Project Records Management

Records and documents are one of the most vital components of any project. Immense new project information and a number of different records and documents will be created during the lifecycle of a project. Records are the only mechanism for maintaining traceability of various activities done and decisions made during the course of project. As part of project management it is very important to manage these project records and documents. We strongly suggest project managers get either PMP classroom training or an online course to get a clear idea of records management. 

Such records are of paramount importance for current and future reference, and in many cases, important even from legal stand point. A Record Management System (RMS) is a systematic approach adopted for creating of such records, maintenance of such records, storage of records and ultimate disposition of such records. 

Types of information and Documents 

During a project lifecycle, huge amount of project related information are created and number of decisions are made. All such information and decisions need to be documented. Some of the important project information will include:

• Project Management Plans - Includes all the subsidiary plans for project scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, communication, risk, procurement, stakeholder engagement, change management plans. Also includes the baselines of scope, time and cost.
• Project Documents - Number of documents are created during project initiation, planning, implementation and closing phases of a project. Some of the documents include the project charter, stakeholder register, project requirements document, requirement traceability document, project scope statement, WBS, activity list, activity attributes, milestone lists, network diagram, duration estimation document, project schedule, cost estimation sheet, resource estimation sheet, risk register, SOWs, bid documents, issue log, assumption log, lessons learnt register, change request logs, change request forms, status reports, progress reports, project final closure reports and many more.
• Project Contracts and Agreements – Includes various contracts and agreements with external customer and also with the suppliers of the project

Project Records Management

The above mentioned project records need to be managed. Not all project documents are records. Hence there has to be a clear guideline for identifying which of the above documents will be treated as project records and need to be managed effectively. All such records will go through the following stages of management:

• Creation
• Maintenance, storage and retrieval
• Archiving & disposition

Organizations do create their internal policies and guidelines for records management. It is ensured that all the employees are aware about such policies and guidelines. Information Technology can be used effectively for records management. For the project records management, proper file structures can be created where the records will be stored. Proper access control can be provided to various stakeholders based on their roles in the project. 

Conclusion

Project records management system is an integral part of the overall project management information system. Maintaining the records and ensuring that such records are easily available when needed is very important. Records serve as the evidence for future reference.