CA1287407C - Method of managing the retention of electronic documents in an interactive information handling system - Google Patents
Method of managing the retention of electronic documents in an interactive information handling systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA1287407C CA1287407C CA000581527A CA581527A CA1287407C CA 1287407 C CA1287407 C CA 1287407C CA 000581527 A CA000581527 A CA 000581527A CA 581527 A CA581527 A CA 581527A CA 1287407 C CA1287407 C CA 1287407C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- document
- ownership
- date
- label
- retention
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
- G06Q10/10—Office automation; Time management
- G06Q10/109—Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
- G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
- G06F16/93—Document management systems
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F2216/00—Indexing scheme relating to additional aspects of information retrieval not explicitly covered by G06F16/00 and subgroups
- G06F2216/09—Obsolescence
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99951—File or database maintenance
- Y10S707/99952—Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
- Y10S707/99955—Archiving or backup
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S715/00—Data processing: presentation processing of document, operator interface processing, and screen saver display processing
- Y10S715/971—Cooperative decision support systems for group of users
Abstract
ABSTRACT
A method of managing the retention and deletion of electronic documents in which the respective document retention needs of the document owners and the document retention criteria of the enter-prise that functions as the central administration of the system are achieved without compromise by establishing a dual label for each document that is to be stored in the system and allowing a different expiration date to be entered into the system for each label. The first label is referred to as the Document Label (DL) and functions to identify the business use classification of the document. The second label is referred to as the Ownership Label (OL) and func-tions to identify a document classification assigned by the owner, which in most situations is the author.
The separate expiration dates associated with each of the labels are referred to as the Ownership expiration date and the Document expiration date. The ownership expiration date is set by the owner to indicate the length of time that he desires ownership of the document. Ownership implies the authority and responsibility for the document during the ownership period. A System Administrator (SA) for example establishes the document expiration date. Each document filed in the system has associated with it the label and expiration date criteria that are employed to automatically manage the retention and deletion of the electronic documents stored by the system in accordance with some simple algorithm that allows a document to be deleted only when a particular relationship exists among a current date and the two expiration dates.
A method of managing the retention and deletion of electronic documents in which the respective document retention needs of the document owners and the document retention criteria of the enter-prise that functions as the central administration of the system are achieved without compromise by establishing a dual label for each document that is to be stored in the system and allowing a different expiration date to be entered into the system for each label. The first label is referred to as the Document Label (DL) and functions to identify the business use classification of the document. The second label is referred to as the Ownership Label (OL) and func-tions to identify a document classification assigned by the owner, which in most situations is the author.
The separate expiration dates associated with each of the labels are referred to as the Ownership expiration date and the Document expiration date. The ownership expiration date is set by the owner to indicate the length of time that he desires ownership of the document. Ownership implies the authority and responsibility for the document during the ownership period. A System Administrator (SA) for example establishes the document expiration date. Each document filed in the system has associated with it the label and expiration date criteria that are employed to automatically manage the retention and deletion of the electronic documents stored by the system in accordance with some simple algorithm that allows a document to be deleted only when a particular relationship exists among a current date and the two expiration dates.
Description
!. AT987-015 ~37~
A METHOD FOR MANAGING THE RETENTION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS IN AN
INTERA~TIVE INFORMATION HANDLING SYSTEM
Field of Invention:
- This invention relates in general to storage of electronic documents in an interactive information handling system and in particular to a method of automatically managing the retention and 5 deletion of documents stored in the system.
Back~round Art The prior art has disclosed various interactive information handling systems which store electronic documents. These systems vary in complexity and sophistication from the very simple personal computer employed in the home for writing letters to the very large main frame data processing systems in which thousands of users nodes interact with each other and with a centralized library or file of , information. An example of a sophisticated system that is currently in use by several large governmental agencies and private corpora-tions is the system referred to as PROFS that is marketed by the IBM
Corporation. These types of system store and manage millions of documents ranging from one page memos and messages to multi-page reports that might involve several printed volumes. In many of these systems, the need for hard copy no longer exists, so the only copy of the information is the originally generated electronic copy.
The management and control of the paper flow in any large enterprise, be it a governmental agency or a private corporation, requires a set of procedures which define how various types of communications or documPnts are to be handled. This is a necessity in both manually implemented systems which deal in nothing but hard copy as well as electronically implemented systems that deal only with electronic copies. It is generally recognized by both types of systems, that there are two basic document control strategies that must be enforced in order to have an effective and efficient system.
The first is that documents that are no longer needed should be deleted from the system as soon as possible and the second is that a - document that is required should be maintained as long as it is needed by the document owner or the enterprise.
