Other Best Practices Concerning Documents and Document Libraries | |
Working with the SharePoint Server 2007 DoD 5015.2 Add-On Pack | |
One of the core functions that Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is purchased to implement is document and records management. Office SharePoint Products and Technologies has grown from being merely a document collaboration system to one that supports a solid document management implementation.
Because of the increase in complexity of the platform from Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to SharePoint Server 2007, design and planning issues are also more complex. And with the return of major/minor versioning in SharePoint Server 2007 that we had in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2001, along with the advent of a Records Center that appends each record’s name with a unique string of characters plus the added list features and functionalities that are available with a document library, the need to plan and design how documents and records will be managed in your environment has never been more important.
Document collaboration differs from document management in that it allows individuals to asynchronously develop a single document from a single location into a finished product without much concern about what happens to that document within a defined document life cycle. Document management, on the other hand, is concerned about applying governance rules to documents, defining the life cycle of that document, and differentiating between unofficial and official communications. It is concerned about such life-cycle issues as where a document is incubated and developed, where a document is hosted once it is considered official, compliant communication, and how a document will be expired. It is concerned with tracking the "who did what" to the document during certain stages of that document’s life cycle. And it is concerned about ensuring that there is only one version of the truth for that document’s contents at any given time.
In this chapter, along with document management concepts and their implementation in SharePoint Server 2007, we will discuss some topics that are more collaborative in nature. We will cover these topics only because they support our larger mission in this chapter—namely, to understand document and records management best practices in SharePoint Server 2007. We’ll discuss the concept of a document life cycle and will then use that life cycle as a template for how documents are managed within the SharePoint Server 2007 platform. The chapter’s flow will follow the life cycle of a document.
But first, we need to understand what a document is and what document management is. Let’s start by defining document.
If you were to do much reading in the document management field, you would soon realize that this is a persistent and pesky question. The accepted definition of document is constantly evolving, and our traditional views of documents are difficult to apply in the electronic age. For example, is a .wmv (Windows Media) file a document? Is an .msg file (e-mail message) a document? Some limit the definition of document to communication that is legally compliant or otherwise official. Others broaden the definition to encompass any communication—written or electronic—that has been recorded in any format. So using this latter definition, a Post-it note with some scribble on it would be considered a document. Now, don’t laugh. One author of this book knows of a municipality in Minnesota that requires every written communication to be indexed and warehoused for seven years, including Post-it notes.
For our purposes in this chapter, we’ll consider the term documents as mainly referring to Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel, or Microsoft Office PowerPoint files, both electronic and hard copy. While Web pages, e-mails, voice mails, and other electronic forms of communication are also considered documents, it would muddy the waters too much to try to discuss these various document types in this chapter. For illustrative purposes, we’ll stick with the Microsoft Office suite as our platform in which we’ll work with documents. How documents are defined in your organization is up to you, but it is a conversation that should not be avoided. Why? Because if it is not a document, then it may not need to be managed.