EDRM Evergreen/Information Management/Preparedness/Data Mapping
From Working EDRM
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Data maps provide an enterprise-level overview of an organization’s information environment. They facilitate an understanding of where an organization’s electronically stored information (ESI) resides, which is essential in being able to accurately and efficiently respond and react to legal discovery and investigatory needs.
Data maps are also referred to as: “content maps”, “data blueprints”, “context diagrams”, or “information indexes”, although data map is the most commonly used term.
Contents |
Explanation
A data map is a graphic, textual, and /or relational representation of where an organization’s information resides. Data maps serve as a special type of IT inventory that translates into the business taxonomy and shows the operational context of IT systems within the business units. Data maps differ from system diagrams or network topologies in that they are somewhat less detailed from a technical perspective, but instead, include additional information on the information content of the IT infrastructure. For example, data maps track the generation and use of system data and show how the information is used in daily business activities. Since many IT systems serve multiple departments or business units through a one-to-many relationship, whereby each unit uses and processes the information differently, operational context is a key characteristic of a data map.
Approach(es)
Data maps are often created using piecemeal approach, separated by business units, geographic locations, or business processes, with the end-goal of having a full reference document that includes all of an organization’s information repositories.
Content
In order to fulfill its intended purpose, the data map should convey an overarching picture of the information environment and serve as a shared understanding of the information environment that facilitates decisions and activities surrounding the management, and often, the identification and collection of ESI. (add in details)
Format(s)
Commonly used formats include: text documents, graphical diagrams, databases, and combinations thereof. A popular format includes the use of a graphical diagram or schematic drawing created with computer system diagramming software (such as Microsoft Visio or Corel Draw). Often this drawing is supplemented by a text document that details the name, functionality, and owner of each ESI location. The text document should be written for an audience outside of the IT community, although some very basic understanding of IT systems is expected of those working on an organization’s information management efforts.
Data maps should be created in a format that is easily accessible and usable by all members of the e-discovery team, from internal departments such as law and business units, to outside vendors and support personnel.
When choosing a format for the data map, an organization should also consider the ease with which the document can be updated. Data maps are only useful if they present an accurate representation of the current state of information storage. An out of date map can lead to key information not being identified during the identification process, and ultimately pose a risk of spoliation or incomplete investigation of potentially relevant information. Organizations must create a business process for continuously updating and maintaining the accuracy of the map, and periodically reviewing the content. The maintenance process can be automated or manual, although, for many large organizations, manual maintenance is unwieldly without some form of process automation. The key is to a have an accurate map that is in an adaptable and usable form.
[updated Jan. 13, 2008]