-AT987-015 ~
.
`` ~2~374~7 It is obvious that in implementing these two basic concepts it is not always possible to obtain an agreement, much less a consen-sus, on such items as to who makes the ~ecision to keep or delete a document, does this decision apply to all documents types or does it change with the type of document, can there be exceptions and changes in the criteria, who determines the time period ~or document types, etc.
The prior art systems that involve a larye number of users who create electronic documents that are stored in the system at a logically centrali~ed location, do generally impose a number of structured formatting constraints on the manner ~y which documents are identified in the system. In most systems, some type of manual document classification system is established, either on a formal basis or a de ~acto basis. A bank might use a unctional business classification for documents. For example a customer's loan folder might include a "ioan application"; a "credit history", a "payment history" etc. m ese various documents have different storage re-quirements and there is generally no provision made to permit any deviations from the established retention criteria. In prior art systems a search is performed for a term in a plurality of documents and docur~ts are deieted based thereon. The rorm of document m~u~agement may result in the deletion of documents ~.hich snould be redtained. The search term may have a different l~eaning within the various documents. ~lus, the deletion will result in errors and possible omissions is a document ~7hich should ~e deleted does not contain the search term.
~ batch type of approach to document retention ~nere the aate to delete the document is controlled by the enterprise creates a problem when the date has to be changed. If ~le date is shortened, there is undou~tedly some persons who are relying on the ract that the document is to be available up to the previously established date. Ilow does the system administrator evaluate w}lether t~ese documents can be destroyed. If the documents are ~eleted there is some direct consequence to those persons ~io were relying on the document for their work. The more serious consequence ho~ever, is a loss of integrity of the system which soon results in users operat-ing their own backup document storage system.
The present invention is directed to an improved method for use in an interactive information handling system in ~hich the retention and deletion of documents is managed in a manner to avoid problems of the prior art document storage systems. The method allo~s the business use of a document by an owner of the document to be tied to the aocument retention and ownership retention.
~ ~ AT987-015 ~
.
., ~ ~374~7 Summary of the Invention:
The method of the present involves a recognition of the respec-tive document retention needs of the document owners and the docu-ment retention criteria of the enterprise that functions as the central administratlon of the system, by establishing a dual label for each document that is to be stored in the system. The first label is referred to as the Document Label (DL) and unctions to identify the business use classification of the document, The second label is referred to as the Ownership Label (OL) and functions to identify a document classification assigned by the owner.
A separate expiration date is associated with each of the two labels. The ownership expiration date is set by the owner to indi-cate the length of time that the owner deslres ownership of the document. Ownership implies the authority and responsibility for the document during the ownership period. A System Administrator (SA) for example establishes the allowable retention periods for each o~
the document labels.
Each document filed in the system has associated with it the label and expiration date criteria that are employed to automatically manage the retention and deletion of documents from the system.
When a document is to be filed by the system, the retention and deletion selection criteria are entered into the system and stored in the system at the same time as the document. The information is entered into the system interactively by the end user by following a series of prompts presented on the screen of a display device by the system in response to the user having selected an option presented on a menu screen. Valid document labels are preferably preestab-lished so that the user selects a particular document label from an established and approved Iist. The default expiration date for that document label has been previously established by the enterprise and is preferably entered automatically. The end user may override the default with a valid expiration date.
Valid ownership labels are also preferably preestablished by the document owner and are approved by the enterprise. The document owner can establish a default expiration date for each ownership label which can be entered automatically when the ownership label is entered. The end user may override the default with a valid expiration date. The ownership expiration date and the document expiration date may be tied together with a rule that interrelates the dates. For example, for a given document label, the dates must be equal.
Documents are automatically retained and deleted by processing the expiration date criteria associated with each document relative to a current date according to the following date relationships.
If the current date is less than both expiration dates, retain the document.
If the current date is greater than both expiration dates, I
i~T987-015 ", "` ~1 2~37407 If the current date is greater than the ownership expira-tion date }~ut less than the enterprise expiration date, retain the docurnent and transfer ownership to the designatecl user or the system administrator based on a preset list by ownership label by user.
If the current date is greater tllan t~le enterprise expira-tion date but less than the ownership expiration date, retain the doc~nent.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an irnproved rnethod for storing electronic documents.
-10 Another object of the present invention is to provide an improv-ed method for managing the retention of stored electronic docurnents in an infonTation handling system.
A rurther object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for managing the retention o~ stored electronic documents in ~hich documents are retained in accordance with cri-teria established by the end user during the period the end user is the document owner.
