Government

Legacy Business Records Project

Generic Plan and Resourcing Template

Planning Guide

Disclaimer: Graphics contained within this document are of poor quality. For clearer graphics please see the PDF version.

Table of Content

Introduction
Language in the Guide
What is in the Project Plan?
How to develop the Project Plan?
Project Phases

1. Initiating the Project
2. Project Proposal
3. Identify the problem and estimate the magnitude
4. Get approval to develop the project proposal
5. Obtain project approval
6. Refine the inventory estimates
7. Conduct a risk assessment
8. Develop the business case
9. Get approval to develop carry out the project
10. Plan the Project
11. Establish the Project
12. Develop the Project Charter
13. Establish the Project Governance
14. Obtain the Human Resources required
15. Obtain the equipment needed
16. Obtain the furniture needed
17. Other material
18. Arrange for workspace
19. Refine the inventory estimates
20. Establish the order of priority
21. Refine the Project Charter
22. Establish work approach
23. Develop work approach
24. Develop tools and procedures
25. Establish the evaluation frameworks
26. Develop Audit Framework
27. Develop the evaluation process
28. Establish the performance measurement process
29. Train the Project Team
30. Train the trainers
31. Train the project team
32. Validate the classification system
33. Review the Classification system
34. Determine RDA Coverage
35. Review LAC letter and MIDAs
36. Review the valid RDAs
37. Verify the status of the Retention and Disposition Schedule
38. Review Retention Period documentation
39. Finalize the workplan
40. Refine detailed workplan
41. Executing the work
42. Complete the records inventory
43. Compile the records inventory
44. Classify and organize the records
45. Classify / organize the records by function / activity
46. Apply valid Records Disposition Authorities
47. Records covered by an ISDA
48. Records covered by a MIDA
49. Approve the Retention and Disposition Schedule
50. Revise the retention period
51. Approve the retention period
52. Sort the records
53. Sort records ready / not ready for disposition
54. Segregate records with / without archival value
55. Prepare records not ready for disposition
56. List and box records not ready for disposition
57. Sort the boxes
58. Prepare records ready for disposition
59. List and box records ready for disposition
60. Send the lists for final review
61. Amend the retention period
62. Sort the boxes
63. Transfer records to another GoC institution
64. Alienate records no longer belonging to the GoC
65. Store records still belonging to this institution
66. Send archival records to LAC
67. Destroy non-archival records
68. Control the project
69. Manage the project
70. Report on the project
71. Provide information on the project
72. Closing the project
73. Close the project work and office
74. Assess the project
75. Prepare the project report
76. Sign-off the project

Introduction

This Legacy Business Records Planning Guide is part of a toolkit to help you manage a project to bring your Legacy Business Records under sound records management control. The toolkit consists of three guides and four templates.

The guides are:

• Legacy Business Records Project Overview;
• Legacy Business Records Project, Planning Guide (this document); and
• Legacy Business Records Project, Costing Guide.

The templates are:

• Roles and Responsibilities Workbook;
• Effort and Salary Costing Workbook; and
• Non-salary Dollar Costing Workbook.

Before you read this Planning Guide, you may wish to read the Legacy Business Records Project Overview. The Overview covers why legacy business records need to be addressed. It also has basic information about the toolkit.

This Planning Guide covers all the steps that could be done in order to deal with the records. The steps are shown in a workflow diagram. They are in the logical sequence for doing the project. Each step is described.

After you have completed the Plan, you should read the Costing Guide. The Costing Guide describes how you cost your plan. It also describes the three workbooks.

Language in the Guide

To keep things simple we have written the Guide as if at the beginning of the process you are the Records Manager (RM). When you, as the RM, get approval to start the project, we write as if you have been appointed as the Project Manager (PM).

What is in the Project Plan?

The Legacy Business Records Project Plan is shown in two ways:

• a flowchart; and
• descriptions.

The flowchart shows the major steps in the plan. You can use it to check the general flow of the activities.

The descriptions cover all the steps. You can use them to get more information on each step.

How to develop the Project Plan?

This flowchart outlines the steps in the order in which they would be done. The working group had some Tips for shortcuts so as you follow along the workflow, you may want to read the step descriptions.

Read through the activity descriptions as you follow along the flow chart. Once you have finished reading it through, go through it step by step. Open the Costing worksheet, Roles and Responsibilities. This is an Excel spreadsheet. At each one, consider whether you will need to do that action.
If you need it, leave it in. If you do not need it, delete it.

Project Phases

The work breaks into five phases:

• initiating;
• planning;
• executing;
• controlling; and
• closing.

Initiating steps are shown in yellow on the flowchart. It starts from when you first become aware that there may be a problem. It ends when you get approval for a clean-up project.

Planning is shown in pink. It starts when you write the project's terms of reference. It ends when all the preparation has been done and the project team can get down to work.

Executing is in green. It covers the work to handle the records themselves. It ends when all the records have been disposed of appropriately.

Controlling is not shown on the flowchart but is described. It covers all the actions to manage the project while it is underway.

Closing starts when the project is signed off. It includes any evaluation or audit after the project has been completed. It has also not been flowcharted but is described.

