>
> Why do we need store electronic or paper in file plans when we can store
> them in "big buckets" and capture the important metadata and associate it to
> the record.  I thought about RM practices and if I agree.  Applying holds,
> applying retention, dispostion, discovery, etc all would work, I believe.


A comment here... your statement above is accurate if there is a blurring of
the definitions of the terms "file plan" and "metadata", but I think as
indicated by many it's sort of like the discussion about "not all documents
are records, and not all records are documents"... there are distinct
differences between the two.  Certainly, the argument can be made that
sufficient volumes of information can be added to either to allow them both
to serve the same purpose, and the same is true for just about anything, but
that defeats the purpose they each are designed to serve.

As Ginny noted, when the concepts of metadata were introduced to RIM, they
were related to the addition of elements to electronically generated
information to assist in identifying it.  A file plan, or a classification
system, was used for similar but different purposes.  It not only assisted
in identifying information, but it was designed to relate to the function
the information served within an organization. And as stated earlier, you
could add this "field" to metadata and populate it as well, and you might
want to do that... but you don't NEED to do that.

This discussion could go on forever and I think there isn't a right answer,
there are a lot of opinions though.  Are any opinions wrong?  Nope...
they're all right for some reasons and for some people.

The only thing I have is "How does the metadata get applied?".  I have
> implemented ERM systems at multiple companies. Usually a filing profile is
> used to put a record into the record series in the ERMS.  The filing profile
> has defaulted metadata associated with it.  This minimizes the amount of
> work a user has to do to enter the record into the system.  From my
> experience, users want to capture a lot of metadata but don't want to enter
> it all.


This is a very important topic, one that many involved in RIM need to get
their arms around, especially when it'as being developed for use in your
organization.  The concept of auto classification, whether it is "rule
based" or "role based", or a combination of both.  And a term I hear a lot
of vendors jokingly use when trying to sell the concept is "automagically"
classified.  There needs to be a level of human intervention in the
classification of information when it is categorized to ensure that not only
the CONTENT is understood, but also the CONTEXT.

In certain situations where there is extremely routine work being done, such
as the completion and filing of form based data, or reports say in a
customer service environment, or shipping and receiving  or procurement
paperwork in and order entry and fulfillment environment this would
obviously work. There is little margin for error, tables can be developed to
compare content of fields against, and information can be classified based
on "pass or fail" criteria.

But in more subjective working situations, systems would need to be
constantly adjusted and "tweaked" to ensure accuracy... and after extensive
work, there could be some level of acceptance, but someone would have to
periodically go back and verify/validate the classifications until they were
close enough to 100% that they were acceptable.  The option in these
environments is to develop pull down menus that allow users to participate
in the selection of elements to classify the information and subsequent
evaluation of the classifications to attempt to narrow the elements to a
point where eventually a semi-automated model can be used with acceptable
results.

I guess you could still use multiple filing profiles into the big buckets,
> but then why not keep a more detailed file plan. You could then narrow the
> scope of searches, narrow the scope of holds, etc.


And THIS is exactly what both Ginny and I were pointing out.  There is not
mutual exclusivity in the use of metadata and file plans.   A file plan says
where things are, in many cases based on the function (or organization
segment) they support by category...  the metadata (drawer labels, file
indexes, file folder labels in a paper world; servers, folders,  file names
in an electronic world) is used for finer levels of finding aids.

Hmmmm... ironic how the identifiers in the examples of paper/electronic
above are very similar in nature...

Larry
-- 
Larry Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972

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