EDMS Business Requirements Document
Introduction
An electronic document management system for the Hollywood organic co-op is a vital system that allows for smooth coordination of the business operations and source of information. The system contains crucial documents and information about the co-op, its customers, and employees that can be used for ill purposes. To prevent such occurrences, the security of the EDMS should be enhanced in order to avoid unauthorized access (Rosa et al., 2019). Polices and best practices on using the system should be formulated and adopted to ensure that the safety of the documents and information stored in the system. E-documents should be treated just like any other corporate documents and be handled in the best secure way possible.
Document Access Controls and Best Practices
Corporate documents should have controlled access to ensure that the security of the documents is upheld and that unauthorized persons do not access them. Viewing the documents can be controlled by providing only the authorized users who have security credentials can access and view the document (Rosa et al., 2019). The restricted viewing of the e-documents is to prevent leaking important information about the company to its competitors. Also, the viewing should be categorized into folders that are meant for specific people in the organization. For example, the viewing of financial reports should be restricted to the management and the financial department but not other users.
To prevent document tampering or to change the information in the documents, editing should only be done by the administrator of the EDMS (Verma et al., 2019). Tampering with business documents can cause a breakdown of processes, miscommunication, and confusion in the organization, and that is why not all people should be given the authority to edit the documents due to the existence of mischievous people. The administrator should only edit a document with permission from the management and not at their own will. The document should be protected by copyrights to prevent copy and pasting of a corporate document, and legal actions should be taken for anyone who violates this policy.
Printing of corporate business documents from the EDMS should be prohibited to prevent the unauthorized sharing of the document with the public (Verma et al., 2019). Due to the level of sensitivity that is accorded to these documents printing them from the system can risk leaking the information contained in the documents, and that is why it should not be allowed. Preventing printing of the documents allows only authorized users to view the document by logging in the system using authorized security credentials. Only the organization’s email should be used to forward the corporation’s e-documents and not personal emails to uphold document security and professionalism. It is also advisable to encrypt the e-document when sending it via email, especially confidential documents for security purposes.
Types of E-Documents and Security Level
Corporate electronic documents are sensitive documents for the organization, and if they fall into the wrong hands, they might harm the organization. To prevent unauthorized access to the organization’s documents, it is essential to formulate policies that control access to the document. For text documents and spreadsheets, it is vital to have policies that control the users that can access them in a system that can be done by categorizing them into folders that have restricted access (Avsentiev et al., 2018). The controlled access will prevent unauthorized access to the document by the public, which might negatively impact the organization.
Financial statements are vital documents in an organization and are confidential documents. Due to the level of sensitivity of the financial reports, access should be granted to the topmost management team and the accountants only. A policy should be formulated to ensure that no other user can access the financial documents of the organization by categorizing the documents as confidential and only giving exclusive access to a particular group of users in the organization (Ismael & Okumus, 2017). On the other hand, the organization’s email address should be used for business purposes only and not personal. It should be password protected and can only be used to share information that is not confidential due to cybersecurity threats.
Policies, procedure manuals, research can that is meant for all the workers in an organization can be granted access to all users through sharing through the organization intranet, personal emails, memos and newsletters (Avsentiev et al., 2018). On the other hand, documents that contain customer and project data, personal files, medical records, and other sensitive documents are not meant for the public. They can only be shared with individuals who are authorized. The controlled access is for safety purposes to prevent the information in these documents from being used for ill purposes. Only users inside the organization can access the intranet page of the organization as it contains information meant for employees of the organization only.
Stages of the Document Life Cycle
A document lifecycle can be defined as the step that is taken to ensure that a business document is efficient for the business and that it serves the purpose it is desired to serve. The first step of the document life cycle is the creation phase (Ragimova et al., 2020). The creation stage is the initial stage in the process of formulating a document that includes a collection of required information and data that is needed to establish the document. After the selection of the data necessary for the business document, it is then captured in a digitalized format, which creates an e-document. It is later reviewed and approved or dismissed by the stakeholders basing it on its effectiveness to the business.
Storage of the document is another vital aspect that should be kept in mind due to security factors. In the initial stage of creating the business requirement document, the information is collected recorded in an analog format, such as being written down on a paper. The storage of the analog draft can be stored safely under lock and key in the office locker or safe. Then when the document is transformed into a digital electronic document, it can be stored in the EDMS (Ragimova et al., 2020). During the storage of the document in the EDMS, it is essential to categorize it so that access to the document can be controlled. When classifying the document, it is placed in folders that specific people are only allowed access for security purposes.
Metadata tagging is a new digital way of creating a catalog for a document that includes relevant details that help one search for it in a system with ease. Metadata tagging is attaching essential information or words that can ease the search of the document in a system containing multiple documents (Ragimova et al., 2020). After a document is created reviewed and approved, it can be shared among the group of people it was meant for, which is done by giving them access to the EDMS folder that contains that document. Access through the EDMS is the most secure way of sharing the document as it cannot be edited or tampered with while in the EDMS.
During the review of the business document by the stakeholders, suggestions, and opinions on what should be changed in a document are given to the person creating the document. If the business document created does not fit the purpose it is designed for, then a process of repurposing is initiated. The repurposing includes changing some sections in the document to make it fit the use of the desired object in the organization. After the stakeholders review a document, it can be archived or destroyed depending on how well it serves its purpose in the organization (Ismael & Okumus, 2017). If it is not appropriate, then it is destroyed, and also it cans ne archived for future reference or repurposing.
Conclusion
It is vital to ensure that the steps of the document life cycle are followed to create the co-op documents to enhance its appropriateness and effectiveness to the business. After a document is created, then it is essential to ensure that it is stored in a secure place where only authorized users can gain access to it. Policies should be put in place by the co-op authority to enhance best practice to use the EDMS for the best of the organization. It should be noted that legal actions can be taken on anyone who violates the policies put in place to secure the documents in the EDMS.
Reference
Avsentiev, O. S., Drovnikova, I. G., Zastrozhnov, I. I., Popov, A. D., & Rogozin, E. A. (2018). Methodology techniques protection control of information resource of electronic document management system. Trudy SPIIRAN, 57, 188-210.
Ismael, A., & Okumus, I. (2017). Design and Implementation of an Electronic Document Management System. Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Uygulamalı Bilimler Dergisi (MAKUUBD), 1(1), 9-17.
Ragimova, N. A., Hajimahmud, A. V., & Soltanaga, A. V. (2020). ANALYSIS OF MAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. ScienceRise, (1), 28-31.
Rosa, A. T. R., Pustokhina, I. V., Lydia, E. L., Shankar, K., & Huda, M. (2019). Concept of electronic document management system (EDMS) as an efficient tool for storing document. Journal of Critical Reviews, 6(5), 85-90.
Verma, P., Bittal, V., & Dongre, N. (2019). An Effective Technique For EDMS Using Smart Data Hub System. In 2019 International Conference on Smart Systems and Inventive Technology (ICSSIT) (pp. 663-667). IEEE.