~ still ~urther object or the present invention is to provide an irnproved method to automatically delete stored electronic documents when criteria Get by the end user indicates that ownership ot the documen~ has been relinquishecl.
(~bject and advantages other than those rnentioned above will become apparent =rom the rollowing description when read in con-nection with the dra~ing Brier Description of the Drawinq Fig. 1 i~; a block diagram of an inform~tion hcmdling system i which the method of the present invention rnay be advalltageously employed.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of one of the interactive terrninals ernployed by a user in the system oï Fig. 1.
Figs. 3a and 3b illustrate an overview or the document genera-tion and storage process.
Flys. ~a, 4b and 4c illustrate screens or the m~in action rnenu, the su~action rnenu for a document, and the select action for document menu, referred to in Fig. 3b.
Fig. 5 is a screen which prc~pts an end user involved in the step of entering the retention and deletion criteria for each docurnent into the systern.
Fiys. 6a and 6b show a flow chart setting rorth the steps involved in the automatic deletion of documents frorn lle systern shown in Fig. 1.
~ AT987-015 ~ ~37~7 Description oE the Preferred Embodiment:
Fig. 1 illustrates an information handling system comprising network of interactive type terminals or workstations of the type shown in detail in Pig. 2. As illustratad, the network includes a plurality of terminals which are interconnected with each other and to a host central processing unit 23. As shown in Fig. ~ host 23 in turn is connectecl via communication link 24 to a second host pro-cessing unit 25, which also connects to another network 26 of interactive workstations. ~unctionally, the system operates to allow each terminal to communicate with the host and to one or more other terminals using established communication protocols, so that the various serially connected communication links are transparent to the users. A user at one terminal can generate a document such as a letter and send that letter to the addressee at a designated node on the network. The user can then store the document in the system at some logically central system location. Each user of the system has the theoretical capability o~ retrieving that document at a later time. Such systems are well known in the art, and are currently in extensive commercial use. Since the general organiza-tion and operations of such systems is well known, only those details that are necessary for an understanding of the document `' storage method of the present invention will be described. It should therefore be assumed in the following description, that each workstation on the network has a system node address and a "post office" address, and that to qimplify the description, there is only one individual assigned to each node on the network. It should further be assumed that conventional communication services are - provided by the system, such as directory listings of individual users or owners etc. It may also be assumed that the system shown in Fig. 1 processes information as various types of data objects such as text data ob;ects, graphic data objects, and calendar data objects etc Fig. 2 illustrates the functional components of one of the interactive type data processing terminals shown in Fig.. 1. The terminal comprises a processing unit 31 which includes a micropro-cessor block 32, a semiconductor memory 33, and a control block 34 which functions to control input/output operations in addition to the interaction between the micro processor block 32 and the memory unit 33.
The terminal further includes a group of conventional peripheral units including a display device 36, a keyboard 37, a printer 38, a disk storage unit 39, and a modem 40. Since the details of the above described functional blocks form no part of the present invention and can be found in the prior art, only a brief functional ~, AT987-015 ~ ~
" ..
description of each block is set forth, along with a description of their interactions, sufficient to provide a person of ordinary skill in the art with a basis of understanding applicants' improved electronic document storage method.
Processing unit 31 corresponds for example to the "system unit"
o~ a personal computer system such as the IBM XTP IBM AT~or an XBM
PS/2* systém. Unlt 31 is provided with an operating system program which may be one of the ~any version9 o~ DOS (Disk Operating System) which is normally employed to run the systems. The operating system program is stored in memory 33 along with one or more application programs that the user has selected to run. Depending on the capacity of memory 3~ and the size of the application programs, portions of these programs, as needed, may be transferred to memory 33 fram the disk storage unit 39 which may include, for example, a 30 megabyte hard disk drive and a diskette drive. The basic func-tion of the disk storage unit is to store programs and data that are employed by the system and which may readily be transferred to the memory unit 33 when needed. The function of the diskette drive is to provide a removable storage function for entering programs and data into the system, and a vehicle for storing data in a form that is readily transportable for use on other terminals or systems.
Display device 36 and kevboard 37 to_ether provide for the interactive nature of the terminal, in that in normal operation, the interpretation that the system gives to a specific keystroke by the operator depends, in substantially all situations, on what is being displayed to the operator at that point in time.
In some situations, the operator, by entering commands into the system, causes the system to perform a certain function. In other situations, the system requests the entry of certain data, generally by displaying a prompt type of menu/message screen. The depth of the interaction between the operator and the system varies by the type of operating system and the application program, but is a necessary characteristic of terminals on which the method of the present invention may be employed.
