I am attempting the Federated approach with my records management
system, CA Records Management (formerly known as MDY FileSurf).  I am
not 100% integrated just yet, but am migrating my imaged records by the
end of March.  My paper records are already defined there and my email
business processes are in test mode.

One of the key things I did to make sure I reached the goal was that I
mapped out my entire enterprise content management approach (paper,
electronic, imaged, web pages, email) prior to considering a system and
mapped out many of the key business processes for how the records and
information was getting created.  This also helped me define typical
user periods (important for retention and, if necessary, data
partitioning and archival strategies), plus  naming conventions and file
plans that would stand the test of time after I had migrated different
media types over to the federated file plan.

The second, and probably most important thing, was to study my system
future capabilities and tweak my plan as new technology or user features
became available.  For example, I don't need a separate folder for
imaged documents or electronic, because I have a document/folder type
field that captures that information and tells me what the source of
capture was (Kofax vs. Outlook).  My organization has worked hard to
build a good relationship with the vendor and it has not always been
easy, but now I have a stable support team who is entirely knowledgeable
about what I do and WHY I do it.  So, they propose solutions that are
likely to work for me instead of cookie cutter responses that only work
for them.

I would venture that email is the toughest aspect of the whole thing
because sometimes it is used as part of a key business process and,
therefore, the email is a record.  I try to engineer those things back
out of the process, but I never seem to be able to do that as well as I
would like.  Second, my users often have trouble distinguishing true
business records in email from the "white noise" of everyday
communication.  It is very tempting to keep email as a "checklist" of
what you did and when you did it.  

Call if you want to chat.  We are highly pleased with our results so
far.

Angie Fares, RHIA, CISA, CRM
Director, Corporate Records & Information
RadioShack Corporation
300 RadioShack Circle, WF4-130
Fort Worth, TX  76102
Phone: 817-415-4925
Fax: 817-415-9742
Email: [log in to unmask]

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