Some steps in the description are highlighted in the colour for that phase. Those steps are included in the flowchart. Other steps are not highlighted. Some are high-level actions and all the smaller steps are on the flowchart. Others are lower level steps and are included in the descriptions.

Here is a summary of the whole process:

• Initiating: starting the project
  • identify the problem;
  • write a proposal, business case and risk assessment; and
  • get the project approved;
• Planning: preparing for the project:
  • write the project charter;
  • set up the governance structure;
  • get the resources and supplies you will need;
  • form the project team;
  • plan for the work;
  • decide how you are going to do the work and then how it will be evaluated at the end;
  • train the team; and
  • finalize the workplan
• Executing: carrying out the project:
  • check the classification system;
  • check the Records Disposition Authorities (RDAs);
  • look at the status of the retention periods;
  • complete the inventory of the record holdings;
  • classify and organize the records;
  • apply the valid RDAs;
  • revise the retention periods if necessary;
  • sort the records into those that are ready for disposition and those that are not;
  • sort the records into those that have archival value and those that do not;
  • list and box all the records; and
  • dispose of the records appropriately;
• Controlling: managing the project:
  • check and report on the status;
  • make changes to the project; and
  • provide information about the project
• Closing: ending the project:
  • get the project signed off; and
  • have the project evaluated.

The following flowcharts show the basic process. There is a more detailed flowchart at the start of the description for each phase.

 

The following sections describe the work flow in more detail. You will notice that not all the steps in the process are on the flow chart. This is because the flowchart only shows the major activities.

The steps are numbered sequentially from 1 to 76. Because the detailed steps are not on the flowchart, it looks as if numbers are missing. The descriptions and the costing worksheets have all the detailed steps.

Initiating the Project

Reminder: The numbers on the flowchart start at #3. This is because only the major activities are shown on the flowchart. All the steps in Initiating the Project are described in this section.

1. Initiating the Project

The first step begins when you become aware that there is a problem with the management of the legacy business records. It ends when you get permission to put a project together.

2. Project Proposal

It takes time and effort to put together a project proposal. You may want to get approval to spend that time. To do this, you need some basic information on the problem. In the next step, Activity 5, you begin to identify the information you need.

3. Identify the problem and estimate the magnitude

You may become aware of the problem just by knowing the status of the record holdings. For example, you are getting bills for records storage and you could not answer the questions, 'how many are we storing', 'where are they all' and 'what are they'.

It could also be brought to your attention. For example:

• records owners could complain about service;
• they may refuse to send you their records;
• the LAC Federal Records Centre (FRC) could refuse to store more of your records; or
• Legal Services or ATIP administrators could raise concerns about documentation.

At the very least, you will need to have a basic understanding of the problem.

You will need at least a rough idea of how big the problem is. It is probably enough at this stage to estimate the number of linear feet of records in each location. You will need a count for each location where there are legacy business records. Later on you will need to add up how much you have in total. You should also know approximately how much it is costing to store the legacy business records.

As you continue with the project, the information will get more accurate.

4. Get approval to develop a project proposal

This step you put together the rest of the information you will need. This would include what the project will do, how long it will take, and what it will cost.

You should also be able to describe the impact of both the problem and the solution. Cost is usually a major factor. You should have an idea of how much you can reduce the cost for storage. You could also provide anecdotes of how the current situation is affecting records users.

You need to have enough to describe the situation and why it is important to address the problem.

5. Obtain project approval

Usually the Director responsible for IM will approve the development of the proposal. Without this approval, you can go no further. This is a Go / No Go point for the project concept.

6. Refine the inventory estimates

For a formal project approval, you will need a reasonably accurate estimate of the size. If, for example, you are looking at the storage for a branch's records, you could measure how many linear feet there are in each office, storage area and warehouse. You may not know the content of the records, but you should have a good idea of how many there are. You do need to have a good estimate of how many there are.

7. Conduct a risk assessment

Risk answers the questions, "What would happen if we do nothing?" and "What would happen if we do A, B or C?"

You always look at the status quo, 'do nothing'. This helps you decide if you need to take any action. You usually base this assessment on the trend of what has been happening. "If this is what has been happening, this is what is likely to happen."

Your Risk Assessment of cleaning up the legacy business records should look at a more than just one option. The options could cover different amountsfrom 'do only a few of the records' to 'do all the records'.

In doing the Risk Assessment, you will want to consider various kinds of risks. There is always financial risk (what will it cost us?) but other risks are just as important:

• Policy: what could happen to the institution's ability to develop sound policy? For example, what is the impact if the rationale for a policy decision is lost?
• Program delivery: what could happen to the ability to deliver the programs? For example, what is the impact on benefit adjudication if information about applicants or previous decisions cannot be found?
• Health and Safety: what could happen to those who work in the institution? For example, what are the health and safety risks with records improperly stored in office space?
• Service delivery: what could the impact be on service timeliness, quality and completeness? For example, how are clients affected by either delays in retrieving information or lost records?
• Legal: there are two kinds of legal risks. The first is the impact on the institution's ability to comply with legislative requirements (e.g., responding to ATIP requests). The second is the protection of the legislation (e.g., defending legal cases).
• Accountability: what could happen if the institution or individuals cannot be held accountable because the records cannot be found?
• National History: what could the impact be on the record of our history if we lose critical documents?
• Collective Memory: what could happen to our collective memory?

