Folks, I met with Charley and Erv yesterday afternoon after the RMWG meeting. Our discussion was focused on how the two seperate manuals, SSIC and Disposition, can be combined into one.

The combination of two manuals into one is a trivial task. The real issue is how to present this new manual to the end users. The message I took back from the RMWG meeting that I attended was that the existing manuals are difficult to use. Primarily because of the size of the document and the fact that it is distributed in hardcopy format. It is my opinion that this group should strive to distribute this document in electronic format.

I have an idea on how I would like to see this document distributed and would like feedback from the working group on my idea.

My idea would allow three diferent methods to be used to access and search the document. If we plan to distribute this document in electronic format which is usable, then we, the producers, must consider was tools the end user will have available to consume the information.

My first assumption is the a web browser should be considered the lowest common denominator. This means that most or all of the consumers will have access to a character based or graphical web browser. While this assumption may be true, we cannot assume that the consumer will always have Internet (IP) connectivity. Therefore, I am proposing these three solutions. All of these solutions will rely on the information being contained in a database, such as Microsoft Access.

1. The primary method of access to this information will be from a user that has IP connectivity. These users will connect to a web server, using their web browser. This web server will contain pages which allow the user to search for a specific SSIC number, search for the occurance of a particular string in the retention codes, list all records in the database or print the entire manual (database) in a format suitable for hardcopy viewing.

The other two methods will involve distribution of CDROMs to the end user. The assumption will be that these users do not have IP connectivity or that these users to not wish to access the repository using a web browser.

2. The same Microsoft Access database can be distributed on the CDROM, along with an Microsft Access application. This application will provide the same functionality as mentioned above; searching, viewing and printing. Of course, this method assumes that the end user has Microsoft Access installed.

3. For those users who do not have IP connectivity and also do not have Microsoft Access, the CDROM will contain an HTML version of the document. This HTML version will not be as robust and the two methods mentioned above, but it will contain hyperlinks between the SSIC and their retention code.

Please post some thoughts on this idea ...

SpannMan

-- Anonymous, October 01, 1998

Answers

John,

What you have described seems to me to be a very practical approach to getting a functional product into the hands of Navy end-users who have to comply with the DoD requirement to manage records. I appreciate the support you, Erv, and Charlie are giving this group.

To think in terms of supporting the requiremnt to manage records with a universally available and useable tool represents a paragigm shift in the way the Navy has thought about recordkeeping. In the old days, the thinking was, well, here's the Federal Records Act that says we have to manage all our records regardless of medium or characteristic. The way to to do that is to develop a records schedule and print it. Distribution would be to the command and activity level. What became of it beyond that was anybody's guess. "End user support" was in those days (i.e., 1995) apparently unheard of. The result was what we now have, a file plan that does not mention records disposition, and an enormous and forbidding records schedule that is not linked to the file plan.

The upshot is that the letter of the law was complied with, but not the spirit. All the painstaking and complex effort that was expended to develop a comprehensive records schedule for an agency as big as the Navy was, from the standpoint of assuring utility and compliance, virtually a waste of time.

Enterprise distribution of a tool that combines all the eleements of managing information through its life cycle in one package, and that facilitates the application of electronic recordkeeping tools is, as I mentioned, a new concept in the Navy. It sounds like John and our other IT colleagues in the DoN CIO office and elsewhere have grasped it at once.

One small little caveat. Revisiong the SSIC's and the records disposal manual and linking them together will take time and cazreful effort. That is the purview of the records practicianers in our group. As was discussed in last weeks's meeting, we will need the support of connand and activity-level upper and mid-level managers, and end users. We will need NARA's support. We will need to understand the outcome of the GRS-20 case because it will effect what we want to do, and how NARA chooses to support our effort. The NARA ERWG's final report to the Archivist is on the GRS-20 website. The new NARA-Navy liaison person is Linda Ebben. Our hope is that she can meet with Henry, me, and Steve Green before the end of October so we can begin to outline a plan and some objectives.

Dean

-- Anonymous, October 01, 1998