Information Governance and Information Architecture frameworks define successful roll-out of Microsoft 365
Business drivers
Derbyshire Constabulary provides policing services to the county of Derbyshire covering 1,013 square miles across the East Midlands, England. Accounting for 1,937 officers, 1,692 police staff and 85 special constables, this police force receives around 2,300 calls a day and deals with approximately 55,000 crimes a year.
Derbyshire Constabulary was looking to roll out Microsoft 365 across the force. To support the successful implementation and to maximise the value of this major investment, Derbyshire Constabulary recognised the need for an Information Governance (IG) framework and Information Architecture (IA) framework, to provide a clear understanding how the force could make best use of the compliance capabilities and Purview functionality, including retention management, use of sensitive information types, e-discovery and auditing, within Microsoft 365.
Key requirements
Metataxis was approached to provide the Constabulary with comprehensive IA and IG frameworks, to clearly define how they could support the successful roll-out of SharePoint and Teams, as well as addressing the compliance and functionality requirements.
As part of the project outputs, Metataxis was asked to develop and deliver:
- a Microsoft 365 strategy
- overarching principles to guide Microsoft 365 implementation
- a governance framework for Microsoft 365 and Information Architecture
- an Information Architecture framework
- models for management of retention and access
The Metataxis approach
To meet the client needs, Metataxis undertook the following activities:
Microsoft 365 strategy
Through a series of senior stakeholder interviews and workshops, Metataxis developed a high-level strategy document to set the direction for M365 and state how and for what purpose each aspect of M365 is to be used. This enabled the Constabulary to fully understand their intended use of M365, the type of information they will be creating and using in M365, and finally how they propose to govern both the system and its content based on legal, regulatory and business requirements.
The report also captured key strategic decisions to be taken, which would form the fundamental IA solution design principles. This in turn will outline the guiding principles for the governance of information within M365.
Governance framework
Through a series of interviews with business stakeholders and workshops, Metataxis developed a governance framework and target operating model consisting of:
- Governance bodies
- Roles/responsibilities
- Governance of the information content and their associated repositories in M365
- Information governance (including records management, access and permissions and sensitive information types)
- Information Architecture governance
- Compliance monitoring
Information Architecture framework
Metataxis worked with Derbyshire Constabulary business stakeholders to understand the nature of their content and how they interact with it, why they need it, who they share it with, and any security controls required.
The Derbyshire Constabulary IA framework consists of artefacts that define, group, structure, categorise, label and design an organisation’s information environments and systems. These artefacts support the management, consistency and interoperability of information within their systems to enable efficient usability, findability and compliance.
The framework contained the following elements:
- Metadata schema – the definition of metadata fields
- Columns and content types – the application of the metadata schema in SharePoint
- Taxonomies – the structure and values to be used to populate metadata fields
- Access management models
- Retention management models
- IA and retention implementation plans
Microsoft 365 roadmap and resourcing plan
Following on from the M365 Principles, Governance and Information Architecture Frameworks, Metataxis went on to develop an indicative roadmap for optimising the use of Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. We also provided estimates of the resourcing implications.
Business benefits
Derbyshire Constabulary now has a firm foundation and roadmap upon which to further develop their IA for M365.
In addition, the work we delivered has provided a clear path for next steps. Using the Metataxis deliverables, the Constabulary is now able to confidently begin detailed planning for their M365 optimisation.
This has enabled the Constabulary to begin project planning for the full implementation.
The outputs and engagement with Metataxis have enabled Derbyshire to have detailed internal conversations about the nature of M365 and its functionality, how they intend to use it, and how it should be maintained and governed. They now also have a better understanding of the resourcing implications for both the implementation, optimisation and BAU maintenance.
Gavin Atkins, Project Manager at Derbyshire Constabulary concludes: “Engagement with Metataxis was very professional and productive, leaving us with more clarity and a roadmap to navigate through a complex area of business.”
Learn more about our information governance services.
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