Governance, as it relates to enterprise content and records management, is controlling how information is created and managed in the enterprise. A governance program will include policies, goals, authorities, decisions, and a program definition.
A SharePoint governance plan should address:
- Classification, content type, and metadata management to ensure appropriate organization of information
- Site provisioning and content type deployment to ensure decisions are consistent across the organization
- Records retention assignment and disposition to ensure that enterprise records management objectives are met
- Specific SharePoint 2010 environmental considerations
- Configuration of security to ensure overall adherence to policy and goals
[Note: A free briefing paper is available from AIIM -- Automating ERM with SharePoint.]
A lack of governance can manifest itself in a variety of ways. A good way to identify if and where your organization may need help with governance is to look for some of the following indicators:
- Sites are created at-will and without guidance or an approval process.
- Every site looks different and there is a desire to create a stronger internal brand for the organization.
- Corporate policies, specifically retention policies, are either inconsistently applied or lacking altogether.
- Tools like SharePoint Designer are used without guidance or oversight.
- The litigation or preservation hold process is inconsistent or cumbersome.
- Record managers are unable to consistently apply retention to electronic records.
Keep in mind two points as you think about this list. First, these are simply things to look for and there is no magic formula to determine if you are in need of additional governance. However, the more of the items on this list that make you think, “That applies to my organization," the greater the likelihood that you will need additional governance. Second, governance alone may not be sufficient by itself to address the particular shortcoming.
Every organization will have a different culture and style for the way information is created. On one end of the scale are very young, rapidly growing, relatively unregulated organizations in which speed and flexibility are preferred over control and risk avoidance. Here, a decentralized style is the appropriate option.
On the opposite end of the scale are mature, generally larger, and more highly regulated organizations in which regulatory compliance, structure, and control are preferred. Oftentimes, this is because the results of carelessness or complacency could be extremely costly. For these organizations, a more centralized style is appropriate.
Keep these two opposite ends of the scale in mind, as you think through the question of SharePoint governance. Which end of the scale your organization falls on will influence the amount of distributed administration that you may want to implement.
[The above is drawn from AIIM's SharePoint for ECM course, created by the Gimmal Group.]
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