The EA Domain Team for Document Management is built upon five EA Conceptual Principles and four EA Principles for Document Management:

1. Promote Usability
2. Support E-Services
3. Address Record Retention
4. Support Business Continuity

1. Promote Usability

Electronic Document Management Systems will be designed for efficiency and reusability.

Benefits:

• Seamless workflow across applications and agencies
• Ability to reduce information capture processing time
• Automation of standard actions will reduce labor intensive activities and allow for more productive use of time
• Delivery of services to customers with a minimum number of steps/actions/processes
• Reduce Total Cost of Ownership by minimizing customization, standardizing on a single object store, and sharing costs for licenses, resources, maintenance, and service.

Implications:

• Will require participation and partnership between and among agencies investing in document management
• Centralized administration
• Re-engineering of business processes
• Potential refocusing of employees' job functions
• A methodology must be developed to determine whether a business process would be included in an electronic document management system
• Provide education to be able to make informed decisions when deploying document management technologies

Counterargument:

• Centralized administration results in loss of local control
• Cost for meeting an individual agency business needs may be higher when leveraging enterprise level solutions

2. Support E-Services

Electronic Document Management Systems will support E-services standards of the enterprise.

Benefits:

• Reduces consumer confusion
• Consistent image of state government
• Easy to develop and deploy fixed forms
• Enhances access to services
• Automated processing of electronic documents

Implications:

• Need for compatible technologies
• Consensus based decision making process
• Communication and coordination will be critical for success
• Standardization will be clearly defined by E?services function
• Adherence to state standards for ADA & compliancy requirements
• E-forms and e-signatures are available to the user

Counterargument:

• E-services standards may limit functionality.
• E-services standards may be resource prohibitive at an agency level

3. Address Record Retention

Electronic Document Management System solutions must address record retention requirements.

Benefits:

• Simplifies compliance
• Enables efficient & complete destruction
• Improves access
• Minimizes risk
• Reduces resources
• Reduces selective destruction

Implications:

• May acquire additional retention software
• Develop a process
• Develop an automated process to adhere to record retention standards
• Provide an audit trail of retention process

Counterargument:

• Retention can be managed manually.
• Archivist is not able to use documents in an electronic format

4. Support Business Continuity

Electronic Document Management Systems will support business continuity.

Benefits:

• Easier duplication and disbursement
• Single document can be used by multiple people
• Information can be accessed remotely
• Retain quality of a record
• Consistency in access methods
• Provides audit trail to meet legal requirements
• Simplifies disaster recovery process by using electronic documents

Implications:

• Enterprise recovery plan is in place
• Supporting infrastructure must be available
• Human resources must be available
• Critical documents are identified and prioritized
• Disaster recovery training must be provided

Counterargument:

• When the infrastructure is unavailable, paper and microfilm are the only solutions
• Need to retain paper or microfilm for certain document types