1. An AIIM Briefing
Helping you manage and use information assets.
Automating ERM with
SharePoint
Produced by AIIM Training
By Nick Inglis, Digital Marketing Specialist
aiim.org I 301.587.8202

2. Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Automating ERM with SharePoint
Method 1: Records Center Automated Records
Declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Method 2: In Place Records Management Automated
Records Declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The AIIM SharePoint Training Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
About AIIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
About this Briefing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
© 2012 AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals - www.aiim.org/Training/SharePoint-Course
2

3. Automating ERM with SharePoint
Introduction
Back in the era of SharePoint 2007, few people thought we’d be discussing records management
with SharePoint 2010, let alone automating records management with it. Yet here we are with this
very real possibility and two ways that we can achieve it.
I’ll start by answering the question that is begged of ERM automation in SharePoint that most start
with, namely, “is that even possible?” My short answer is... Yes. The long answer is, it must be
planned and isn’t easy to establish, you need a good amount of knowledge up front, but an
organization that plans will be served very well.
There are two methods for automating records declaration with SharePoint 2010. Which method is
chosen will depend upon the style of records management we choose for our SharePoint
implementation. In SharePoint 2010 we can either use the “Records Center” records management
capability or we can leverage SharePoint’s unique “In Place” records management. Either method
is possible for automation and really depends upon your organization’s specific records
management requirements. I’ll first explain Records Center Automated Records Declaration since
it is a more familiar way of handling records.
© 2012 AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals - www.aiim.org/Training/SharePoint-Course 3

4. Method 1: Records Center Automated
Records Declaration
You probably already have a corporate taxonomy that, if not using SharePoint yet, is a standard
Automating ERM with SharePoint
hierarchical tree structure. You’ll need to do a migration of that taxonomy into the non-traditional
taxonomic structures of SharePoint, namely, the relationship between “containers” and metadata fields
(known as Columns in SharePoint). The hierarchy will now be structured in this manner:
Figure 1. Heirarchical taxonomic structure of SharePoint 2010.
Site CollecƟon
Site (may be nested or even skipped)
Library Name
Content Type
Column & Terms (for managed vocabulary)
To automate records declaration in SharePoint you need to understand the role of the Content Organizer
and how it operates on rules. The Content Organizer is a tool that automatically moves content from one
area to another based upon rules. Rules are run based upon a triggering event, either content creation
(upload, web-based, or process), or content edit. The rules will then evaluate the taxonomy of a piece of
content and choose where the content should be moved. A “drop off library” is created when you turn on
the Content Organizer. Think of the drop off library as an airport where content goes before arriving at its
final destination. It is where you upload content that will eventually be automatically routed.
You will need a robust taxonomy and clear set of rules
To automate records that rely on that taxonomy in order to achieve
declaration in SharePoint automation with the Content Organizer. When
you need to understand establishing your taxonomy you will need to
the role of the Content understand how to leverage points of differentiation in
Organizer and how it your taxonomy for records identification. Here’s an
operates on rules. example of how to understand points of differentiation
that we will use in a moment…
© 2012 AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals - www.aiim.org/Training/SharePoint-Course 4

5. Figure 2: Example point of differentiation in a SharePoint taxonomy using Content Type and a Column.
Approved
Automating ERM with SharePoint
Contracts Approved = Yes
(Records)
Venue Contracts
Unapproved
Contracts Approved = No
(Non-Records)
Contracts that are approved are different from contracts that are unapproved. What can we use to identify
this difference in SharePoint? Firstly, approved contracts will be declared as records, while unapproved
will remain as regular content. We can use a simple metadata field (column) called “Approved” to be set
as “Yes” and “No.” If set as “Yes” then it is an approved contract and it is a record, if “No”, then it is
unapproved and thus not a record. This may seem minor but let’s take a look at an example of how this
works:
D
Locations:
Events (Site Collection) > SharePoint Training Events (Site) > Drop Off Library > Venue
Contract (Content Type) > Approved (Column)
Events (Site Collection) > SharePoint Training Events (Site) > Collaboration Library > Venue
Contract (Content Type) > Unapproved (Column)
Events (Site Collection) > Records Center (Site) > Records Library > Venue Contract (Content
Type) > Approved (Column)
Scenario 1
An unapproved contract is uploaded into the drop off library in the SharePoint Training Events
Site, the Content Type of “Venue Contract” is chosen and the metadata field (known as a
Column) of Approved is filled out with “No.” The content organizer has a rule that is started
upon content creation to evaluate the content type of Approved. The Content Organizer sees it
set as “no” and our rule established that Venue and Approved=No moves content to the
Unapproved Contracts library.
Scenario 2
Later, an approved contract is uploaded into the drop off library in the SharePoint Training
Events Site and the Content Type of Venue Contract is chosen and the field of metadata (known
as a Column) of Approved is filled out with a “Yes.” The Content Organizer has a rule that is
started upon content creation to evaluate the content type of Approved. The Content Organizer
sees it set as “Yes” and our rule established that Venue and Approved=Yes moves the record
to the Records Center.
In Scenario 2 we automatically declared a record via this method. As you can see this method will work
for records declaration, but doing this on an enterprise scale requires time for planning and
implementation.
© 2012 AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals - www.aiim.org/Training/SharePoint-Course 5

