New Version of the EDRM

Earlier this month, a new version of the EDRM was released incorporating on the left side the Information Governance Reference Model (IGRM) in order to emphasize the complexity and importance of the beginning stage of the electronic discovery process.

The IGRM is a circular chart divided into five sections Legal; IT; RIM [records and information management]; Privacy & Security; and Business. The two main thrusts of information governance - policy integration and process transparency involve interaction between these areas, but each area has its own main purpose.

Business aims towards value; IT towards efficiency; RIM & Legal and Privacy & Security at risk reduction. At its core Information Governance concerns the disposition of data no longer created or used by the business, and not yet disposed of. It's either part of discovery, archived as a record, or stored. Information is either used to operate the organization, or preserved due to legal obligations with IT being responsible for the mechanics of how the information is managed. The legal, business, and IT stakeholders must cooperate in deciding whether a piece of information is retained or disposed of.

The IGRM was developed in part with input from the Compliance Governance & Oversight Council (CGOC). The EDRM site recommends the CGOC process maturity model as resource for more specific information on the tools, technologies and activities involved in information management and electronic discovery. So as the IGRM goes deeper into the Information Governance module of the EDRM, we get taken further into the IG process with the CGOC model - tomorrow night . . .