How do you write a Sample Business Case for Records Management document?

Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PRESENT SITUATION SWOT ANALYSIS RECORDS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS RISK ANALYSIS RECORDS PROGRAM RISKS

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS CONCLUSIONS Executive Summary The purpose of this document is to make the business case for the implementation and integration of Records Management Program within Decker Hubbard and Brown. The proposed Records Management Program supports the ownership committees initiative to improve productivity by organizing the corporate documents and establishing the standards and controls to reliably archive and retrieve records as well as ensure compliance with external audits. The Objective. The business case is the outcome of the analysis of Decker Hubbard and Browns existing Records Management Program documented in the report Records Management Program Analysis Document. This report details the business reasons for considering the changes and updates to Decker Hubbard and Browns Records Management Program. * Need #1. Reduce the amount and storage of duplicate documents. * Need #2. Reduce licensing and upgrade costs for multiple online document repositories. * Need #3. Improve the ability to share documents with colleagues. Increase flexibility when accessing and using records such as remote access and access outside normal hours enabling staff to respond more effectively and quickly to business requirements.

* Need #4. Improve retention of institutional knowledge when staff leave or retire. Retain information and improve access to documents in paper and electronic filing systems. * Need #5. More effective organizational planning through better management of and access to information. The Opportunity. The Records Management Program highlights the importance of effective records management and the opportunity for enhancements to the productivity of the business and stakeholders that can result from improved records management policies procedures and systems. * Goal #1. Develop central records repository. * Goal #2. Enable access to company records over the Internet. * Goal #3. Improve worker productivity.

* Goal #4. Improve audits and controls. * Goal #5. Increase access and knowledge sharing. * Goal #6. Reduce the storage of duplicate documents. * Goal #7. Protect sensitive information. The Solution. This report has been developed to provide the assessment of the current records management state and the reasons for proceeding with the Records Management Program; including the options requirements cost benefits and management of updating and improving the existing Records Management Program. Present Situation A program assessment was performed to gather enough information to enable management to determine whether or not to proceed with upgrading the existing Records Management Program and to identify technology that may help with Decker Hubbard and Browns goals. The Status of Decker Hubbard and Browns Records Management Program

Decker Hubbard and Browns corporate Records Management Program does not have formal role within the organization. Storing the documents and identifying critical records is performed at departmental or individual level and is combined with other roles and responsibilities. The long term management of documents is not seen as an important area of responsibility. Decker Hubbard and Brown has records management policy covering file naming conventions and there are multiple open and unsecured records repositories. Decker Hubbard and Brown does not employ trained records manager or someone with official responsibility for the management of the organizations records and there are no records management training initiatives. The Current Environment of Records and Information Decker Hubbard and Browns electronic and paper information is stored and maintained in multiple electronic document management software EDMS also known as Enterprise Content Management ECM software applications and network file shares. Most of the companys documents are generated electronically and stored electronically. Most paper documents received are scanned and placed in either file share or EDMS and then shredded or stored in file cabinet. There are no corporate policies and procedures in place for the evaluation and disposal of documents and no preparation is taken to ensure the long term preservation and access to electronic information. Partial backups of the corporate information and documents are performed nightly and full backups are performed bi weekly. Critical records required to keep the business operations functioning in the event of disaster are not identified and governed by policy or procedure to identify critical records and their management. Decker Hubbard and Brown will want to develop policies and procedures for the Records Management Program. The company will need to communicate to the organization how the policy is distributed to the staff when to perform policy reviews formalize the maintenance of records in all formats and address how the records policy is implemented.

A records survey of Decker Hubbard and Browns documents is necessary to understand the exact nature and scope of records in the organization and to understand the effectiveness of storage and use and to be able to address the corporate mission and strategic objectives. SWOT Analysis A preliminary SWOT Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats Analysis of Decker Hubbard and Browns business highlights the following strengths and opportunities that can be further leveraged to provide insight for the motives to upgrade the Records Management Program. The analysis also covers the consequences of not implementing new approach to records management and helps identify how much risk is the organization may incur by doing nothing. Strengths. * Successful consulting projects * Excellent documentation for clients and projects * Ability to make business and organizational changes quickly * Strong customer base

* Established company over decade in business * Steady growth Weaknesses. * Multiple content stores * Lack of policies and procedures * No formal change management process

* No formal training * Poor communication Opportunities. * High volumes of project and legacy documents exist. * Highly developed project management methods and procedures exist.

* Infrastructure change can be rapidly deployed. * Consolidating repositories and applying retention to records that can be destroyed will cut costs on storage and software licensing. Threats. * IRS audits * Third party audits

* Document security * Doing nothing Strengths Weakness Opportunities Allow users to easily review and research successful projects * Rapid deployment for the program * Cut cost and reduce storage

* Open access to excellent documentation for clients and projects * Rollout of the program is fast and changes are done quickly if desired * Better customer service for the strong customer base * Over decade of legacy documents that will reduce cost by not recreating things * Maintain steady growth through automation Consolidate content stores * Open communication between business units will keep us from recreating the wheel

Threats Rapid deployment of the program will reduce the potential fines from an IRS audit and speed up third party audits of financial systems * Increase document security Develop communication plan to promote the program and gain enthusiasm for the new system * Review and create policies to streamline current processes * Increase information management and security * Develop policies and procedures that reduce duplicates * No formal change management process

* No formal training and change management * High volumes of project and legacy documents * Due to the organization of the business change can be rapidly deployed * Consolidating repositories and applying retention to records that can be destroyed will cut costs on storage and software licensing Records Program Requirements The following project requirements will identify the administrative technical financial and other requirements to implement Records Management Program or expand on an existing one.

