The World [of Records Management] According to GARP®

I suspect John Irving is not much interested in records management, but I could be mistaken. It has happened before. But ARMA International sure is, and I am thrilled by the publication last year of the Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles (GARP), and even more so by the recent introduction of the Information Governance Maturity Model, based on GARP.

What exactly is GARP, you say? I am so happy you asked. Of course, the best place to learn is ARMA’s website: http://www.arma.org/garp/index.cfm. Nevertheless, it is simple enough in principle to understand. Just as the accounting profession has its Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the records management profession now has its own set of eight basic principles that define a sound recordkeeping practice:

• Accountability
• Transparency
• Integrity
• Protection
• Compliance
• Availability
• Retention
• Disposition

ARMA has developed detailed content around these principles together with training for professionals and others interested in the discipline. More recently, the organization rolled out the Information Governance Maturity Model, which defines five levels of increasing competency in each of the eight GARP principles (Sub-Standard, In Development, Essential, Proactive, and Transformational).

I was first introduced to maturity models by the Capability Maturity Model developed by Carnegie Mellon University. As it turns out, there are a number of maturity models out there, and I don’t know whose came first, but I find them enormously useful. A maturity model is a development model created from actual data, or an abstract representation of an actual system. We’ve used a maturity model to measure the readiness of a particular organization to respond to demands for electronically stored information for a number of years. While our version has included a section on information governance, I am very happy that we can now reference GARP in our work. Where maturity models add value is in helping identify strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of a process and creating a framework within which decisions can be made, enabling an organization to target the gaps between existing processes and best practices that will have the most significant impact on overall performance, including cost and risk. ARMA has done an admirable job of breaking down records keeping into defined and measurable criteria related to each of the articulated principles in the GARP construct.

I would be very interested to hear about anyone’s experience in employing GARP or the ARMA Information Governance Maturity Model in their organizations.

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