Defense releases draft of 5015 Version 3

The Defense Department has posted a working draft of Version 3 of its standard for records management software, the 5015.2-STD RMA Design Criteria Standard.

This version of the standard adds specifications for exporting records to the National Archives and Records Administration, and addresses issues with privacy and public accessibility regulations, as well having slight modifications of classified records and mandatory requirements, according to the Web site. The Web site also has a form for public comments.

The new version of 5015.2 also has a new focus on system interoperability, said J. Timothy Sprehe of the consulting firm Sprehe Information Management Associates Inc. of Chevy Chase, Md. This last set of specifications is particularly important as agencies are increasingly sharing records across different systems, Sprehe said. Today, it takes considerable work to get one system, say from FileNet Corp. of Costa Mesa, Calif., to exchange records with another, from Hummingbird Communications Ltd. of Toronto.

Overseen by the Defense Department's Joint Interoperability Test Command in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., 5015.2 is a set of requirements that ensure the software applications adequately preserve government records. JITC tests and certifies software against the 5015.2 requirements and keeps a record of those applications that have passed muster. Certification is good for three years.

Although mandated for Defense systems, 5015.2 is becoming a de facto standard for other government agencies as well. In January, NARA endorsed Version 2 of 5015.2 for civilian agency record keeping.

"NARA has worked with DOD since the inception of this standard, and we are continually working with DOD to improve the functionality of these applications," said Mark Giguere, information technology planning and policy lead for NARA's Office of Records Service, speaking at the Storage to Knowledge conference held last week by PostNewsweek Tech Media, publishers of GCN.

Joab Jackson is an associate writer for Washington Technology's sister publication, Government Computer News.