Records Management in the Cloud

In defining skills for an Electronic Data Management Course at the ANU, I previously looked at using the UK Government Knowledge and Information Management Professional Skills Framework, SFIA, and the ASA/RMAA Statement of Knowledge for Recordkeeping Professionals. Just to complicate things further, on Saturday I bumped into Senator Kate Lundy, who suggested looking at Web 2.0 and geo-locationally enabled mash-ups in the course. Also she asked for some brochures about the course, so perhaps it is time to work out exactly what this is about.

Electronic Data Management (COMP7420) is planned as a 3 unit course. That is six weeks, half the length of a typical unviersity subject. If the same format as the successful course, Green Information Technology Strategies (COMP7310), is used, this will require the course content to be broken up into six topics, each of one week duration, with a small assessment item after each (called formative assessment in the jargon of pedagogy). The topics of the green ICT course are brought together in two assignments the students undertake (summative assessment).

In the case of Green ICT there are two seemingly simple assignment questions:

1. Write a report on the carbon footprint of the ICT operations of your organisation ...
   
2. Write a report identify ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your organisation ...
   

Can I reduce the wide range of subject related to data management into six topics and one or two assignment questions? One thing which is seems worth retaining is the idea of basing assignments on an organisation context (students who do not have an organsation they can talk about simply adopt one).

At level 5 SFIA I identified 8 Skills relevant to records management (plus Procurement and the Quality management skills):

1. Information management
2. Information policy formation
3. Information content publishing
4. Methods and tools
5. Business analysis
6. Data analysis
7. Database/repository design
   • Usability evaluation

The SFIA version 4 groups skills in six broad categories:

1. Strategy & architecture
   • Information strategy
     • Information management
     • Information policy formation
     • Information content publishing
   • Technical strategy and planning
     • Methods & tools
2. Business change
   • Business change management
     • Business analysis
3. Solution development and implementation
   • Systems development
     • Data analysis
     • Database/repository design
   • Human factors
     • Usability evaluation
       
4. Service management
   • No skills relevant for this course
     
5. Procurement & management support
   • Supply management
   • Quality management
   • Resource management
   • Learning and development
6. Client interface
   • No skills relevant for this course