The terminal shown in Pig. 2 further includes a printer 38, which functions to provide hard copy output of data developed or stored in the system at some central location. Lastly, the modem 40 functions to transfer data from the terminal of Fig. 2 to a host system through one or more communication links which may be a commercial type link or a dedicated communication link.
Pig. 3a represents an overview of the system from the standpoint of the major interactive steps involved in storing a document that has been created by an End User (EU). Llock 50 represents the EU.
*Trade Marks of International Business Mach mes Corporation , AT987-015 ~2~37~07 Blocks 51 and 52 represent programs stored at the terminal whlle block 53 represents local disk storage. Blocks 54 and 55 represent the library server function located at the host and is the central depository for stored system documents. The program represented by block 51 is referred to as the Dialogue Manager application and functions to provide the necessary menus and prompts to obtain information from the user. It is essentially the interface to the user from the terminal. The program represented by block 52 is referred to as the requester application and functions to build requests and send them to the library server. The function of the library server is to validate/sst labels and expiration dates and to file the document. The flow chart of Fig 3b shows the major steps of first creating a document; second selecting the sub-action menu in order to set the document descriptors; thirdly setting the actual descriptors in the set documant descriptor menu; and lastly filing the document.
The main action menu is shown in Fig. 4a. As shown9 the menu illustrates three separate actions that the EU can designate. The screen cursor is represented by an X in Fig. 4a and as illustrated is adjacent the "Create a Document" action. The action is selected in the normal manner by positioning the cursor adjacent the line on -~ the menu and hitting the "enter" key. The system responds with a series of prompts which allows the user to create a document. For purposes of this description it can be assumed that the end user merely stores.
In order to store the document, descriptors must be assigned which assists in controlling the retention of the document up to a specified time and automatic deletion of the document after that time, in accordance with some predetermined strategy. The sub-action menu shown in Fig 4b. includes an option to "SET DESCRIPTORS" which is selected to enter the criteria that will be used to manage the retention and automatic deletion of documents ~rom the system. When this option is selected the screen shown in Fig. 5 is displayed to the EU. The end user responds to the various prompts displayed in Fig. 5 by entering a name for the document label and a name for the ownership label. It should be assumed for purpose of this discussion that the respective names have been preestablished which is not necessarily a requirement of the system, but does simplify the description of the present invention. The expiration dates for the document and the ownership may be provided in a number of different ways. As indicated on the screen of ~'ig. 5, a list of allowable values can be obtained by placing the cursor under the appropriate ~T987-015 field and pressing a pxedesignated key such as the "HE~Y" key. The allowable values which have been preestablished then appears in a "window" on a separate screen ~hich permits the user to copy or just select the choice by positioning the cursor and pressing the IIEN~
key. In the alternate a date can be inserted automatically based on the user's name, and the labels which have been entered providing an index into a stored table of approved dates. The document na~e and subject may he optional entries and not required for the method of the present invention.
-10 After all the data is entered and displayed in the screen of Fig. 5 , the end user presses the ENrER key and is returned to the sub,action menu of Fig. 4b. The "FTT~" i.e. file document option is selected by positioning the cursor and again pressing the ENTER key.
T~he newly created document along with the labels and expiration dates are then stored in the system by the library server.
me flow chart shown in Fig. 6 illustrates the steps involved by the system in automatically controlling the retention and deletion ot documents in the system. The strategy tllat is implemented recognizes that it is important to insure that documents he removed ~rom the system as soon as possible after they have been deemed no longer useCul as indicated by their expiration date. A document that ~, contains ouidated information can often be more dangerous ihan not having a copy or the document. It is also equally as important nOL
to destroy any document before its expiration date as determined b~y the document owner. The method therefore follows a relatively simple algorithm ~Jhich compares a current date entered into the system by the system administrator against the ownership e~piration date and the document expiration date that ~as esta~lished by the enterprise.
~le iogic of the algorithm is as follows.
If the current date is less tllan both expirallon dates, retain the doc~nent.
If the current d~te is greater than botll expiration dates, delete the document.
If the current date is greater than the ownership expira-tion date but less than the enterprise expiration date, retain the document.
If the current date is greater than the enterprise expira-tion date but less than the o~lership expiration date, retain the document and transler ownership to either the system administrator or another designated end user.
me particular sequence of steps sho~n in the flow chart of Figs. 6a and 6b is one implementation of the document retention and deletion strategy that is set forth above. m e flow chart is at a level of detail that requires no additional explanation.
... , ,. . . . , . ~ : . . .
