording policies and practices. Call logging systems generally have tools specifically made to convert and extract audio and
metadata files. Plan how to make the best use of such tools.
Metadata will greatly enhance your ability to efficiently review audio recordings. Without metadata, it is difficult to specify
a date range or to focus reviewers on a particular set of extension numbers. Be clear on what metadata is available, and the
formats available for exchanging it. The least effective method of gathering audio is in bare .wav file format with no metadata.
Model Request
The Draft Request for Audio Data can be used as a general guide to creating interrogatories and requests for production, or
for anticipating and preparing to respond to such a request. It is annotated in order to explain why some of the questions are
phrased as they are. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather as a place to start on your own audio discovery challenges.
The Draft Request refers to audio data as “sound recordings,’ the term used in Rule 34(a), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
You may find it useful to craft a set of definitions and instructions specific to each particular matter. In preparing for a
Rule 26 conference, you may want to use the Draft Request as a general guide to the types of questions that you will need
to answer in disclosing information, or creating a Discovery Plan. Note that the request distinguishes between recording systems
and storage systems, since many systems are set up to move recordings to a storage system after a short time. You may also
want to inquire about backup systems.
© 2008 Nexidia Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Nexidia products are protected by copyrights
and one or more of the following United States patents: 7,231,351; 7,263,484; 7,313,521; 7,324,939; 7,406,415 and other patents pending.
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audio discovery guide
Sample Request for Production of Sound Recordings
To copy and paste the following instructions into your own page layout program, choose the Select tool
in Adobe Acrobat Reader, highlight the text, choose Copy from the Edit menu, and proceed to the application
of your choice to paste.
1.
Describe in detail any systems used to capture or record sound recordings in [locations or functions]. Include the
manufacturer’s name, model number, storage capability and locations.
2.
Describe connections to any network. Provide a diagram that illustrates the system components, and which identifies all
of the telephone channels, extensions, or other audio sources which are recorded. [You may also want to ask if there are
lines or channels in the recording locations – such as a trading desk – that are NOT recorded or monitored.]
3.
Describe in detail any systems used to store or archive sound recordings at [locations or functions]. Include the manufacturer’s
name, model number, storage capability and locations, and connection to any network. Provide a diagram that illustrates the
system components, and which identifies all of the data sources for data stored in the storage system.
4.
Describe in detail the software used to record, archiving, backup, extract, review, or otherwise process sound recordings.
Include the program name, version number, and schedules for moving audio data from the recording system to a storage system.
5.
Identify any location, including any local or network drive or other storage device where [relevant sound recordings] are
stored. Identify the media on which sound recordings are stored. State which of those media are erasable and/or rewriteable.
6.
Provide a copy of [respondent’s] record retention policies for sound recordings in the recording or storage systems. Describe
any changes to these policies during the [relevant time] period.
7.
Describe in detail the software configurations, methods, policies, or business rules applied to the audio recording system.
Include screen shots or descriptions of the process used to set those configurations, methods, policies or business rules.
[The purpose of this request is to determine the types of data that the system is set up to capture. Many systems are not set
up by the users to capture all of the available metadata. This will help you figure out what is available, such as extensions
(“DNIS”) or agent identifiers.]
8.
Describe in detail the software configurations, methods, policies, or business rules applied to sound recordings in the audio storage
system. Include screen shots or descriptions of the process used to set those configurations, methods, policies or business rules.
9.
Identify the person or persons most knowledgeable about the administration of the audio recording and storage system(s).
Identify the custodian(s) of the sound recordings.
10. Identify
all persons who have been granted electronic access rights to sound recordings in either the recording system or
storage system.
11. State
the amount of capacity currently used to store sound recordings in the recording system, and in the storage system.
12. Identify
13.
any sound recordings which you do not intend to produce on the basis that they are not reasonably accessible.
Produce all sound recordings that relate to [describe relevant scope – time, subject matter, other criteria], including audio
files and any associated data or metadata from the recording and storage systems.
© 2008 Nexidia Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Nexidia products are protected by copyrights
and one or more of the following United States patents: 7,231,351; 7,263,484; 7,313,521; 7,324,939; 7,406,415 and other patents pending.
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