Requirement #1 Administrative Effective governance and company adoption of the Records Management Program needs to come from the senior management and individuals need to be identified along with the roles and tools of the program for it to be success. * Develop company Records Policy and Procedure. * Users must be trained on how to comply with the policies and procedures. * Develop classification scheme or file plan that organizes files and folders into logical groupings. * Define metadata that needs to be captured and used for searching documents. * Identify or acquire personnel to manage the ongoing retention and disposal of records.

* Design process for efficient and effective storage and retrieval of records. * Develop security and access controls for all documents. * Establish records management information technology management and advisory committee to deliver governance of the records program. * Devise plan for vital records and disaster preparedness or emergency plan. Requirement #2 Technical Decker Hubbard and Browns technical requirements address exact technical needs based on information gathered from the Program Analysis report. * Strategy for Enterprise Content Management ECM Requirement. Decker Hubbard and Brown has volumes of documents in multiple repositories that need to be centrally managed and migrated to single source. * Consolidation of existing systems and documents on the network file share.

* Management of records and metadata for the purpose of central administration. * Satisfaction of ECM Requirements which include the ability to able to store manage and render documents and records in their native file formats. * Web based ECM system for access anywhere. * Records Management Requirement. Decker Hubbard and Brown needs the ability to manage all corporate documents according to organizational policies and to manage the complete document lifecycle to ensure regulatory compliance and reduce corporate risk. * Support for Decker Hubbard and Brown organizational classification scheme and file plan.

* Ability to create classification schemes with minimum of three levels of classification; Function Transaction and Activity. * Ability to make changes to the classification scheme. * Changes tracked and logged in an audit trail. * Ability to declare record by time or event trigger such as cutoff date. * Ability to perform legal hold and freeze records and series by authorized users. * Capture Requirement. The central record system must be able to leverage technology to organize and manage Decker Hubbard and Browns records. The solution will need to automate and streamline processes to minimize the need for extensive training and change management.

* Ability to capture bulk import records and metadata. * Ability to import native files from the desktop. * Ability to scan paper documents. * Ability to automatically import documents or records and propagate metadata for like series or groupings. * Ability for knowledge works to contribute to the system and assign records categories at time of import. * Business Process Management Requirement. Decker Hubbard and Brown needs to improve communication and collaboration of distributed documents like purchase orders project documents and invoicing. The system must reduce the dependency of implied knowledge for business processes. * The central repository ECM system must have the ability to create workflow using standard GUI. * The workflow engine must have standard out of the box capabilities. * Integrate with Standard Operating Systems Requirement. Decker Hubbard and Brown uses the Microsoft platform and the ECM system will need to work with older versions of SQL & Exchange.

* The system shall integrate into Microsoft SQL Exchange Office Outlook and Active Directory. * The system must have out of the box desktop application integration with Office Outlook and the network file share. Requirement #3 Financial The proposed solution will be for Decker Hubbard and Brown to migrate existing content to centralized repository and improve on electronic records management. Funding should be set aside for pilot program and additional resources budgeted for at least three years for the development and rollout of the enterprise solution. Decker Hubbard and Brown will need to hire personnel assign existing resources and or acquire services and technology from external suppliers. Implementing Records Management Program requires involvement from internal and external resources. Records Management Role Records Management Program Responsibilities Director Senior Management They have the overall responsibility for the success of the organization and are the ones setting its strategic goals and objectives. They should be included in all status reports. Legal The legal department is responsible for ensuring that the organization is in compliance with its various legal and regulatory requirements and will be involved in the design of the ECM system. Communications Department communication plan is critical and should start as early as possible. Procurement Acquiring vendor or integrator will facilitate the need to go out for bids. ECM Administrator Manager of the technology solution usually an IT resource. IT Support Desktop integrations server maintenance ECM deployment general help desk. IT Group ITs role is to ensure that the records repository is developed and implemented according to Decker Hubbard and Browns technology and architectural requirements. Business Unit Managers Responsible for the operations of departmental functions or other business units. The Business Unit Managers staff will be required to participate to implement the Records Management Program. Managers need to understand the amount of involvement for staff so that the department can continue to run effectively. Information Stewards Typically individuals who understand the departments records and may be used as champions and liaisons with the Records Manager. Users The users are the ones who will be using the system and the ECM processes must be workable for the end users. They should be involved in the design and testing. Records Manager The records manager creates the various records management instruments including records management policies and procedures records retention schedules and records related job aids. This may not be full time position. Project Manager Decker Hubbard and Brown will need to have project manager to manage the project schedule resources and work with any third party vendors. The selected vendor should be an expert in records management and be able to work with Decker Hubbard and Brown to. * Develop file plan. * Develop classification schemes.