~ AT987-015 ~2~3~407 While Applicant has disclosed a preferred embodiment of the method, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from ~he spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.
'10 ~5 _ 9 ~ ~
A METHOD FOR MANAGING THE RETENTION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS IN AN
INTERA~TIVE INFORMATION HANDLING SYSTEM
Field of Invention:
- This invention relates in general to storage of electronic documents in an interactive information handling system and in particular to a method of automatically managing the retention and 5 deletion of documents stored in the system.
Back~round Art The prior art has disclosed various interactive information handling systems which store electronic documents. These systems vary in complexity and sophistication from the very simple personal computer employed in the home for writing letters to the very large main frame data processing systems in which thousands of users nodes interact with each other and with a centralized library or file of , information. An example of a sophisticated system that is currently in use by several large governmental agencies and private corpora-tions is the system referred to as PROFS that is marketed by the IBM
Corporation. These types of system store and manage millions of documents ranging from one page memos and messages to multi-page reports that might involve several printed volumes. In many of these systems, the need for hard copy no longer exists, so the only copy of the information is the originally generated electronic copy.
The management and control of the paper flow in any large enterprise, be it a governmental agency or a private corporation, requires a set of procedures which define how various types of communications or documPnts are to be handled. This is a necessity in both manually implemented systems which deal in nothing but hard copy as well as electronically implemented systems that deal only with electronic copies. It is generally recognized by both types of systems, that there are two basic document control strategies that must be enforced in order to have an effective and efficient system.
The first is that documents that are no longer needed should be deleted from the system as soon as possible and the second is that a - document that is required should be maintained as long as it is needed by the document owner or the enterprise.
-AT987-015 ~
.
`` ~2~374~7 It is obvious that in implementing these two basic concepts it is not always possible to obtain an agreement, much less a consen-sus, on such items as to who makes the ~ecision to keep or delete a document, does this decision apply to all documents types or does it change with the type of document, can there be exceptions and changes in the criteria, who determines the time period ~or document types, etc.
The prior art systems that involve a larye number of users who create electronic documents that are stored in the system at a logically centrali~ed location, do generally impose a number of structured formatting constraints on the manner ~y which documents are identified in the system. In most systems, some type of manual document classification system is established, either on a formal basis or a de ~acto basis. A bank might use a unctional business classification for documents. For example a customer's loan folder might include a "ioan application"; a "credit history", a "payment history" etc. m ese various documents have different storage re-quirements and there is generally no provision made to permit any deviations from the established retention criteria. In prior art systems a search is performed for a term in a plurality of documents and docur~ts are deieted based thereon. The rorm of document m~u~agement may result in the deletion of documents ~.hich snould be redtained. The search term may have a different l~eaning within the various documents. ~lus, the deletion will result in errors and possible omissions is a document ~7hich should ~e deleted does not contain the search term.
~ batch type of approach to document retention ~nere the aate to delete the document is controlled by the enterprise creates a problem when the date has to be changed. If ~le date is shortened, there is undou~tedly some persons who are relying on the ract that the document is to be available up to the previously established date. Ilow does the system administrator evaluate w}lether t~ese documents can be destroyed. If the documents are ~eleted there is some direct consequence to those persons ~io were relying on the document for their work. The more serious consequence ho~ever, is a loss of integrity of the system which soon results in users operat-ing their own backup document storage system.
The present invention is directed to an improved method for use in an interactive information handling system in ~hich the retention and deletion of documents is managed in a manner to avoid problems of the prior art document storage systems. The method allo~s the business use of a document by an owner of the document to be tied to the aocument retention and ownership retention.
~ ~ AT987-015 ~
.
., ~ ~374~7 Summary of the Invention:
The method of the present involves a recognition of the respec-tive document retention needs of the document owners and the docu-ment retention criteria of the enterprise that functions as the central administratlon of the system, by establishing a dual label for each document that is to be stored in the system. The first label is referred to as the Document Label (DL) and unctions to identify the business use classification of the document, The second label is referred to as the Ownership Label (OL) and functions to identify a document classification assigned by the owner.
A separate expiration date is associated with each of the two labels. The ownership expiration date is set by the owner to indi-cate the length of time that the owner deslres ownership of the document. Ownership implies the authority and responsibility for the document during the ownership period. A System Administrator (SA) for example establishes the allowable retention periods for each o~
the document labels.
Each document filed in the system has associated with it the label and expiration date criteria that are employed to automatically manage the retention and deletion of documents from the system.