Once you have answered these questions, you look at how likely it would be for the risk to actually happen (the probability). Finally, you decide how bad would it be (the severity) if the risk did occur.

Treasury Board has more information on risk management at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/emf-cag/risk-risques/risk-risques_e.asp

8. Develop the Business Case

The people who make the decision on whether or not to go ahead with the project must be able to tell if it is worth spending the time, effort and money. This information is put into a Business Case.

The Business Case will help them understand the costs and the benefits.
The costs may not be very accurate at this stage. There are a number of variables that could affect your costs. These could include:

• volume;
• complexity;
• uniformity;
• condition;
• dispersion;
• expertise; and
• experience.

The Costing Guide, section has more information on each of these variables and how they could affect the costs.

You have two choices in calculating the costs. Both are outlined in more detail in Section 9 of the Costing Guide.

The basic option is to use the average on-going costs for managing your institution's records. You calculate this cost from your on-going IM operations. You could use this cost if you believe that the legacy business records are similar to your institution's 'normal' records.

If you believe that the legacy business records are different in any way, first calculate the cost as if they were 'normal' records. You then vary that cost, up or down, as you look at how they are different. If, for example, all the records are administrative records covered by a MIDA and all are of the same type, the costs would be lower. The uniformity would make them easier and quicker to process.

If, on the other hand, the records are in several locations (dispersion) and you are using new staff (expertise), the average cost may be higher even if there is nothing unusual about the records. In the same way, if all the records are in one location and you are using experienced staff, the costs could be higher if the legacy business records are more complex than the average records.

When you look at the benefits, it may be useful to start by looking at the problems. If you do the project, how will it help to reduce or eliminate the concerns? You should consider not just how you will reduce costs but also what other problems you will solve.

A project Business Case always looks at what would happen if nothing is done. This is your 'base case'. It is used to compare the options. The question will be, "Is it better for us to do nothing or to do Option A, B or C?"

TB has a website with information on how to develop a Business Case for an information technology project. A lot of the information is very useful for developing any kind of Business case. You can read it at: www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/emf-cag/business-rentabilisation/ieg-gei/ieg-gei00_f.asp

9. Get approval to develop carry out the project

You will usually present your request to the Director responsible for IM or the most senior committee overseeing the areas involved. It could be made to the person who will provide the money for the project. Who you go to depends on the size and the cost of the project. Often this same group will be the Project Steering Committee and they will sign off the project at the end. On the worksheets we have called this the 'Senior Executive Committee'. This may or may not be the correct title for that group in your institution.
One of the major tasks is assigning a Project Manager (PM).
To this point, we have written the document as if you are the RM. The rest is written as if you are the PM.

Planning

Reminder: The numbers on the flowchart start at #11. This is because only the major activities are shown on the flowchart. All the steps in Planning the Project are described in this section.

10. Plan the Project

Because this is a fairly long list of activities, we have broken them into three pieces. These are the groups of activities to:

• establish the project;
• get the process and people in place; and
• ensure that the records management pieces are valid.

Once the project has been approved, you can start the planning phase. In this phase you put in place all the pieces that are needed to carry out the work.

Reminder: The numbers on the flowchart start at #11. This is because only the major activities are shown on the flowchart. All the steps in this part of the Planning Phase are described in this section.

11. Establish the Project

The first step is to put the framework in place. This includes the:

• project charter which documents what the project is all about;
• governance structure which says how the project will be managed;
• human resources where you decide what people you will need;
• equipment, furniture, other materiel and space;
• inventory with more detail on the size of the problem;
• order of priority for doing the work; and
• making any changes in the project document once you have all the other information.

Each of these is outlined below. Once these have been done, you will be ready to look at how you are going to do the work.

12. Develop the Project Charter

No matter how you write it up, you will need to document the project. This is a very important step. It helps you make sure that everyone understands what will and will not be done. It also helps to manage expectations. Without this step, you have no authority or accountability.

As a minimum, the document must say:

• why you are carrying it out (the background and the purpose);
• what is included and what is not (the scope);
• what you want to achieve (the objectives);
• who gets to oversee the project and who makes which decisions (the governance structure);
• the cost-benefit of options from doing nothing (keeping the status quo) to how the problem could be solved (the business case);
• what it will cost in terms of salary and non-salary dollars, and human resources (the budget);
• what will be done, by when and by whom (the plan); and
• what effect the project is expected to produce (the results).

You can put this basic information into a Project Plan, Terms of Reference (ToR) or Project Charter.

Project Plans and Terms of Reference (ToR) usually have just these basics. They can be used for simple, quick, and limited projects.

