Automating Your

Information
Governance
Program
Simplifying and improving
every step in the process

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 Automating Your Information
Governance Program
Executive Summary
There are many ways an organization can set up its
records management program. One that has gained
popularity due to its inherent simplicity is the automated
information governance model. This model is based on the
setting of rules that regulate the policies and retention of
the records throughout their lifecycle.
We believe this model to be superior because it mostly
eliminates human error and judgement. If a record fits
the specified rules it is moved, disposed or archived
automatically. This allows the users to have a much more
pleasant experience and the records manager to rest
assured the rules are implemented correctly.
Of course, without the proper software such as
RecordLion, this process would be extremely time-
intensive and subject to the manual review of every
record. As we move through this document, we will
highlight how RecordLion can improve the experience
at every step of the automated information governance
model.
Overview of the Automated Information Governance
Model
Automated information governance is a way of
automating the qualification, classification, and
declaration of records. The benefits are numerous, the
most important being the standardization of policies
across records of all types, while allowing for exceptions
such as legal holds or especially sensitive records. Another
important benefit of is that when implemented with the
proper software and guidance from the records manager,
the system is automated and extremely scalable and
flexible to changing business demands.
With the rules implemented, records managers can
specify:
Which documents can be declared as records
Areas within the business where potential A regular expression is a sequence of characters that
records may reside
When a document will be declared
How records are classified according to the file
plan
Which retention rules will be applied to types of
records
At RecordLion, we set out to address the roadblocks that
traditional records management systems encounter. These
roadblocks prevent buy-in from records managers and the
business units within an organization. By creating software
that manages your records in-place and not requiring an
expensive and time-consuming data migration to a central
repository, the organization can be assured their records
are being properly managed without largely impacting
their everyday users experience.
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Automated information
governance is a way of
automating the qualification,
classification, and
declaration of records.
What follows is a walkthrough of the key elements of
automated information governance and how RecordLion
allows organizations to implement this model.
Document Handling Rules
As one would expect, the first step is to determine which
documents are collected as declared records by setting
up rules. The documents must meet the condition and
content type defined in each rule to be classified as a
record. These rules will also specify the action associated
with each record including simply classifying the record
type, locking the record in-place, moving the document
or sending it through the disposition process. This also
ensures that any new documents are automatically
classified according to the established rules.
There are several rule conditions that allow for
classification of records:
Multiple conditions are defined as at least three that
are applied to the same record
Operators allow for useful conditions such as < (less
than), > (greater than), <= (less than or equal to),
Not = (not equal to), Starts with or Contains
creates a pattern which can match a documents
metadata (for example DoD|Department
of Defense would match a value of either DOD
or Department of Defense
Variable substitution is a key component that will
relieve the creation of thousands of rules by allowing
the substitution of the identifier and does not require
an explicit rule for each category. Instead the records
manager can create one rule for each case category
parent (i.e. Finance-Contracts or Human Resources-
Employees). RecordLions software will then perform
these variable actions behind the scenes and properly
classify these records.
By establishing a centralized set of rules, the organization
can allow RecordLion to do the heavy lifting and classify,
manage and dispose of records automatically.
Simplifying and Improving Every Step in
the Process
File Plan
The file plan is the overall reference document for your
records. It includes your retention schedule, the document
handling rules, the organization of your records as well
as security protocols. You can download a sample file
plan template from our website here. It is broken down
into categories, each with their own defined retention
schedule. It is critical that the organization has a
centralized file plan in place before applying rules and
moving records through their lifecycle. The retention
schedules within a file plan depend on the companys
own policies as well as industry, local, state and federal
compliance regulations.
At RecordLion, we have vast experience with
implementing file plans and have partners dedicated to
creating extremely detailed file plans if an organization
does not supply their own.
Events
Events are things that occur in every business that can
then trigger rules on specific records. Each event has a
type such as Employee Terminated or Contract End.
Events can be used as close dates for disposition or
trigger retention phases, depending on the defined rules.
The RecordLion software allows users to set up both
event based triggers as mentioned above and also Date
Property triggers that classify records based on any date
property such as created or modified.
The policy is what actually
moves records through
their multiple phases. These
policies are applied to all
records classified against
the specific category.
Stages (Phases)
Stages, or Phases, as we at RecordLion refer to them are
part of the lifecycle of a record. Each stage is a block that
can be put in the order of the organizations preference
to build a policy. The trigger is the core of this process.
Multiple triggers, as we referred to previously, are critical
in ensuring the record is moved through its lifecycle. The
trigger date is what begins the retention period, which can
be single or multi-stage.
Finally, we have the Action, which is what happens at the
end of the retention phase. There are a myriad of options
including moving onto the next phase, moving the record
to another location, or disposition. RecordLion allows
a record to efficiently and transparently move through
the phases of its lifecycle while providing defensible
disposition once the record has reached the end of its
usefulness.
Policies (Lifecycle)
A policy is in essence a container for one or more phases
(stages) and is also associated with file plan category or
categories. At RecordLion, we refer to this as a Lifecycle.
The policy is what actually moves records through their
multiple phases. These policies are applied to all records
classified against the specific category.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Overall, the automated information governance model is
a detailed and highly efficient way to achieve complete
information governance. It requires diligent planning and
attention to detail initially but is rewarded with automation
and consistent, standardized records management once
the system is up and running.
At RecordLion, we created a highly usable, flexible and
comprehensive piece of software that perfectly fits the
needs of the modern organization looking to establish and
maintain a compliant and robust information governance
program. As the amount of data multiplies every day, it
becomes even more critical for businesses to establish
an automated solution for their records. Our mission at
RecordLion is to make that solution easier, more user-
friendly and revolutionize the way people think about
information governance.

About RecordLion
RecordLion provides solutions to apply governance policies to all information, records and files throughout the
enterprise. Whether data resides in SharePoint, Office 365, File Systems, Email, cloud storage, SQL Server, ERP,
CRM, or other business systems, using the RecordLion product helps organizations reduce costs and minimize
risk by automatically classifying and managing information in place with a centralized file plan, retention rules,
defensible disposition and best in class reporting. Further, RecordLion provides professional services and software
to support both simple and complex information migrations and other related consulting.

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 RecordLion Inc.
1795 Clarkson Rd, Suite 300
St. Louis, MO 63017

www.recordlion.com
info@recordlion.com
1.888.400.6682
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