The Information Audit
Good Records Management can be seen as a cyclical process going through five distinctive phases. The rest of this infoKit will work through each of these steps, and suggest sources of further information where appropriate.
The information audit contains two interlinked elements which are of importance if the benefits of a records management programme are to be realised:
Analysis of the business processes and systems which currently create and use information in the institution.
The audit of the information content itself
In the first case what the programme is trying to establish is the route by which information passes through a business process; who creates it, who modifies it, who needs it, and who deals with its storage and disposition. This part of the programme is best described as a Process Review
If at all possible the person conducting the audit will attempt to deal with both elements in a single pass. However in some processes and some large organisations this will not be possible and the two elements will have to be conducted separately.
The most fully developed methodology is the DIRKS programme of the National Archives of Australia. This is an eight step process to improve record keeping and information management practices, and includes recommendations for the design and implementation of new systems throughout the agencies of the Australian government.
The scale of this is both larger and more elaborate than would be appropriate in most educational institutions but the experience and the practice it represents has been scaled down successfully to meet the needs of UK colleges. There are examples in UK FE and HE to which you can refer.
A flexible framework for Institutional Records Management (AFFIRM) Project.
Establishing good practice in FE records management at John Wheatley College.
University of West of England JISC Records Management Project.
JISC Records Management Project for Warwick - JISC Records Management Project.
These were all part of a major JISC records management initiative which took place in a variety of FE and HE institutions during 2003 some of which looked at particular areas of record keeping for example student records and HR records. The full list and links can be found at - Supporting Institutional Records Management.
We strongly recommended that you have a look at some of these as part of your preliminary preparation work. All are practical and deal with both the triumphs and difficulties of the records audit and management process.
What's in a Name?
The Information Audit is also known as a Records and Information Survey, and in older publications may be referred to as a Records Census. Whatever the title, the objective is a comprehensive survey of all records created or held by the institution.
The word 'audit' tends to be intimidating because it is usually associated with the annual financial audit. The information audit may produce financial information, but that is not its prime purpose.
An information audit should cover all media: - paper, microfiche and electronic systems.
In some guidance a distinction is drawn between an Information Survey which concerns itself only with information processing and current records, and a Records Survey which concerns itself with semi-current and 'old' records. For the reasons stated in the Lifecycle of Information section this is unlikely to be a useful practical distinction, and it is not a valid legal distinction.
