SharePointRecordsManagement.com

It recently occurred to me that there seems to be some level of confusion around how a few fundamental SharePoint records management terms are defined.  This confusion may very well cause people challenges when trying to understand how SharePoint manages records and information. 

With that in mind, I’ve compiled a short list of terms I consider essential to understanding SharePoint records management.  Please keep in mind, these terms are defined from a Records and Information Management perspective and may have slightly different meanings within other context.  As usual, comments, additions and corrections are strongly encouraged.  

Record  

‘Record’ is easily the most misunderstood word in Enterprise Content Management.  There are essentially two very different types definitions for ‘Record’.  One type I call the ‘organizational’ definition – meaning the organization is responsible for determining what type of information it considers an official ‘record’.  These descriptions are based on the content and context of the material, rather than the its format.  For this reason, an email from a customer that says the customer has accepted the organization’s proposal would typically be considered a record, and should be managed as such.  An email from your buddy verifying your tee time would not.

But SharePoint is not concerned with the content or the context of a record.  In SharePoint, a record is any piece of information that is subject to organizational business rules that require it to be rendered immutable and assigned a retention period.   This is the second type of definition for ‘Record’, which I call the ‘functional’ definition. 

A record in MOSS 07 resides in the Records Center.  In SharePoint 2010, Records In Place functionality allows you to declare a record anywhere in your site collection. 

Document  

I’m speaking in broad terms here, so please bear with me.  In SharePoint a document is any unstructured content that has not been declared a record. Generally speaking, there are no rules preventing documents from being modified or deleted.  Documents can be spreadsheets, images, emails or any other piece of electronically stored information that resides in SharePoint.

File Plan

A classification scheme in the SharePoint Records Center used to categorize a record based on its security and retention and disposition requirements.  SharePoint uses the File Plan to apply an organization’s official retention schedule.  (Though, to be clear, expiration policies can be applied to material outside of the Records Center, as well.)

A typical file plan in a SharePoint implementation might include a Records Center Library for all Human Resources records.  The Human Resources Library may contain a folder called ‘Medical Benefits’.  This folder may have multiple subfolders for each employee in the organization.  A signed medical benefits agreement for John Smith would be classified into the file plan under Human Resources > Medical Benefits > Smith, John. 

Appropriate permissions would be applied throughout the file plan and, in SharePoint 2010, different retention requirements could be applied at each file plan level, as necessary.

Content Type 

Broadly speaking, a Content Type is a reusable collection of settings that apply to a specific set of SharePoint content.  Content Types are designed to help organize SharePoint content in meaningful ways.  Content Types allow you manage document metadata and behavior in a centralized and reusable manner.

In records management terms, Content Types loosely parallel a Record Series, such as ‘Expense Report’ or ‘Annual Review’.   In MOSS 07, Content Types determine where a record is classified in the file plan.  In SharePoint 2010, record classification is determined by a combination of Content Type and user designated metadata values.