When a document is to be filed by the system, the retention and deletion selection criteria are entered into the system and stored in the system at the same time as the document. The information is entered into the system interactively by the end user by following a series of prompts presented on the screen of a display device by the system in response to the user having selected an option presented on a menu screen. Valid document labels are preferably preestab-lished so that the user selects a particular document label from an established and approved Iist. The default expiration date for that document label has been previously established by the enterprise and is preferably entered automatically. The end user may override the default with a valid expiration date.
Valid ownership labels are also preferably preestablished by the document owner and are approved by the enterprise. The document owner can establish a default expiration date for each ownership label which can be entered automatically when the ownership label is entered. The end user may override the default with a valid expiration date. The ownership expiration date and the document expiration date may be tied together with a rule that interrelates the dates. For example, for a given document label, the dates must be equal.
Documents are automatically retained and deleted by processing the expiration date criteria associated with each document relative to a current date according to the following date relationships.
If the current date is less than both expiration dates, retain the document.
If the current date is greater than both expiration dates, I
i~T987-015 ", "` ~1 2~37407 If the current date is greater than the ownership expira-tion date }~ut less than the enterprise expiration date, retain the docurnent and transfer ownership to the designatecl user or the system administrator based on a preset list by ownership label by user.
If the current date is greater tllan t~le enterprise expira-tion date but less than the ownership expiration date, retain the doc~nent.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an irnproved rnethod for storing electronic documents.
-10 Another object of the present invention is to provide an improv-ed method for managing the retention of stored electronic docurnents in an infonTation handling system.
A rurther object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for managing the retention o~ stored electronic documents in ~hich documents are retained in accordance with cri-teria established by the end user during the period the end user is the document owner.
~ still ~urther object or the present invention is to provide an irnproved method to automatically delete stored electronic documents when criteria Get by the end user indicates that ownership ot the documen~ has been relinquishecl.
(~bject and advantages other than those rnentioned above will become apparent =rom the rollowing description when read in con-nection with the dra~ing Brier Description of the Drawinq Fig. 1 i~; a block diagram of an inform~tion hcmdling system i which the method of the present invention rnay be advalltageously employed.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of one of the interactive terrninals ernployed by a user in the system oï Fig. 1.
Figs. 3a and 3b illustrate an overview or the document genera-tion and storage process.
Flys. ~a, 4b and 4c illustrate screens or the m~in action rnenu, the su~action rnenu for a document, and the select action for document menu, referred to in Fig. 3b.
Fig. 5 is a screen which prc~pts an end user involved in the step of entering the retention and deletion criteria for each docurnent into the systern.
Fiys. 6a and 6b show a flow chart setting rorth the steps involved in the automatic deletion of documents frorn lle systern shown in Fig. 1.
~ AT987-015 ~ ~37~7 Description oE the Preferred Embodiment:
Fig. 1 illustrates an information handling system comprising network of interactive type terminals or workstations of the type shown in detail in Pig. 2. As illustratad, the network includes a plurality of terminals which are interconnected with each other and to a host central processing unit 23. As shown in Fig. ~ host 23 in turn is connectecl via communication link 24 to a second host pro-cessing unit 25, which also connects to another network 26 of interactive workstations. ~unctionally, the system operates to allow each terminal to communicate with the host and to one or more other terminals using established communication protocols, so that the various serially connected communication links are transparent to the users. A user at one terminal can generate a document such as a letter and send that letter to the addressee at a designated node on the network. The user can then store the document in the system at some logically central system location. Each user of the system has the theoretical capability o~ retrieving that document at a later time. Such systems are well known in the art, and are currently in extensive commercial use. Since the general organiza-tion and operations of such systems is well known, only those details that are necessary for an understanding of the document `' storage method of the present invention will be described. It should therefore be assumed in the following description, that each workstation on the network has a system node address and a "post office" address, and that to qimplify the description, there is only one individual assigned to each node on the network. It should further be assumed that conventional communication services are - provided by the system, such as directory listings of individual users or owners etc. It may also be assumed that the system shown in Fig. 1 processes information as various types of data objects such as text data ob;ects, graphic data objects, and calendar data objects etc Fig. 2 illustrates the functional components of one of the interactive type data processing terminals shown in Fig.. 1. The terminal comprises a processing unit 31 which includes a micropro-cessor block 32, a semiconductor memory 33, and a control block 34 which functions to control input/output operations in addition to the interaction between the micro processor block 32 and the memory unit 33.