If the project is big, expensive or visible, you will probably write a Project Charter. For information on a Project Charter go to:

www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/emf-cag/project-projet/documentation-documentation/template-modele/template-modele00_e.asp

You can find a template at

www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/emf-cag/project-projet/documentation-documentation/template-modele/template-modele00_e.asp

The guidelines for completing it are at:

www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/emf-cag/project-projet/documentation-documentation/guidelines-directrices/guidelines-directrices00_e.asp

You may want to add some of the following:

• how you will go about conducting the project (the approach);
• who is involved and what they are expected to do (roles and responsibilities);
• what the risks are to the project and how these will be managed (risk and issue management);
• linkages to any other projects (dependencies);
• how changes to the project will be identified, documented and approved (change control);
• what resources will be needed and how they will be managed (resource management);
• how progress will be tracked and reported (progress management);
• how quality will be checked and maintained (quality management);
• how information about the project, its progress and results will be provided (communication management).

13. Establish the Project Governance

Project governance deals with who gets to make what decisions and who is accountable to whom. In smaller projects, you may not need a formal governance structure. In this case, you would likely report directly to the RM. If there is a records owner, you could report to both the RM and the owner.

14. Obtain the Human Resources required

Most departments have had several years of cutbacks in IM operations. Unless it is a small project, there will not be enough people to do the normal work and the project. This means getting additional help.

Often projects are carried out with a mix of full-time and part-time staff, and contractors. One of your biggest challenges may be getting the right people, with the right skills and at the right time.

Tips:

• There are a number of places where you can get resources at reasonable rates. Summer and co-op students are good especially if they are in information management programs.
• Speak to your Archivist before you hire. LAC will know if another department is finishing a Legacy Business Record Project. You may be able to arrange for the trained staff to transfer.
• If you are tackling your backlog in pieces, form a team. As one piece is ending, you can move the experienced staff over.
• Consider having a pool of trained staff and / or a Task Force. The group can move from project to project. This will minimize the 'learning curve' and maximize 'lessons learned'.
• You will need an experienced team leader.

15. Obtain the equipment needed

You may need many containers to store the records, including special ones for records with archival value. Consult your archivist if you need help. You can find the transfer guideline at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/007/f2/007-1028-e.pdf

You may need specialized equipment for moving and storage. This may be a challenge if the records are stored in several locations.

Tips:

• Some of the function specialists may be able to provide you with advice and assistance. Facilities Management may know, for example, if there are spare desks. Purchasing may be able to tell you where you can get the best price.
• Check with IM Centre: centre.liaison.centre@bac-lac.gc.ca to see if another department is finishing a Legacy Business Records Project. You may be able to borrow or buy their used equipment.
• If you have had to buy equipment (because you could not rent it) that you do not need after the project, let the IM Centre know. They may be able to use it or pass it along to another Legacy Business Records Project.

16. Obtain the furniture needed

If you bring in additional people, you will probably need tables and chairs.

Tips:

• Check with your Archivist to see if another department is finishing a Legacy Business Records Project. They may have furniture you can use.
• Speak to your procurement specialists. They may be able to get the furniture inexpensively through Crown Assets.

17. Other materiel

Speak to a Legacy Business Records PM in another department. They may be able to tell you what they found useful.

In addition to the obvious items such as the boxes and furniture listed above, you may need software licenses, computers, fax machines, and photocopiers.

18. Arrange for workspace

It is very likely that space will be at a premium. You may find it easier if you get some 'swing space' to work in. Most institution's legacy business records are spread across several locations. It may be cheaper and easier to move the work to the people in a central location. It is harder to manage many small teams than one larger one. If you are looking at records in a client's office space, you may have to take the records off-site. This will be less disruptive to their work.

19. Refine the inventory estimates

By this stage in the project, you will want to know what records are in each location. You will need are fairly good estimate of how many there really are in each place as well as in total.

20. Establish the order of priority

For many institutions, reducing the backlog will be a very major task. It may be easier to deal with in pieces. If this is the case, you may need to set an order of priority. You may want to start small and build on success.

Tips:

• The order should give priority to records in space with the highest cost and in highest demand.
• Priority could also be given to an area that is self-contained. For example, if there is one warehouse of legacy business records only, you could start with that.
• Start in an area where you will not disturb other staff. As staff get more experienced, they will speed up. Practice where speed and accuracy matter least.

21. Refine the Project Charter

Once this has all been done, check the Project Charter one last time. You may have to make some adjustments. It is better to make these before starting work. It helps to manage expectations as you go.

This next group of planning functions sets how the work will be done. It also gets the people ready to start.

Reminder: The numbers on the flowchart start at #23. This is because only the major activities are shown on the flowchart. All the steps in this part of the Planning Phase are described in this section.

22. Establish work approach

You need to decide how you want the work to be done. You can then check that all the tasks are covered. It also helps everyone understand what has to be done, how and by whom.

23. Develop work approach

The idea is not to use the usual standard approach for managing records. You want to be able to do this fast, possibly taking some risks. As PM, you need to decide how best to approach the work.

24. Develop tools and procedures

Especially if you have a mix of new and experienced staff, you need good work procedures. If you are taking short-cuts, document what you are doing and why. You may need to explain why later on.

Tips:

• Ask your experienced staff. They may have good ideas on shortcuts with low risk.

