Pillars of Vital Records Protection, The

Information Management Journal, Mar/Apr 2008 by Andolsen, Alan A

Being prepared to resume business quickly in the event of disaster requires that digital, as well as paper, vital records be identified and protected by staff members that understand the goals of the vital records program and their roles in it.

More than a half-century ago, the U.S. Federal Civil Defense Administration conducted a test called Operation Teapot to gauge the effects of a nuclear explosion on a variety of business records and records storage equipment. The focus in that era was how to protect vital records - those that are fundamental to an organization's functioning and needed to continue operations without delay under abnormal conditions - in the nuclear age.

The conclusions drawn from that test are still valid today (see Operation Teapot sidebar), including the recommendations that vital records be identified and segregated from other records and that organizations implement a vital records protection program that meets their specific needs.

Although the threat of nuclear attack has diminished since the Operation Teapot test, given the number of recent natural disasters and terrorist attacks that have occurred around the world, today's records professionals are no less concerned about vital records. In fact, their concerns are magnified by the implications of the technology age, which has produced the need to protect digital records, as well as paper and other physical records.

Protecting vital digital records requires a new set of procedures to ensure that they remain available and retrievable when a disaster occurs. A digital vital records protection program is only partially implemented through the traditional disaster recovery programs created by information systems organizations. These programs are very effective for the protection of active records, which are those records that are needed to perform current operations, subject to frequent use, and usually located near the user. However, not all vital records are active records; some may, in fact, be retained after their active lives for regulatory or business purposes (e.g., tapes that will be used in IRS or other audits).

Planning and Implementing a Vital Records Program

Effective vital records programs do not happen, they are created with care as part of an overall disaster recovery program, which is implemented to ensure that an organization can restore critical business functions and reclaim damaged or threatened records in the event of a disaster. Implementing an effective program requires preparation in three major areas staff, procedures, and physical location and a measure of common sense.

Staff Preparedness

Vital records programs will not work if they are not taken seriously by everyone in the organization. An effective program starts with the strong support of management, who must clearly communicate the value of an organization's information assets to all staff. Moreover, any such program is a cooperative effort. There is no one function or operation within an enterprise that can successfully accomplish all facets of the program. Without management support and a cooperative spirit, no disaster recovery program can succeed.

Training and practice are the two foundation pillars on which a successful program is constructed The theoretical aims of disaster recovery must be infused with human capability. Written documentation and software applications can never substitute for staff members who understand the goals of the program and their roles within it Initial training is crucial not only to ensure that staff can do the job, but also to validate the theoretical program and to make certain that it can be accomplished in the time of crisis. Periodic practice sessions ensure that the program is still on target and that organizational, equipment, or staff changes have not rendered parts of the plan inoperable.

Procedural Preparedness

A consistent approach is one key to effective disaster recovery procedures. In format and language, the actions should be presented straightforwardly and without jargon. The "playscript" approach to procedures documentation described by Peter H. Matthies in The New Pkyscript Procedures: Management Tool for Action seems to work the best This method identifies each and every "actor" and states the task, action, or decision that is that individual's responsibility. When logically constructed to reflect the actual workflow, little doubt remains about who is responsible for what, and when. Thus, all individuals who participate in the vital records process are clearly identified and their responsibilities fully documented.

The procedures themselves must reflect all types of records, not just either paper records or digital records. In the case of digital records, procedures need to cover all platforms, not just the mainframe or network servers. Information maintained on local hard drives may be just as important as that maintained in shared repositories. The procedures should also make clear whether the protection provided is a simple backup (where the backup would be the only copy of the information remaining after a disaster) or redundancy (where multiple copies of the information may be preserved in many locations as, for example, with databases or invoice copies sent to several locations).