ISO 16175-2-2011 PDF

Full title and description

Information and documentation — Principles and functional requirements for records in electronic office environments — Part 2: Guidelines and functional requirements for digital records management systems (ISO 16175-2:2011). This part provides guidance and a set of functional requirements intended for digital records management systems (often called electronic records management systems or enterprise content management systems).

Abstract

ISO 16175-2:2011 sets out functional requirements and guidance for software whose primary purpose is the management of digital records. It addresses identification and management of digital records (including capture, metadata, classification, access controls, retention and disposition), and is targeted at informing design specifications, procurement and assessment of digital records management systems. The document does not attempt to specify long-term digital preservation requirements or general non-records-specific software requirements.

General information

• Status: Withdrawn (superseded by later technical specification/edition).
• Publication date: April 2011.
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 01.140.20 (Information and documentation; records management).
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (2011).
• Number of pages: 61 pages.

Key bibliographic and lifecycle details are recorded on the ISO catalogue entry for the standard.

Scope

Applies to software products whose primary function is records management (digital records management systems). It establishes functional requirements that apply to records regardless of the media in which they were created or stored, and is intended to inform design specifications, procurement and assessment of such systems. The part excludes general system design issues (performance, scalability, usability) and does not provide a specification for long-term digital preservation/archiving, which should be addressed within dedicated preservation frameworks. It also distinguishes digital records management systems from business systems that hold dynamic business data.

Key topics and requirements

• Capture and creation: mechanisms to ingest or capture digital objects and associated metadata from office applications, email and other sources.
• Identification and metadata: support for persistent, reliable identification and descriptive, administrative and technical metadata to support authenticity, provenance and management.
• Classification and filing: functional support for records classification schemes, filing structures and linkage to business activities.
• Access, security and rights management: access control, authentication, authorization and protection against unauthorized alteration.
• Retention and disposition: record lifecycle management including retention scheduling, legal holds and disposition actions.
• Audit, integrity and preservation-awareness: audit trails, versioning, fixity checks and acknowledgement of format-obsolescence issues (though detailed preservation is out of scope).
• Interoperability and export: support for standard formats and mechanisms to export records and metadata for transfer or long-term preservation.
• Administration and system management: administrative functions for user roles, policy implementation and system configuration specific to records management.
• Hybrid records support: management of records aggregations that may mix digital and non-digital elements.

These high-level requirements are grouped into a model that clusters related functions (create, maintain, disseminate, administer) to guide specification and assessment.

Typical use and users

Primary users include records and information managers, procurement teams and project leads specifying or evaluating records management software, and IT professionals (solution architects, developers and testers) engaged in selection, design, implementation or maintenance of records systems. Software vendors and system integrators also use the document to align product functionality with internationally recognised records-management requirements.

Related standards

ISO 16175-2:2011 was originally published as part of a three-part ISO 16175 series (Parts 1–3 published 2010–2011) derived from ICA guidance. The 2011 Part 2 has since been withdrawn and the work reissued/updated in a later technical specification/second edition (ISO/TS 16175-2:2020 and consolidated ISO 16175 second edition outputs). Other related references for records processes and requirements include ISO 15489 (records management), and jurisdictional/product specifications such as DoD 5015.02 and MoReq2 for additional, more prescriptive functional detail.

Keywords

digital records management, electronic records, records management systems, metadata, capture, retention, disposition, interoperability, audit trail, records lifecycle, ICA-Req, ISO 16175.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 16175-2:2011 is the Part 2 component of the ISO 16175 suite that defined principles and functional requirements for records in electronic office environments — specifically guidance and functional requirements for digital records management systems.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers high-level, records-specific functionality needed in software that manages digital records: capture, metadata, classification, access/security, retention/disposition, auditability, export/interoperability and administration. It does not prescribe long-term digital preservation techniques or general non-records-specific system performance requirements.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Records managers, information governance and procurement teams, IT architects and developers, auditors, and software vendors/suppliers use it when specifying, selecting, designing, implementing or assessing records management solutions.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO 16175-2:2011 has been withdrawn and the content reworked in later ISO publications (the work was superseded/updated by subsequent ISO/TS and consolidated editions published around 2020). Users should consult the newer ISO/TS 16175-2:2020 (and the consolidated ISO 16175 second-edition outputs) for current guidance.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it formed Part 2 of the ISO 16175 series (Parts 1–3) addressing principles and functional requirements for records in electronic office environments; the suite grew out of International Council on Archives (ICA) guidance and has been later restructured and updated in the 2020 edition.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Digital records management, records lifecycle, capture, metadata, retention, disposition, interoperability, audit trail, records management systems, electronic office environments.