Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the genesis and development of the digital preservation capability maturity model (DPCMM) which covers a range of governance, operational, and data management functions associated with the management of long-term (10+ years) and permanent digital assets. The model is organized into three domains: infrastructure, repository, and services. In addition to providing a useful framework for analysis and planning among archivists, content owners and records managers, using a capability maturity model (CMM) to convey the requirements associated with preservation and access to long-term digital assets provides a familiar construct for information technology (IT) architects and system administrators. Each of the 15 DPCMM components has five incremental stages of capability called digital preservation performance metrics.
TopBackground
Since the mid-1970s, archivists have recognized that the obsolescence of storage devices and media was a major risk to ensuring future access to electronic records. They also recognized that dependency on computer software to interpret the bits on storage devices/media created an equally compelling risk to access to electronic records of permanent value. Most business information is now “born digital.” Therefore, virtually no organization remains immune from the need to proactively address the requirements of long-term information assets managed in digitally encoded formats and systems.
The steady evolution toward reliance on digital information and electronic records requires a higher level of engagement between information management disciplines. The timeline for addressing obsolescence issues is much shorter than the traditional long-term preservation of paper and film. Capturing, tagging, transferring, and transforming digital information to meet long-term records management and archival needs also takes a new level of engagement and support from vendor and IT communities.
In 1990 the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University released the Capability Maturity Model for Software (CMM or SW-CMM) to enable organizations to assess the maturity of their software processes and identify key practices that are necessary to increase the maturity of these processes. The CMM defines five progressive stages of software process maturity based on an organization's support for certain key process areas:
- 1.
Initial: The software process is characterized as ad hoc and, in some instances, chaotic. Few processes are defined. Success depends on individual effort and heroics.
- 2.
Repeatable: Basic project management processes are established to track cost, schedule, and functionality. The necessary process discipline is in place to repeat earlier successes on projects with similar applications.
- 3.
Defined: The software process for both management and engineering activities is documented, standardized, and integrated into a standard software process for the organization. All projects use an approved, tailored version of the organization’s standard software process for developing and maintaining software.
- 4.
Managed: Detailed measures of the software process and product quality are collected. Both the software process and products are quantitatively understood and controlled.
- 5.
Optimizing: Continuous process improvement is enabled by quantitative feedback from the process and piloting innovative ideas and technologies.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Ingest: The OAIS entity that contains the services and functions that accept submission information packages from producers, prepares archival information packages for storage, and ensures that archival information packages and their supporting descriptive information become established within to the ISO 14721 (OAIS) based digital repository.
Electronic Record: Any combination of text, graphics, data, audio, pictorial, or other information representation in digital form set aside for future reference that is created, used, modified, stored, and retrieved by a computer application/system.
Born Digital: Materials that originate in digital form.
Internal and External Stakeholders: A digital preservation stakeholder is any organization or individual who can affect or is affected by digital preservation policy, strategy, initiatives, or projects. ISO 14721 references internal and external stakeholders under the rubric “Defined Community.”
Information Governance: Decision rights and an accountability framework to encourage desirable behavior in the valuation, creation, storage, use, archival, and deletion of information. Information governance includes processes, roles, standards and metrics that ensure effective and efficient use of information in enabling an organization to achieve its goals.
Authenticity: The degree to which a person, object, activity, or event is what it purports to be. An authentic record is one that can be demonstrated by evidence to be what it purports to be.
DoD 5015.2 Electronic Records Management Software Applications Design Criteria Standard: A standard that specifies mandatory and optional baseline functional requirements for records management application software employed in the Department of Defense. DoD 5015.2 certification means that a records management software application has passed a formal certification that it conforms to these specifications. Since its introduction, it has become a de facto standard for electronic records management applications.
Long-Term Preservation: The combined actions of a preservation repository to ensure that electronic records are accessible, usable, understandable, and trustworthy over technology generations for as long as may be required.