TR 21946 Appraisal for managing records explains the concept of appraisal as described in ISO 15489-1:2016 Records management – Concepts and principles.
In that standard, appraisal is described as: ‘the process of evaluating business activities to determine which records need to be created and captured and how long the records need to be kept.’, with a note indicating that the concept expands on ‘traditional’ appraisal, as it is perhaps known to some practitioners, to include analysis of business context, business activity, and risk
The results of this analysis include requirements for the creation, capture and management of records based on business needs, legal requirements and/or societal expectations.
As the context of business, business activities and risk will change over time, appraisal is a necessary recurrent activity. This recurrence is reflected in the document.
The TR describes the steps within the appraisal process and provides examples which may be useful for organizations, for example on scoping the process or on the involvement of different relevant stakeholders. The (documented) results of appraisal may be used in various ways, including:
- the development of policies and procedures;
- the design and implementation of records systems; or
- the development of records controls
These examples illustrate that appraisal for managing records is a strategic and proactive instrument, rather than a reactive one, and one that is an essential tool for recordkeeping professionals dealing with the rapidly changing information landscape we live in today.
More information can be found in Projects section