25. Establish the evaluation frameworks

All projects should be evaluated in some way after they have been finished. That way you will know how successful the project was. But not all projects will need a formal evaluation.

26. Develop Audit Framework
Only very large projects are likely to be audited. Discuss your project with the department's audit staff. Ask if they think that the project could be audited. If this is possible, ask what you need to do during the project to make it easier for them to conduct the audit afterwards.

27. Develop the evaluation process

Tips:

There are several groups who could provide advice:

• some departments have Project Management Offices;
• most large departments have an evaluation and / or an audit group; and
• Consulting and Audit Canada provides this sort of service under contract.

Ask what sort of questions would be asked in an evaluation. Also ask what you should be doing during the project. You want to make sure that the information is available at the end.

28. Establish the performance measurement process

Performance measures are used two ways:

• to know how well the project is working; and
• to know how successful it was.

The first kind looks at progress against plan and budget. The second looks at the situation before and after the project.

You need to collect information before you begin, during the project and then after. Decide what you need, how you will get it and how you will report it.

Tips:

• If your departments has a Project Management Office they are an excellent source of help;
• Check the statistics you keep on IT operations. Many of them may be relevant;
• Check the Project Charter. The measures must be logically linked to the objectives and results sections. Choose performance indicators that link to why you said you need to do the project and what you will achieve.

29. Train the Project Team

By this stage you know:

• what has to be done;
• who will do it;
• how it will be done; and
• how it will be measured.

30. Train the trainers

The trainers will need to be experienced staff. Especially if you are doing the work in more than one place or with more than one team, you will want consistency. One way to get this is through training the team leaders.

Tips:

• Consider using your Team Leaders to train the staff. There are a lot of advantages. The information will be more consistent if the same people do the classroom and on-the-job training. If staff have questions, they know who to go to for information and help. The work process will also be more consistent if the Team Leaders do the training together.
• Ask another department that has done a Legacy Business Records Project if they have training materials. Leverage their experience.
• If not, ask if one of their experienced staff can help you develop and / or deliver the training.

31. Train the project team

It will be particularly important to train new staff on their jobs. Some of that training will be done before they start. Most is likely to be on the job.

This last group of planning tasks covers the records management pieces.

Reminder: The numbers on the flowchart start at #32. This is because only the major activities are shown on the flowchart. All the steps in this part of the Planning Phase are described in this section.

32. Validate the classification system

All GoC institutions have a records classification system. But not all their records may fit into that system. Before you start, you need to know what the classification system is and if it is likely to be valid for the legacy business records.

You may find that some of the records could fit in the file classification system if minor changes are made. You should discuss this with your archivist. The archivist can make a decision on a collection of documents (for example, on Registration ledgers and map collections).

33. Review the Classification system

By now you should have some idea of the sort of records you will be dealing with. You need to have enough of a classification system to tell you what you are handling.

LAC is developing a new kind of classification system. It is based on functions and not on subjects. You do not have to wait for the new classification system. If there is an old classification system that will do, use it.

If there is no classification system for the records, the issue may be referred to IM Operations for resolution.

34. Determine RDA Coverage

Records must be covered by a Records Disposition Authority issued by the National Archivist of Canada before they can be disposed. You need to know what RDAs there are and what they will cover.

Definition: A records disposition authority is the instrument that the Librarian and Archivist issues to enable government institutions to dispose of records which no longer have operational utility, either by permitting their destruction, by requiring their transfer to Library and Archives Canada or by agreeing to their alienation from the control of the Government of Canada.

35. Review LAC letter and MIDAs

The LAC has recently reviewed the status of all RDAs. A letter has been sent to each department. For each department, the letter says which RDAs are still valid and which have been revoked. This letter needs to be reviewed to determine what is still applicable and what can no longer be used.

The department also needs to look at the Multi-Institutional Disposal Authorities (MIDAs) to determine coverage. The MIDA covers basic administrative records (with some exceptions).

Definition: A MIDA or Multi-Institutional Disposition Authority is a Records Disposition Authority (see definition of records disposition authority), granted by the Librarian and Archivist of Canada to government institutions on a multi-institutional basis, which relates to records managed by all or a multiple number of government institutions, and which allows the institutions empowered to use the authority to dispose of records under certain terms and conditions.

MIDAs incorporate three components: the Records Disposition Authority, terms and conditions and a functional profile. (Source: MIDA, Introduction)

For information on MIDAs, go to www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/government/disposition/007007-1008-e.html

36. Review the valid RDAs

All operational records must be covered by an Institutional Specific Disposition Authority (ISDA). Some administrative records are not covered by any of the MIDAs. These are treated as operational records and must be covered by an ISDA.

Definition: An ISDA or Institution-Specific Disposition Authority is a Records Disposition Authority (see definition of records disposition authority) related to records managed by a single government institution, and which allow the institution empowered to use the authority to dispose of records under certain terms and conditions.

ISDAs take precedence over all other Records Disposition Authorities issued by the National Archivist. (Source: MIDA, Introduction)

If there is a valid RDA that you can use, use it. If there is a close fit, check with your Archivist. If the records cannot be covered under an existing RDA, they go back to IM Operations.

