Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Models and Information

NARA has completed the initial phase of an agency-wide records lifecycle business process reengineering (BPR) project.

The purpose of this BPR was twofold. First, it aimed to support the Records Management Initiatives (RMI) and Electronic Records Archives (ERA) programs to enable NARA to efficiently and effectively address the challenges presented by changes in the volume and kind of records (in particular electronic records) which it must manage, preserve, and make available. Second, it intended to provide the agency with a coherent and end-to-end high-level view of the "as is " and "to be " records lifecycle processes, and views at more detailed levels of many essential processes that need to be reengineered in the near future to enable NARA to:

Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of records lifecycle processes.
Improve wherever possible the quality of the work produced by records lifecycle processes.
Rationalize the capture and flow of data relating to records.
Wherever possible decrease time and effort needed by agencies and NARA to conduct business, specifically: decrease turnaround time on the development, submission and approval of records schedules, ensuring that records schedules are approved at the time they are submitted.
Enable NARA to provide access to records at the time they are accessioned.
Enable NARA to take physical custody of electronic records as soon as agencies are willing to transfer them.
Increase the speed and ease with which customers can gain access to records, products, services, and information.

The BPR scope covers the entire records lifecycle for all types of holdings, but initially focused on a high-level overview of the records lifecycle and two key sets of processes. The two sets of processes are scheduling and appraisal, and custodial processes for electronic records, including the transfer of records to NARA's custody, accessioning, description, preservation, and access.

NARA created several staff teams to work on this BPR. These teams worked from January to July to develop a model of the NARA As-Is process, perform benchmarking research, develop To Be process models and workflows, and recommend further actions and initiatives.

This model provides a flexible framework for continuing change, and also supports the redesigned records management activities identified in the Strategic Directions for Federal Records Management document.

This high-level to-be records lifecyle model is a flexible framework designed to assist NARA in making some very real changes in the processes by which we do our work. For example, the model calls for the development of disposition standards, an automated system to assist agencies in submitting schedules using those standards, and different workflow tracks for schedules depending upon their characteristics and risk level. These changes will decrease the time and effort needed by agencies and NARA to develop, submit, and approve records schedules. At the heart of the new records processes would be a lifecycle data repository and a management data repository to improve the sharing of data and help us make better decisions. Other key changes will enable NARA to provide access to records as soon after accessioning as possible. These changes include the ability for NARA to begin processing records before they are in our legal custody, and the recognition that accession-level description may be suitable for public access to archival materials.

By developing this model and putting it into practice we will not only support ERA and the RMI, but we will also ensure that NARA is a key player in government information policy and management, and that we can move closer to the vision and goals of our strategic plan.

As Is Model