Ref:
UN/CS/RAI/USAA/DB01/2004-00102
United
Nations Participating Ogranizations
Development
of a Strategic Plan for a
Digital
Archives Programme,
Digital
Assessment Survey
Part
1: Information Technology
October
2004
Digital Assessment Survey
Part 1 Information
Technology
- General Information
- Technology and Information Systems
2.1 Technology
Infrastructure
2.2 Technology
Applications
2.3 Storage
and Media
2.4 Data
Integrity
2.5 Electronic
Mail and Messaging Systems
- Additional comments
PART I: INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONNAIRE
This survey is
designed to collect information concerning the status and development of electronic records
programmes and related areas from IT Departments/Units. Where
a response is not received, we will assume that no efforts are being initiated
in that area.
Support Documentation:
Annex
1 – Organizational Units
Annex 2 -
Generic Functions/Subfunction Matrix
Annex 3 -
Record Series (to be used in RM questionaire Part II)
Annex 4 – List
of IT systems, applications and software
Annex 5 – List
of Policies and Procedures
1.0 General Information
UN Participating Organisations:
Organisation/Work
Unit Name:
Location:
Name and Title of Person Completing
Survey: Phone
#:
E-mail Address: ___________________________________
Contact Person (if different from above: Phone #:
Contact Person’s (E-mail Address): ___________________________________
Reference Number (for WGARM/DAP use
only)
1.1 From Annex 1, Identify which organizational unit(s)
are covered by this survey.
1.2 From Annex 2, identify which functions and
subfunctions are covered by this survey.
1.3 From Annex 4, validate list of systems,
application and software covered by this survey.
2.0 Technology and Information Systems
2.1 Technology Infrastructure
2.1.1 Does your organisation maintain any
Information Technology Standards, Policies,
Procedures or Practices? Please
indicate below and attach any relevant documents as appropriate. Note if it is an undocumented practice and
indicate if it is within the specific organisational unit or across multiple
organisational units.
Systems, Application data bases and Software
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Document title |
Description |
Reference |
Date of issuance |
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Policy |
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Procedures |
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Standards |
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Security |
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Scheduling |
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Disposition |
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Training
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Electronic Records (structured or unstructured)
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Document title |
Description |
Reference |
Date of issuance |
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Policy |
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Procedures |
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Standards |
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Security |
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Scheduling |
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Disposition |
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Training
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Email (if separate from above)
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Document title |
Description |
Reference |
Date of issuance |
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Policy |
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Procedures |
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Standards |
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Security |
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Scheduling |
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Disposition |
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Training
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2.1.2
Which of the following database technology applications is
your organisation using or considering? Please check all that apply.
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Applications
Programmed in a Commercial Database |
Currently Using |
Considering Use |
Used in the Past |
Have Defined Need |
Current Project |
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Microsoft SQL |
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Oracle |
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Sybase |
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dbase, Foxbase, etc. |
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Microsoft Access |
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Other (Please specify): |
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Additional Details:
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2.1.3
Which of the following application development tools is your
organisation using or considering? Please check all that apply.
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Custom
Developed Applications |
Currently Using |
Considering Use |
Used in the Past |
Have Defined Need |
Current Project |
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Java |
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HTML |
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.NET |
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Visual Basic |
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Pascal |
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C++ |
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Other (Please specify): |
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Additional Details:
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2.2 Technology Applications
2.2.1
Does your organisation maintain an inventory or list of
automated applications (i.e., word processing, office automation, custom
applications, document repositories, databases, spreadsheets, etc.) used or
supported within your organisation? If
so, please attach relevant list or updates, as appropriate. Please also validate the attached list of
validated systems submitted via the
Response/Details:
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2.2.2
Which of the following technologies and software
applications is your Department/Group currently using or considering? Please
identify all that apply and also provide appropriate details below. Please provide appropriate system names from
question 3.1.4 above.
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Technology Application |
Use Currently |
Considering Use |
Used in the Past |
Have
Defined Need |
Current Project |
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Records Management |
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Document
Management Systems |
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Content Management |
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Artificial
Intelligence, Searching, Indexing |
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Data Mining |
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Taxonomy,
Intelligent Classification (e.g., Verity) |
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COLD Storage |
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Optical Character
Recognition |
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Collaboration
Systems (e.g., Lotus Notes, etc.) |
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Digital Imaging
(Kofax, etc.) |
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Enterprise
Resource & Planning (e.g., SAP, PeopleSoft) |
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Artificial
Intelligence (AI) |
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Workflow, Business
Process Automation |
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Electronic Mail
(Email) |
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Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) |
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Intranet/Internal
Web Postings |
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Internet |
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Other |
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2.3 Storage and Media
2.3.1
Describe what media/storage devices are used by your
Department/Group to retain records and documents in electronic format. Please
identify all that apply and also provide appropriate details.
