Scottish government automates data control

The Scottish Executive has deployed an electronic records and documents management (ERDM) system to improve the way it manages information.

The system, supplied by Objective and LogicaCMG, is replacing several storage systems that made it difficult to find data.

Liz Ure, head of information strategy, support and development at the Scottish Executive, says that before the document management system was implemented, the Executive’s 5,500 employees were using a mixture of paper filing and personal storage areas.

‘There were multiple places for people to store information, so to put together a record, a coherent story of what has happened on any particular issue, was extremely difficult,’ she said.

‘The idea of the ERDM system is to bring all of the information into the same place so you can put together a comprehensive trail of information. Record keeping is fundamentally an important part of this project for us.’

The system has been well-received by staff at the Scottish Executive and is helping to deal more efficiently with requirements of legislation such as the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Before the technology was implemented, 18 months of business analysis was undertaken to ensure the system suited requirements.

The Executive spent that time understanding the ways staff work with information, and their requirements for the ERDM system, says Ure.

‘The Scottish Executive is a complex organisation, a mini-Whitehall, encompassing functions and activities that in UK terms would involve several departments all in one, so we had some very diverse business needs to incorporate,’ she said.

The analysis triggered a change management process that addressed cultural issues in the organisation regarding how information is handled, which ultimately made the system more appealing to staff.

‘We have had a very high level of voluntary take-up, with little in the way of coercion, which is a testament to the success of the change management process we have run,’ said Ure.