LAC negotiates with institutions to establish new ISDAs, but this is a separate process. This issue must be referred to IM Operations for resolution.

For additional information on the application of RDA's, go to: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/government/disposition/007007-1033-e.html

37. Verify the status of the Retention and Disposion Schedule

Retention Periods are determine by institutions in their retention and disposition schedule.

LAC has guidelines on retention periods for common administrative records. These are based on best practices over the last thirty years.

Treasury Board has a retention policy for records containing personal information based on the Privacy Act. The TBS Website has more information:

(www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/gospubs/TBM_128/siglist_e.asp)

38. Review Retention Period documentation

There may not be valid retention schedules for some of the legacy business records. You may be able to set retention periods during the project. If this is not possible, you can refer the issue to IM Operations for resolution. You must have justification for any deviation from the Retention and Disposition Schedule or Guidelines.

39. Finalize the workplan

By this stage in the project, a lot has happened since the workplan was first drafted. You have a lot more information about what has to be done. Check the plan one last time before work starts.

40. Refine the detailed workplan

The project will be managed against this workplan. It is important that it be correct. It should be refined one last time before work starts. Any additional detailed steps can be included.

Executing the Project

This is the heart of the project. In it the records are inventoried, classified, sorted and disposed. Here is the flowchart of the whole phase.

Reminder: The numbers on the flowchart start at #42. This is because only the major activities are shown on the flowchart. All the steps in the Executing Phase are described in this section.

41. Executing the work

This phase also has a number of steps. We have divided it into three pieces. These are the groups of activities to:

• classifying the records, applying the RDAs and ensuring that there is a valid disposition schedule;
• sorting get the records into ready / not ready for disposition and records with / without archival value; and
• disposing of the records.

The flowchart for the first group of activities is:

Reminder: The numbers on the flowchart start at #42. This is because only the major activities are shown on the flowchart. All the steps in this part of the Executing Phase are described in this section.

42. Complete the records inventory

By now you have a good idea of how many linear feet or meters of legacy business records you really have. If you have records in more than one place, you will have an inventory for each location. You will now be dealing with more detailed inventory lists or creating them.

Tips:

• First check to see if there are any existing lists. You can check with the Information Management (Records) Office, the person in charge of the storage facility or the place where the records are stored.
• Check with the FRC. They may have some of your records that are not on a list.

43. Compile the records inventory

You can now enter all your inventory lists into your database. This will give you good overall control. It is also your base line measure. One of your success measures will be how much you have managed to reduce your inventory. It could also be how many locations you have reduced.

44. Classify and organize the records

The records need to be 'efficiently' classified and organized. This means that you may have different levels of detail depending on how you are going to dispose of the records.

Records that you will destroy need only be classified to the level that you know what they were and you can justify why they were destroyed. The classification may be more detailed for records you keep, send to the Archives, transfer to other GoC institutions, or alienate to institutions outside the GoC.

Two kinds of records must go through your normal process:

• Records from 1946 or earlier. If you find any of those records, contact your archivist who will advise you on what steps must be taken.
• All Confidential, Secret and Top Secret records. You must handle these in accordance with the GoC Security Policy and your institution's security procedures. If your institution does not have security procedures, you must follow the Treasury Board security policy.
• For additional information on Treasury Board Secretariat Security Policy, see the following Website: www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/gospubs/TBM_12A/siglist_e.asp

45. Classify / organize the records by function / activity

In step 34, you reviewed the classification system. You can now use it to classify the records. Here are some Tips for shortcuts.

Tips:

• You may not have to deal with each record. If you have boxes with the same kinds of records, classify the box. For example, if you have boxes of pay information, classify the box as 'Pay Records'.
• Link the box of records to an RDA. There may be an existing Retention Schedule that will accelerate your process.
• Group common administrative records that come under a MIDA. There may be an existing Retention Schedule that will accelerate your process.
• Mark the boxes on the outside so that you can identify them quickly and easily.
• Group similar boxes. It will make your job easier later on.
• If you have a series of boxes, you do not have to sort the contents of each box into chronological order. You must know the period the boxes cover (for example, Financial Records, August 1974 to May 1992).

46. Apply valid Records Disposition Authorities

In steps 36 to 38, you validated the RDAs. You now use the valid MIDA and ISDAs.

The records are first sorted into two groups: those covered by a MIDA and those covered by an ISDA.

You apply the RDAs in this order:

• ISDAs
• MIDAs related to operational or medium-specific records.
• MIDAs related to common administrative records.

47. Records covered by an ISDA

ISDAs cover records managed by a single institution. They document:

• institutional functions in support of public policy;
• the execution of the program; and
• the provision of services to the public.

For additional information on an ISDA, read Step 38 above.
You can also go to: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/government/disposition/007007-1033-e.html

48. Records covered by a MIDA

Your Archivist may be able to help you fit the records into the classification system. If any records do not fit under either the MIDA or an ISDA, you send the issue to IM Operations for resolution.

MIDA records are divided into three groups

• Transitory records;
  
• Operational and medium-specific records; and
  
• Common administrative records.