6. Method 2: In Place Records Management
Automatic Records Declaration
Automating ERM with SharePoint
Imagine a world where content and records can all
get along and live in one place. That place is Imagine a world where content
SharePoint 2010 with “In Place Records and records can all get along
Management.” and live in one place. That
place is SharePoint 2010 with
Like Records Center Automatic Declaration, with “In Place Records
the In Place Automatic Records Declaration Management.”
process you start with your taxonomy. Establish
your points of differentiation as shown in our
Records Center Automatic Records Declaration
process.
With In Place Records Management Automatic Records Declaration, we can use basic workflow
capabilities to check our metadata and automatically declare a record. This workflow should be triggered
automatically when all content is uploaded. Here is the process for how the workflow should be
established:
Figure 3. Basic SharePoint Records Automation workflow example.
Document Upload Workflow If Declare
Triggers Reviews "Approved"
Created Record
Workflow Metadata = Yes
Unfortunately, this simple workflow is not provided out of the box in SharePoint 2010, but can be created
using SharePoint Designer, a free tool provided by Microsoft, and then deployed.
Conclusion
Many have tried to discount the possibility of automatic records declaration in SharePoint 2010. It should
not be discounted, but understood as a real possibility if the rest of our SharePoint implementation has
proper Content Governance and Classification Governance. We have the possibility of managing
automatic records declaration by leveraging the principle of inheritance and establishing site templates
that carry our governance policies (primarily our information management policies) and apply site
templates and governance policies consistently.
To learn more about this topic and how it can be a part of a well-governed SharePoint implementation, we
recommend you review the AIIM SharePoint Master training course, which covers these topics, and many
more, in depth.
Start your SharePoint journey: http://www.aiim.org/Training/SharePoint-Course
© 2012 AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals - www.aiim.org/Training/SharePoint-Course 6

7. Automating ERM with SharePoint
The SharePoint Training Program
Learn best practices for managing and sharing information on the SharePoint
platform.
Microsoft provides product and technical training on SharePoint, but a successful implementation
requires a strategy and structure for how to share and manage information. The SharePoint Training
Program covers global best practices for implementing SharePoint and complementary solutions. Get the
real story about what’s possible with SharePoint 2007 and 2010, and learn about solutions that
complement SharePoint.
Learn:
n Planning the SharePoint architecture, site provisioning, governance, administration, and maintenance
n Best practices for assessing, transitioning, and implementing SharePoint 2010 for managing content
and records
n The core capabilities of SharePoint 2010
n SharePoint 2010 functions and functionality for sharing and managing content and records
n Planning content types, classification, search, workflow, and communities
Become a SharePoint
Practitioner, Specialist, or Master.
Start Today.
SharePoint Designations:
The SharePoint Practitioner track covers concepts and technologies for SharePoint.
The SharePoint Specialist track covers global best practices for implementing
SharePoint, building upon the topics covered in the Practitioner track.
The SharePoint Master track provides a thorough understanding of SharePoint with
the main elements from all of the above, in addition to case study exercises. The
Master Preparation Workshop is also available to those that have already
completed the Practitioner and Specialist tracks.
Who are the SharePoint Training Programs for?
n Business Analysts n Implementation team - IT and business
n IT Management n Suppliers, Solution Providers, Vendors
n Technical staff n Executives
n Record Management personnel n Change agents
n Business Unit (line staff & management) n Users
© 2012 AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals - www.aiim.org/Training/SharePoint-Course 7

8. About AIIM
AIIM (www.aiim.org) has been an advocate and supporter of information professionals for nearly 70
years. The association’s mission is to ensure that information professionals understand the current and
future challenges of managing information assets in an era of social, mobile, cloud, and big data.
Automating ERM with SharePoint
Founded in 1943, AIIM builds on a strong heritage of research and member service. Today, AIIM is a
global, non-profit organization that provides independent research, education, and certification programs
to information professionals. AIIM represents the entire information management community, with
programs and content for practitioners, technology suppliers, integrators, and consultants.
About the Author
Nick Inglis is the Digital Marketing Specialist at AIIM International and is a
SharePoint Information Management, Collaboration, & Governance Geek.
Previously, Nick was the SharePoint Program Manager at AIIM and traveled the
world teaching the SharePoint course to Government agencies and companies
large (Fortune 500) and small. Nick’s current work with AIIM resides at the
intersection of Big Data and Marketing. He is an AIIM SharePoint Master, AIIM
Enterprise 2.0 Master, AIIM Enterprise Content Management Specialist, and
Inbound Marketing Certified Professional. Nick is a frequent speaker and has a
forthcoming book on SharePoint Governance.
.
Follow Nick on
About This Briefing
As the non-profit association dedicated to nurturing, growing, and supporting the community of
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© 2012 AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals
© 2012 AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals - www.aiim.org/Training/SharePoint-Course 8