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Storage Technology |
Use Currently |
Considering Use |
Used in the Past |
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Computer Tapes |
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Storage Area Network |
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EMC Centera |
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CD-ROM/DVD |
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Worm Disks |
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Magneto Optical Disks |
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Other |
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Additional Details:
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2.3.2
Does your organisation have agreements for off-site data
hosting? If so, are these reflected in
your standards, policies, and procedures?
Do these agreeements cover storage and information security issues?
Please provide appropriate detail.
q
Yes.
q
No.
q
Don’t Know
Additional Details:
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2.3.3
When did you organisation begin its digital archive? Please briefly describe the associated record
types and identify the file format (eg., .doc, .pdf, .xml, etc.). Use separate sheet as necessary.
q
Created in the
1960’s.
q
Created in the
1970’s.
q
Created between
1980 and 1985.
q
Created between
1985 and 1995.
q
Created after 1995.
q
Do not have a
digital archive.
Additional Details:
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2.3.4
Does your organisation have one or more defined document
archival file format standards. Please
explain and identify the file format (eg., .tiff, .pdf, .xml, etc.). Use separate sheet as necessary.
Additional Details:
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2.3.5
Does your organisation have one or more defined data
archival standards. Please explain and
identify the file format. Use separate
sheet as necessary.
Additional Details:
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2.3.6
Do you use any retention and/or destruction methods for
electronic records? Please explain.
Response:
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2.4 Data Integrity
2.4.1
Has your Organisation ever converted data from one hardware
environment to a new hardware environment?
q
Yes
q
No
q
Do Not Know
Additional Detail:
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2.4.1.1.1
If yes, Please describe the project, your level of success
and the hardware and data you used, provide appropriate details below or on a
separate sheet:
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Project Name/Description |
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Very Successful |
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Average |
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Not Successful |
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Additional Detail:
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2.4.2
Has your Organisation ever converted data from one software
environment to a new software environment?
q
Yes
q
No
q
Do Not Know
Additional Detail:
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2.4.1.2.1
If yes, Please describe the project, your level of success
and the software and data you used, provide appropriate details below or on a
separate sheet:
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Project Name/Description |
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Very Successful |
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Average |
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Not Successful |
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Additional Detail:
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2.4.1.2.2
Was their a loss of data associated with one or more of the
projects identified above, if so explain:
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Project Name/Description |
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More than Expected |
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Less than expected |
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No Data Loss |
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Additional Detail:
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2.4.3
How often does your agency perform regular backups and in
what medium and location are the backups stored?
2.4.1.3.1
Frequency: Please check
all that apply.
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Back-up/Recovery |
Daily |
Weekly |
Monthly |
Never |
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Mainframes |
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Minicomputers |
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LAN Servers |
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Personal Computers |
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Laptops |
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Additional Detail:
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2.4.1.3.2
Storage Medium: Please
check all that apply.
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Back-up/Recovery |
Disk |
Magnetic Tape |
Optical Disk |
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Mainframes |
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Minicomputers |
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LAN Servers |
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Personal Computers |
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Laptops |
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Additional Detail:
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2.4.1.3.3
Location: Please
check all that apply.
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Back-up/Recovery |
On-Site |
Off-Site |
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Mainframes |
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Minicomputers |
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LAN Servers |
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Personal Computers |
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Laptops |
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Additional Detail:
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2.4.4
Does your organisation utilize any digital signature
technologies? If so, does the organisation have standards, policies, and
procedures for digital signatures?
Response:
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2.4.5
Please describe the verification and authentication process
for digital records within your organisation.
Response:
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2.5 Electronic Mail and Messaging
Systems
2.5.1
Do you have an email policy, how do you capture and maintain
emails as business records?
Response:
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2.5.2
What system is used for e-mail and how do you manage your
e-mail?
Response:
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2.5.3
Do you use any retention and/or destruction methods for
e-mail records? If so, please explain.
Response:
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3. Additional Comments:
Thank You for Your
Participation in this Survey
For clarification or further
information, please contact the
UNPO
Dhurjati Mueller,