Transitory records are records that are needed for only a limited time. They are used to complete a routine action or to prepare a subsequent record. They exclude records:

• to control, support or document the delivery of programs;
  to document the delivery of programs or to carry out operations; and
• to make decisions or to account for activities of government.

You can find a more formal definition at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/government/disposition/007007-1016-e.html
MIDA 2.1, 4. Definition

Tips:

• For advice on the interpretation of the Transitory Records Authority, consult your archivist.

Operational and medium-specific records. Five kinds of records fit into this category:

• Institutional Records in the Office of a Minister (Authority no 96/021);
• Records of Deputy Heads of Government Institutions (Authority no 96/022);
• Electronic Imaging Systems (Authority no 96/023);
• Poster-Creating Areas of Government Institutions (Authority no 96/024); and
• Audio-Visual Records Stored on Behalf of Client Departments (Authority no 2001/004).

Common administrative records are records to support and document broad internal administrative functions and activities. These functions and activities are common to or shared by all federal government institutions. The Common administrative functions are:

• General Administration Function (Authority no 98/001)
• Real Property Management Function (Authority no 2001/002)
• Material Management Function (Authority no 99/003)
• Comptrollership Function (Authority no 99/004)
• Human Resources Management Function (Authority no 98/005)

You can find a more formal definition in the following document: MIDA 3, Common Administrative Records, Appendix I - Terms and Conditions, A. Key Definitions)

You can go to www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/government/disposition/007007-1008-e.html for more information on MIDAs.

49. Approve the Retention and Disposition Schedule

The Program or Function Area responsible for the records approves the retention periods. If you cannot identify that area, send the issue to IM Operations to resolve.

50. Revise the retention period

A number of factors influence the validity of the retention schedule. You need to review the retention schedule to determine if it is still appropriate. If any changes are needed, they must be approved (see Step 49).

51. Approve the retention period

The area with primary responsibility for the records must approve the retention period.

This next set of steps checks for two things: are the records ready for disposition and do they have archival value.

Reminder: The numbers on the flowchart start at # 53. This is because only the major activities are shown on the flowchart. All the steps in this part of the Executing Phase are described in this section.

52. Sort the records

There are two sorts done at this stage:

• those ready / not ready for disposition; and
• those with / without archival value.

53. Sort records ready / not ready for disposition

You can now sort the records using the retention periods. There will be two groups:

• those that are still within the retention period; and
• those that have passed the retention period.

54. Segregate records with / without archival value

You now have to sort the records into those with archival value and those without archival value. The value is done according to a valid RDA.

You do this sort on the two groups of records that you have: records that are ready for disposition and records that are not yet ready for disposition. By doing the ones that are not ready yet, you will save time and effort in the future when they are ready for disposition.

At the end of this step, you will have four groups of records:

	Ready for disposition	Not ready for disposition
With archival value	.	.
No archival value	.	.

55. Prepare records not ready for disposition

These records come from two sources:

• records that have not yet reached the end of their retention period, even if the records are old; and
• records whose retention periods have been extended.

The records whose retention periods have been extended will be dealt with in Step 66.

56. List and box records not ready for disposition

You can now put these records under proper records control. They must all be properly boxed. You may wish to speak with your archivist and/or your regional FRC about storage, boxing and listing requirements.

There are two other sources for information:

• The Federal Records Centers Users' Guide which is on: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/government/products-services/007002-3020-e.html
• Guidelines on the Transfer of Textual Archival Records on the LAC Website: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/007/f2/007-1028-e.pdf

57. Sort the boxes

You now sort the records that are not ready for disposition one last time.

Records that now belong to another GoC institution: This could happen if there was a reorganization or if the program moved. These records can be moved to the new institution. For example: Consumer and Corporate Affairs (CCA) was abolished. The Department of Industry is now responsible for protecting consumers. CCA records would be sent to Industry Canada.

If there is no organization looking after the same kinds of functions, consult your LAC archivist for direction on how to deal with the records.

For the disposition of these records, please see step 64.

Records that no longer belong to the GoC: Although the records were created by the GoC, they could now 'belong' to another institution. This could happen for example, when a program is transferred to a province, territory or the records are now of value to an outside institution such as university. No records can be transferred outside of the GoC without the approval of the National Archivist of Canada.

For the disposition of these records, please see step 65.

Records that still belong to this Institution: These are the records that you still 'own' but are not yet ready for disposition. They are ready for the final step in their process.

For the disposition of these records, please see step 66.

58. Prepare records ready for disposition

These are the records that are ready for disposition. There could be some with archival value and some without.

59. List and box records ready for disposition
You can now box the records and list the contents. If the records have archival value, please consult your archivist for listing and boxing requirements. You can also consult the Guidelines on the Transfer of Textual Archival Records.

The boxes are set aside until the records owners sign off the list.

60. Send the lists for final review

This is the last opportunity for the program or functional manager to keep the records for longer. They get one final review to approve the disposition.
Tip:

• Legal Services and ATIP should be consulted one last time as well.

61. Amend the retention period

If the retention periods has changed, it must be approved by the records owner. You must also amend the listing.

