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Welcome to the April edition
of the a.k.a.® Newsletter

XML Technology Enhances a.k.a.® Interoperability
a.k.a.® development continues apace and Synercon are pleased to announce the release of XML functionality for a.k.a.®. This is a tremendous breakthrough which provides significant new functionality for a.k.a.® users. Synercon consultants are already developing a range of customised reports for individual clients using the new XSL templates.

Synercon created the a.k.a.® XML schema in-house after undertaking an exhaustive search. Despite extensive development of XML schema for recordkeeping metadata, Synercon were unable to discover an established scheme for encoding records classification and disposition elements. Terminology for the schema was sourced our terminology from ISO 15489 and ISO 2788.

XML Import/ Export
a.k.a.® can now import/export all recordkeeping entities, metadata and relationships from an a.k.a.® database into an XML file. This file can be used to transfer a.k.a.® to a wide range of target systems, including a.k.a.® databases, EDRM and web systems. Further filtering functionality facilitates the transfer of data subsets.

Customised Reporting
a.k.a.® XML functionality enables the production of custom reports using XSL templates which transform data exported in the XML output into MS Word documents. Note: XSLT (Extensible stylesheet language transformation) is a language for transforming XML documents into other XML documents. XSLT is designed for use as part of XSL, which is a stylesheet language for XML.

Reports are generated directly into MS Word where users apply their corporate style sheets, and edit directly into the document. Headers and footers can be applied and table formatting is preserved.

Four standard reports are provided as XSL templates in the initial release. Synercon will transform most of the standard a.k.a.® reports and release through the web site over the next quarter. a.k.a.® users can also commission Synercon to develop for individualised reports.

XML report functionality operates with MS Word Professional 2003 or above.

a.k.a.® version 2.9 is available as a free download on the a.k.a.® website as a demonstration license, or as an upgrade for users with a current Upgrade and Support Contract. A media kit is also available from Synercon at a cost of $AUS 50.

In this issue

  • XML Technology Enhances a.k.a.® Interoperability


  • Welcome New a.k.a.® Users


  • a.k.a.® on display in NZ, UK, US and Canada


  • Forthcoming Conference Presentations on Records Classification and Disposition Issues


  • The Benefits of a.k.a.® in Consulting Projects


  • a.k.a.® Advanced Functionality Training


  • Lest we Forget - New Items on the Synercon Website


    • Enjoy the newsletter!


    Conni, Eddy and the a.k.a.® Team

    New a.k.a.® Users
    Once again we are pleased to welcome many more new a.k.a.® clients to the fellowship. Not all of our new clients are completely new to us - several have used a.k.a.® in previous employment and find that they just can't live without their favourite records management tool when they change jobs.

    Alberta Research Council, Canada
    Auckland Regional Council, New Zealand
    Australian Crime Commission
    Australian Electoral Commission
    Bonita Kennedy Consulting, South Australia
    British Colombia Hydro, Canada
    Dept Of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forests, Australia
    Dept of Health, South Australia
    DuPont, United States
    InfoOsmosis Consulting, South Australia
    Institute of Environmental Science & Research Limited, New Zealand
    National Food Industry Strategy, Australia
    Parkland County, Canada
    Public Health Agency of Canada
    Records & Archives Services, South Australia
    Sydney Ports Corporation, Australia
    Sydney Water, Australia
    National Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa)
    University Of Adelaide, Australia
    University of Canberra, Australia




    Experience a.k.a.®
     There has been significant interest in a.k.a.® from Canada and the US, and lately from the United Kingdom. As a result, the a.k.a.® team will be demonstrating at a range of international records management events over the next few months in Canada, the UK and the US. Conni will also be presenting papers at the MER conference in Chicago and at ARMA Canada.

    UK Records Management Society 10th Annual Conference and AGM
    April 29 to May 1
    In-Form Consult Stand
    Hilton Metropole Hotel, Brighton, United Kingdom

    AIIM Roadshow
    Birmingham May 2, Reading May 3, London May 4
    In-Form Consult Stand

    ARMA Canada Region Conference
    June 3 - 6
    a.k.a.® by Synercon Stand
    Delta Hotel, Winnipeg, Canada

    24th International RMAA Convention
    September 9 to 13
    a.k.a.® by Synercon Stand
    Wellington Convention Centre, Wellington, New Zealand

    ARMA 52nd Annual Conference & Expo
    October 7 -10
    a.k.a.® by Synercon Stand
    Baltimore Convention Centre, Baltimore, USA




    Forthcoming Conference Presentations
    Over the next 2 months, Conni will be presenting papers at the following conferences:

    MER (Managing Electronic Records) 2007 May 21-23, Chicago.
    MER is a focused conference that addresses the issues and challenges of managing electronic records from three perspectives: legal, technical and operational.
    Establishing Common Retention Rules Across Multiple Platforms - The Missing Link in the Effective Administration of e- Record Retention Schedules.
    In this paper, Conni focuses on the advances in methodologies and tools used for developing and maintaining records retention schedules.

