Overview & Purpose
Both email as a format and the functionality of the applications used to create them contributes largely to the problems associated with their management. Most aspects of email technology and functionality are weighted in favour of the sender and as a result work against the interests of the recipient. For example the ease, speed and cheapness of their creation and distribution mean little or no forethought or consideration is required. There are no practical barriers or costs associated with creation which might cause the potential sender to pause and think twice before creating yet another message.
Until recently this has seemed a relatively trivial issue. Users may individually struggle to cope with the volume and variety of messages they receive but the associated costs and risks to the institution as a whole were largely ignored. Now, with email servers containing terabytes of data the costs associated with storage and maintenance are no longer trivial. Furthermore institutions are beginning to realise the hidden costs and dangers associated with uncontrolled email creation - not least the risk of dangerous and damaging information coming to light as part of a response to a Freedom of Information Act request or other legal discovery exercise.
Many institutions are rapidly coming to the conclusion that email management can no longer be left to individual members of staff to perform on a 'best efforts' basis and that a more proactive and co-ordinated approach is needed. The purpose of this strand of the Managing the Information Lifecycle infoKit is to outline the main elements which need consideration as part of such an approach. In particular looking at how a combination of three main elements; technology, policies/procedures, and user training need to be considered in unison to achieve an effective, institution-wide response.
The contents of this section build on and augment the information provided in the Information Lifecycle - Creation strand and should be considered in this light. What this section attempts to do is build on the general good practice guidance on information creation covered previously and look specifically at the additional requirements for creating good emails.
As such it will be of use to those tasked with managing and maintaining email services within the institution and those with an interest in the management of information and records.
The topics covered within this section include:
