Electronic document management: the experience of the Main Department of Civil Service of Ukraine

Andrii Vyshnevskyi, Deputy Head of the Main Department of Civil Service of Ukraine

Mykola Kucherov, Head of the E-Government Projects Division, Civil Service Modernisation Department, Main Department of Civil Service of Ukraine

Since 2004, the Main Department of Civil Service of Ukraine has been introducing information technologies into its internal document management, becoming a pioneer in this work, since at that time Ukraine had not only no positive experience but no practice of any kind that could be analysed and applied.

The period 2004–2008 can be described as a step-by-step exploration of electronic capabilities in document management and the gradual introduction of individual elements of electronic document registration, which can be roughly divided into the following stages:

1. introduction of electronic registers of incoming and outgoing documents;
2. creation of electronic cards for registered documents;
3. organisation of multi-user access and connection of all registrars of the Main Department's central office, including records clerks, to the system;
4. provision of full electronic content of documents;
5. enabling multi-passport operation (creating conditions for the distributed work of several institutions within one system).
6. In parallel, the necessary infrastructure was built up: the data centre was developed and the Main Department's local area network was laid.
7. Based on the results of these staged tasks, at the end of 2008 a decision was made to take a radical step: to move from introducing electronic document management technologies to involving all staff in working with the system, gradually abandoning traditional paper-based document management and replacing it entirely with paperless electronic document management.

By that time, all the objective prerequisites for such an ambitious task were already in place:

1. an adequate regulatory and legal framework;
2. a legally valid electronic digital signature and the ability to provide staff with it;
3. a developed telecommunications infrastructure;
4. the political will of the head of the body;
5. appropriate internal regulations and a programme for introducing electronic document management;
6. a suitable system to support the circulation of electronic documents;
7. powerful technical equipment for registrars;
8. continuous staff training.
9. Regulatory and legal framework

Today, the legal status of paperless document management using electronic digital signatures in public authorities is defined by two laws of Ukraine adopted on 22 May 2003: "On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management" No. 851-IV and "On Electronic Digital Signature" No. 852-IV.

The application of these laws by state authorities is regulated by resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 28 October 2004: "On Approval of the Procedure for the Use of Electronic Digital Signatures by State Authorities, Local Self-Government Bodies, and State-Owned Enterprises, Institutions and Organisations" No. 1452 and "On Approval of the Model Procedure for Electronic Document Management in Executive Authorities" No. 1453.

Despite a fairly solid package of regulations on paperless document management procedures, the main gap remains the absence of defined rules for electronic records management. In essence, what is missing is an equivalent (or a substantial revision) of the Model Instruction on Records Management in Ministries, Other Central Executive Authorities, the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Local Executive Authorities, approved by Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 1153 of 17 October 1997. A whole range of traditional paper procedures defined by this instruction lose their relevance and purpose when electronic document management is used, turning into a kind of vestigial brake.

In our view, Order No. 49 of the State Committee of Archives of Ukraine of 25 April 2005 "On Approval of the Procedure for Storing Electronic Documents in Archival Institutions", which sets the rules for the operational storage of electronic documents by state authorities, has both positive and negative features. The positive aspect, and perhaps the greatest achievement of the order, is the recognition that public authorities may maintain archives of electronic documents, which none of the above-mentioned regulations provided for. The negative aspect is that the procedure for transferring such data to an archive remains unregulated.

In addition, uniform formats for the paperless exchange of electronic documents have still not been defined, above all the technical formats for creating electronic archives and the algorithms for generating and verifying the authenticity (validity) of electronic digital signatures. Evidently, this is because the issue lies at the intersection of the competences of the State Committee of Archives and the State Committee for Informatization.

Electronic digital signature

One of the first questions that arises when moving to paperless document management technologies is whether such document management will be legally valid. And if so, what will ensure its legitimacy?

The only tool that solves this problem is the electronic digital signature. From a legal point of view, it is a type of electronic signature that is equivalent in legal status to a handwritten one, provided that the technical conditions defined by law are met. From a physical point of view, it is a unique electronic code that confirms the integrity and legal force of an electronic document and unambiguously identifies the person who signed it.

Put simply, an electronic digital signature confirms that the wording of a document has not been changed, and if even the slightest correction is made to the document, it certifies that the document no longer has legal force.
State authorities may use only electronic digital signatures backed by public key certificates confirming that the signature belongs to the relevant person. Such certificates may be issued only by accredited key certification centres, of which there are currently nine in Ukraine.

Telecommunications infrastructure

When speaking about telecommunications infrastructure, two of its components should be noted. To introduce internal paperless document management in a body, a well-developed local area network accessible to all its employees is sufficient. However, further development and extension of paperless document management technologies to the entire system of public authorities require a single nationwide network that provides external exchange of electronic documents between bodies.
The basis for such development could be the special information and telecommunication system (SITS), organised as a single secure network connecting all workstations in state authorities and their main information and analytical systems. Using this system solves two tasks at once: the integrity of nationwide paperless electronic document management and the security of information exchange. However, although the system exists, today it is practically not used: not even all central executive authorities have subscriber access points, and where they do exist, they are not connected to the local networks of these bodies.

In addition, introducing paperless electronic document management requires state authorities to have systems capable of supporting the entire cycle of such document management. Today, more than 70 state authorities have electronic systems with full or partial automation of document management. However, only in 20 of them, including the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, do the systems already enable the full cycle of electronic document processing.
A separate problem is that state authorities use different electronic document management systems, such as Megapolis.DocumentFlow, Optima, Evfrat: Document Management, Isida and others, and the question of establishing interoperability between them has not been fully studied.
Beyond meeting the general objective prerequisites, each authority has to carry out its own work to make a successful transition to paperless document management.

Political will of the head of the body

This factor is perhaps the most important, since today the head of a body or institution bears full responsibility for implementing the transition to paperless document management and for its outcome. Without the head's understanding of the full importance and complexity of the process, without personal readiness to solve a whole range of problems, and without direct participation in the process as a user of the electronic document management system, it is impossible to achieve any result at all.

The arguments "for" paperless document management are obvious, as it means:

• accessibility of information, transparency of document flow, and no need to print and store paper copies;
• faster document processing and a shorter average working day for staff (in the experience of the Main Department, during 2009 the average time for processing one document fell from 24 to 6 hours, and the average working day of staff from 12.5 to 10.5 hours);
• stronger performance discipline thanks to comprehensive process automation;
• prompt and simultaneous collaborative work with documents, when the same document can be processed by several employees at once.

Of course, there are also arguments "against", such as:

• the psychological barrier that arises from moving away from traditional paper procedures;
• legal contradictions related to the temporary coexistence of paper and electronic document management;
• the likelihood of a decline in the quality of documents in terms of their wording.

However, having analysed the full range of advantages and disadvantages, it is easy to see that the advantages are not only more numerous but also create significant opportunities for organisational development and greater efficiency of work, while the disadvantages are merely temporary subjective difficulties that are not hard to overcome.

Internal regulations and the programme for introducing electronic document management

The administrative and managerial basis for the transition to paperless document management technologies is a package of internal planning and procedural documents:

• a programme (plan) for converting document management to electronic form;
• a procedure for organising paperless document management, including: – job instructions for users, – system administration instructions;
• a procedure for using electronic digital signatures, which regulates, in particular: – the rights of the signature user, – the powers of the unit responsible for the use of such signatures in the body;
• a procedure for resolving issues related to contradictions between the procedures for processing paper and electronic documents (change management).

System for supporting the circulation of electronic documents

Given that the readiness of any staff to work in paperless mode, despite preliminary preparatory measures, always remains insufficient, it is advisable to introduce electronic document management in stages. On the one hand, this makes it possible to gradually refine electronic procedures until they become automatic. On the other hand, at the first stages work on a document has to be duplicated in electronic and paper form, which is a serious complicating factor.

When considering a gradual transition, it is necessary to determine which documents should be brought into paperless document management and in what sequence, since a rational approach to this task is the key factor in its "painless" and "lossless" implementation.
Based on the experience of the Main Department, it is recommended to bring documents into paperless electronic circulation according to a certain scheme.

It is on information documents that it makes sense to refine their downward movement, in particular the adding of electronic resolutions.

With the introduction of internal documents into paperless document management, the refinement of procedures for the paperless preparation and approval of electronic documents begins.
Directive documents are introduced only after the procedure for the downward movement of documents has been brought to a level at which a document cannot be lost through a user's negligence or error or through a system's imperfection or error. While refining the elements of this stage, it is recommended not to introduce documents with a deadline of 1–2 days, appeals from People's Deputies of Ukraine, instructions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, letters from the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine and the like.
The first outgoing documents to be created and approved in paperless form should be initiative documents, that is, those whose preparation time is, in principle, unlimited.

Technical equipment for registrars

Given that, while internal paperless document management is being developed in a state authority, external document exchange (with other organisations) remains paper-based, the question arises of creating a powerful transition point where electronic documents are converted into paper ones and vice versa.

To carry out this conversion, the body's registrars must be provided with powerful computer and scanning equipment. The former is needed because of the load caused by the simultaneous registration of a large number of incoming and outgoing documents and the need to enter them into the system database; the latter, because of the need to quickly convert paper documents of various sizes (sometimes up to 150 pages) into electronic form.

Providing staff with legally valid electronic digital signatures

Fully legitimate document management cannot be created without providing 100% of staff with personal electronic signatures that certify the legitimacy of every action related to the processing of an electronic document. Such a signature must be applied to electronic resolutions and to approved or signed documents.

Clearly, the presence in the system of even one unsigned electronic resolution or one approval made without a code signature calls into question the legitimacy of the entire electronic document management system.

Staff training

When introducing paperless document management, the issue of continuous staff training must be addressed right away. Training should be aimed not only at informing employees about the procedure for processing electronic documents, but also at solving various system problems that emerge during the transition. In addition, upcoming events and innovations related to paperless document management are always announced during training sessions.

Sometimes it is advisable to conduct testing after training. This makes it possible, on the one hand, to identify gaps in the training and, on the other, to encourage staff to master the procedural documents governing electronic document management better.

Overall, as the experience of introducing electronic document management at the Main Department shows, solving the issue of its information and technical support requires much less effort than the other factors that determine a successful transition to paperless technologies, accounting for approximately 10–15% of their total. The other factors include the speed and quality of solving procedural tasks, as well as the effectiveness of staff training, which is much more difficult.

Summary

Analysing the experience of the Main Department of Civil Service of Ukraine, which, for the first time in Ukrainian practice – in both the public and the private sector – made the transition to paperless document management technologies using electronic digital signatures and converted 72.2% of its own document flow to paperless (electronic) form, we note that the main difficulties and obstacles on the way to ideal document management are the following:

• overcoming the long-standing habit of working with paper documents and mastering the latest electronic document management technologies has proved to be both psychologically and physically difficult;
• it is impossible to guarantee the failure-free operation of all functional nodes of an electronic system (for example, because of power outages);
• at the global level, it will be necessary to return regularly to the issue of reliable information storage and protection against unauthorised access, to keep raising security requirements and to apply new security technologies.

Despite these obstacles, introducing paperless document management technologies even at the internal level alone solves several problems, namely:

• significant savings of resources (money and time): on the consumables associated with paper document management alone, savings of 50% are achieved;
• objective assessment of each employee's labour input in the overall result thanks to the transparency of all processes related to the processing of electronic documents;
• overcoming communication barriers through the automation of document exchange and the possibility of collective processing of documents from remote workstations;
• improving employees' qualifications, and therefore their personal competitiveness on the labour market as the information society develops, once they master new technologies for organising work (for example, at the Main Department, managers at all levels have mastered processing electronic documents in MS Word's "Track Changes" mode, and staff have mastered creating mass mailings in a single document using MS Word's "Mail Merge" feature, although only a year ago most managers and employees had no idea these features existed);
• preserving "living" institutional memory, since a document is stored in the form in which it was created (for example, as MS Word text), and displaying its information does not require complex conversions.

Looking to the future, it can already be stated today that only the global application of paperless electronic document management technology, uniting public authorities in a single network, can ensure fast, integrated document exchange that is conducted according to uniform optimal rules and regulations, covers all types of documents (including those containing restricted information), is guided by a single nationwide reference database kept constantly up to date, and provides real opportunities to change the philosophy of how public authorities work by moving away from the practice of monitoring the formal execution of documents towards analysing the degree to which results are achieved and the quality of the final product.