    ARMA Canada 2007 June 4-6, Winnipeg.
    Improving the Design & Architecture of EDRMS Solutions
    Conni's paper examines how EDRM systems can be designed more intelligently; by both system implementers and software designers. It emphasises the need to make better use of known relationships (i.e. between people, functions, processes) to facilitate more systematic capture of information, and how to facilitate the automation of retention management by linking knowledge (captured through the DIRKS analysis) which may indicate the retention value.
    Functional and Faceted Classification in Practice
    In this paper, Conni provides an insight into how functional classification has been utilised in Australia and the lessons Australian records manager have learned. It also examines the relationships between functional and other classification types, and how to apply faceted classification within EDRM systems.

    All three papers will be made available on the Synercon web site in Mid June.




    a.k.a.® Training – Advanced Functionality Course
    As promised, the Advanced Functionality in a.k.a.® training course is now being offered to our established a.k.a.® users. The course addresses:
  • Importing data from a range of sources including CSV
  • Making bulk changes in a.k.a.®
  • Manipulating data using spreadsheets or MS Access
  • Importing and Exporting using XML

    • To view locations and dates for scheduled courses view the a.k.a.® training schedule online. To arrange a course in your area, either scheduled or in-house, please send us an email.




    Classification and Disposition Projects
    Not only do we develop a.k.a.® software but we use it extensively for our own consulting work, as do many other records management consultants. Recent Classification and Disposition projects using a.k.a.® have been undertaken for Blue Scope Steel, Carrick Institute, Federal Magistrates Court, NSW Dept of Primary Industries, National Capital Authority and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal.

    The advantages a.k.a.® delivers include:
  • Significant time savings for data entry and term linking
  • Reuse of resource information using import/export
  • Data integrity reports enabling quality checking of the database
  • Instant production of reports for client review and submission to regulators and legal advisors
  • Fast production of the online thesaurus and disposition schedules for client review and feedback

    • All of this functionality amounts to substantial time savings and a better quality product.





    Lest we forget
    Don't forget the reasons to why use a.k.a.® - without an effective records retention schedule you may end up in hot water like some of the organisations we feature on our Lest We Forget page.

    Inadequate Corporate Recordkeeping Systems
  • Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) release report on recordkeeping in large commonwealth organisations (read more)
  • FBI Says Files In Leak Cases Are 'Missing' (read more)
  • Poor record-keeping plagues Bush AIDS effort (read more)
  • APSC State of the Service report links recordkeeping to organisational capability (read more)
  • White House Doesn't Know Number of Missing E-Mails (read more)

    • Non-compliance
  • Documentation and compliance critical for SMEs (read more)
  • Breakdowns in Accountability (read more)
  • U.S. Demands Newark Return $6.9 Million in Housing Aid (after failing to provide adequate documentation) (read more)
  • Nevada Treasurer requests probe of missing records (read more)

    • Operational and Organisational Failures
  • Missing records throw citizens into turmoil - two years of financial data may be lost (read more)
  • Richard Gudewicz: Missing records, missing benefits (read more)

    • Illegal Destruction of Records
  • Countless White House E-Mails Deleted (read more)
  • Lidl destroyed records linked to discrimination probe (read more)

    • Alteration of Records
  • SEC Charges Three Former KPMG Auditors for Altering Audit Working Papers (read more)

    • Inappropriate Disposal of Records
  • Prison files destroyed ahead of Freedom of Information Act (read more)




    • Synercon Management Consulting P/L
    PO Box 952
    Rozelle NSW 2039
    Phone : 61 2 9698 8888
    Fax : 61 2 9698 8898
    Mobile : 0438 849 319
    Email conni@synercon.com.au
    www.synercon.com.au
    www.a-k-a.com.au

    Synercon Management Consulting is a leading provider of records management consultancy services, training and tools. Synercon's mission is to help organisations manage their information more effectively, and empower people to change their habits and implement new processes.
    Synercon is the developer of a.k.a.® software - a suite of tools for the development of taxonomies (thesauri, controlled vocabularies) and records retention & disposal schedules. a.k.a.® is used by government agencies and large corporations throughout Australia (including the Whole-of Queensland Government), New Zealand and North America.

    www.synercon.com.au
    www.a-k-a.com.au