The terminal further includes a group of conventional peripheral units including a display device 36, a keyboard 37, a printer 38, a disk storage unit 39, and a modem 40. Since the details of the above described functional blocks form no part of the present invention and can be found in the prior art, only a brief functional ~, AT987-015 ~ ~
" ..
description of each block is set forth, along with a description of their interactions, sufficient to provide a person of ordinary skill in the art with a basis of understanding applicants' improved electronic document storage method.
Processing unit 31 corresponds for example to the "system unit"
o~ a personal computer system such as the IBM XTP IBM AT~or an XBM
PS/2* systém. Unlt 31 is provided with an operating system program which may be one of the ~any version9 o~ DOS (Disk Operating System) which is normally employed to run the systems. The operating system program is stored in memory 33 along with one or more application programs that the user has selected to run. Depending on the capacity of memory 3~ and the size of the application programs, portions of these programs, as needed, may be transferred to memory 33 fram the disk storage unit 39 which may include, for example, a 30 megabyte hard disk drive and a diskette drive. The basic func-tion of the disk storage unit is to store programs and data that are employed by the system and which may readily be transferred to the memory unit 33 when needed. The function of the diskette drive is to provide a removable storage function for entering programs and data into the system, and a vehicle for storing data in a form that is readily transportable for use on other terminals or systems.
Display device 36 and kevboard 37 to_ether provide for the interactive nature of the terminal, in that in normal operation, the interpretation that the system gives to a specific keystroke by the operator depends, in substantially all situations, on what is being displayed to the operator at that point in time.
In some situations, the operator, by entering commands into the system, causes the system to perform a certain function. In other situations, the system requests the entry of certain data, generally by displaying a prompt type of menu/message screen. The depth of the interaction between the operator and the system varies by the type of operating system and the application program, but is a necessary characteristic of terminals on which the method of the present invention may be employed.
The terminal shown in Pig. 2 further includes a printer 38, which functions to provide hard copy output of data developed or stored in the system at some central location. Lastly, the modem 40 functions to transfer data from the terminal of Fig. 2 to a host system through one or more communication links which may be a commercial type link or a dedicated communication link.
Pig. 3a represents an overview of the system from the standpoint of the major interactive steps involved in storing a document that has been created by an End User (EU). Llock 50 represents the EU.
*Trade Marks of International Business Mach mes Corporation , AT987-015 ~2~37~07 Blocks 51 and 52 represent programs stored at the terminal whlle block 53 represents local disk storage. Blocks 54 and 55 represent the library server function located at the host and is the central depository for stored system documents. The program represented by block 51 is referred to as the Dialogue Manager application and functions to provide the necessary menus and prompts to obtain information from the user. It is essentially the interface to the user from the terminal. The program represented by block 52 is referred to as the requester application and functions to build requests and send them to the library server. The function of the library server is to validate/sst labels and expiration dates and to file the document. The flow chart of Fig 3b shows the major steps of first creating a document; second selecting the sub-action menu in order to set the document descriptors; thirdly setting the actual descriptors in the set documant descriptor menu; and lastly filing the document.
The main action menu is shown in Fig. 4a. As shown9 the menu illustrates three separate actions that the EU can designate. The screen cursor is represented by an X in Fig. 4a and as illustrated is adjacent the "Create a Document" action. The action is selected in the normal manner by positioning the cursor adjacent the line on -~ the menu and hitting the "enter" key. The system responds with a series of prompts which allows the user to create a document. For purposes of this description it can be assumed that the end user merely stores.
In order to store the document, descriptors must be assigned which assists in controlling the retention of the document up to a specified time and automatic deletion of the document after that time, in accordance with some predetermined strategy. The sub-action menu shown in Fig 4b. includes an option to "SET DESCRIPTORS" which is selected to enter the criteria that will be used to manage the retention and automatic deletion of documents ~rom the system. When this option is selected the screen shown in Fig. 5 is displayed to the EU. The end user responds to the various prompts displayed in Fig. 5 by entering a name for the document label and a name for the ownership label. It should be assumed for purpose of this discussion that the respective names have been preestablished which is not necessarily a requirement of the system, but does simplify the description of the present invention. The expiration dates for the document and the ownership may be provided in a number of different ways. As indicated on the screen of ~'ig. 5, a list of allowable values can be obtained by placing the cursor under the appropriate ~T987-015 field and pressing a pxedesignated key such as the "HE~Y" key. The allowable values which have been preestablished then appears in a "window" on a separate screen ~hich permits the user to copy or just select the choice by positioning the cursor and pressing the IIEN~
key. In the alternate a date can be inserted automatically based on the user's name, and the labels which have been entered providing an index into a stored table of approved dates. The document na~e and subject may he optional entries and not required for the method of the present invention.