62. Sort the boxes

This is the final sort. You sort them into three groups.

Records not ready for disposition: If the record owner has extended the retention period, they must go back into storage. You send the boxed and listed records back to IM Operations. They go back into the regular records management operations to be stored and managed.

Archival records: These records have archival value and are no longer needed by the institution.

Records ready for destruction: These records are no longer needed by the department and are of no value to LAC as per the RDA.

63. Transfer records to another GoC institution

The records that now belong to another GoC institution need to be sent to that organization. This can be done as soon as you and the other organization have agreed on the transfer. You send the list and any other information you have on the records to the receiving institution. You should inform your Archivist.

64. Alienate records no longer belonging to the GoC

The records that no longer belong to the GoC can be sent only after you have received approval from the Librarian and Archivist. You may be required to make copies of some of the documents. You send the list and any other information you have on the records to the receiving institution. You should inform your Archivist once the alienation has taken place.

65. Store records still belonging to this institution

The records that you will want to keep come from two sources. Some will have been found in step 53 where the records were sorted into ready / not ready for disposition. These are records that have not yet reached the end of their retention period.

The second group of records are those that the managers have decided are still needed. On these, the retention period was extended.

You can now send both of these kinds of records back to the IM Operations. They go back into the regular records management operations to be stored and managed.

66. Send archival records to LAC

You can now make arrangements with your archivist to transfer the records to LAC.

67. Destroy non-archival records

From all the records you started with, you finally have those that can be destroyed. They must be destroyed in accordance with the GoC Security Policy and the Privacy Act.

For additional information, see the following Websites:

Security Policy: (www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/gospubs/TBM_12A/siglist_e.asp)

Privacy Act: (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/p-21/text.html)

Controlling

This 'phase' actually runs in parallel with Planning and Executing the work. It starts from the time the project is approved and continues until the work is finished. That is, the Controlling activities run from the start of Project Planning and end when the Project Execution has been completed.

This phase could also be called, 'Managing the Project'.

There is no flowchart of the Controlling activities.

68. Control the project

Controlling the project starts at Step 9, when you get permission to carry out the project. At that point you begin to plan the project and your first task is to write the Project Charter. outlined what would be managed. These included:

• Risk and Issue Management;
• Quality Management;
• Performance Management;
• Human Resources Management; and
• Communication Management.

69. Manage the project

You will have to set up systems and procedures for each of these. If the project is small, most can be informal. In a large project, you will need to have a formal way to monitor and control these.

70. Report on the project

You will need three kinds of monitoring and reporting:

• internal to the project: what you need in order to know what is happening;
• for project governance: what the steering committee needs to know; and

To do this, you will need to set up systems to collect the data. It will have to be analyzed and then reported.

71. Provide information on the project

In addition to reporting on the project, you may be asked for information on it. Reporting tends to be regular status reporting and is normally provided to the governance structure.

There are two kinds of information on the project:

• general communication: what others who may be affected by the project need to know; and what people who are interested want to know.
• specific information: responses to questions asked about the project.

Requests for specific information could come from other RMs or PMs as they set up their own Legacy Business Records Projects. It could also come from other areas within the institution (for example, another area that is considering what it would take to clear their legacy records). The request could be from outside the institution (for example, the media).

For some of the requests, you may want to work with your Communication specialists.

Closing the Project

This group of activities is shown as one block on the flowchart:

72. Closing the project

By this stage, you have finished the disposition of all the records. This is what you have done with them:

• Records that cannot be classified: have gone back to IM Operations
• Records that are not covered by an RDA: have gone back to IM Operations
• Records where you could not set a Retention and Disposition Schedule: have gone back to IM Operations
• Records that now belong to another institution: have been transferred to that institution
• Records that no longer belong to the GoC: have been alienated and sent to the responsible institution
• Records that are still within the retention period: have gone back to IM Operations
• Records with archival value that are past their retention period: have been transferred to LAC
• Records that are past their retention period and have no archival value: have been destroyed.

Now that you have completed the work, the project can be closed. You can find more information on this TB website on Project Management: www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/emf-cag/project-projet/projects-projets/closing-cloture/closing-cloture00_e.asp

73. Close the project work and office

You can now close off all items. For example, you can pass along any items that may be useful to the on-going IM operations. You also return rented or loaned equipment and close all contracts. You can also release all space that is no longer needed.

74. Assess the project

You assess various aspects of the project including the:

• Project process:
  • What went well?
  • What did not go well?
  • What could have been improved and how?
• Project results:
  • Consolidate statistical summary;
  • Identify impact and effects.

75. Prepare the project report

Your report should cover the major sections in the original Project Charter:

• Scope
• Objectives
• Plan
• Budget
• Risk management; and
• Results.

You should also address the communication strategy for the project findings.

76. Sign-off the project

Those who gave permission for the project, sign off acceptance. By signing at this stage, they are saying that the project has been completed. They may note any areas that are incomplete. This just means that that work will not be done. For example, the department's priorities could change and the project could be cut short. They could also note any sections for special attention (deficiencies or merit).

The final tasks are to communicate the project results and celebrate success.