-10 After all the data is entered and displayed in the screen of Fig. 5 , the end user presses the ENrER key and is returned to the sub,action menu of Fig. 4b. The "FTT~" i.e. file document option is selected by positioning the cursor and again pressing the ENTER key.
T~he newly created document along with the labels and expiration dates are then stored in the system by the library server.
me flow chart shown in Fig. 6 illustrates the steps involved by the system in automatically controlling the retention and deletion ot documents in the system. The strategy tllat is implemented recognizes that it is important to insure that documents he removed ~rom the system as soon as possible after they have been deemed no longer useCul as indicated by their expiration date. A document that ~, contains ouidated information can often be more dangerous ihan not having a copy or the document. It is also equally as important nOL
to destroy any document before its expiration date as determined b~y the document owner. The method therefore follows a relatively simple algorithm ~Jhich compares a current date entered into the system by the system administrator against the ownership e~piration date and the document expiration date that ~as esta~lished by the enterprise.
~le iogic of the algorithm is as follows.
If the current date is less tllan both expirallon dates, retain the doc~nent.
If the current d~te is greater than botll expiration dates, delete the document.
If the current date is greater than the ownership expira-tion date but less than the enterprise expiration date, retain the document.
If the current date is greater than the enterprise expira-tion date but less than the o~lership expiration date, retain the document and transler ownership to either the system administrator or another designated end user.
me particular sequence of steps sho~n in the flow chart of Figs. 6a and 6b is one implementation of the document retention and deletion strategy that is set forth above. m e flow chart is at a level of detail that requires no additional explanation.
... , ,. . . . , . ~ : . . .
~ AT987-015 ~2~3~407 While Applicant has disclosed a preferred embodiment of the method, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from ~he spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.
'10 ~5 _ 9 ~ ~
Claims (10)
1. A method for controlling the retention and deletion of electronic documents stored in an interactive information handling system to insure that stored documents are retained in said system up to a date that corresponds to the latest of two independently established expiration dates , said method comprising the steps of A) storing in said system first and second expiration dates which have been selected in accordance with different criteria, B) periodically logically comparing each said expiration date with a current date, and C) deleting a said document only when a predetermined rela-tionship exists among said dates that reflects said criteria.
2. The method recited in Claim 1 in which said step of storing includes the further steps of A) selecting said first expiration date based on the document owner's needs to access said document, and B) selecting said second expiration date based on other criteria.
3. The method recited in Claim 2 in which said step of selecting said second expiration date further includes the step of A) establishing said other criteria based on the system owners needs to access documents and a business use classification of said stored documents.
4. The method recited in Claim 3 in which said step of storing includes the further step of A) interactively entering said first and second expiration dates into said system.
5. The method recited in Claim 4 in which said step of inter-actively entering includes the further step of A) displaying with said system to a document owner a screen of information having areas which are designed to receive said expiration dates as said dates are entered into said system.
6. The method recited in Claim 5 further including the step of A) initially displaying to an operator of said interactive terminal a menu having a plurality of options to permit said opera-tor to select an option action that initiates said step of display-ing a screen of information .
7. The method recited in Claim 6 in which said step of displaying a screen of information includes A) displaying additional areas designed to receive a document label and an ownership label.
8. The method recited in Claim 1 in which said step of logically comparing includes the further step of, A) providing an indication when said predetermined relationship exists among said dates.
9. The method recited in Claim 8 in which said step of providing A) provides said indication only when said current date is earlier than both said expiration dates.
10. A method of managing retention and deletion of a electronic documents in a computer system having a plurality of stored documents and a plurality of end user nodes, said method comprising the following combination of sequential steps, A) establishing a set of document descriptors, B) assigning a document ownership date to a selected one of said stored documents base on said document descriptors, and C) assigning the ownership of said selected document to one of said plurality of end user nodes until said ownership date expires to insure said selected document is retained in said system until said ownership date.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US07/138,231 US4899299A (en) | 1987-12-23 | 1987-12-23 | Method for managing the retention of electronic documents in an interactive information handling system |
| US07/138,231 | 1987-12-23 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1287407C true CA1287407C (en) | 1991-08-06 |
Family
ID=22481067
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000581527A Expired - Fee Related CA1287407C (en) | 1987-12-23 | 1988-10-27 | Method of managing the retention of electronic documents in an interactive information handling system |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4899299A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0322130A3 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH0740237B2 (en) |
| BR (1) | BR8806845A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1287407C (en) |
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-
1987
- 1987-12-23 US US07/138,231 patent/US4899299A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1988
- 1988-10-27 CA CA000581527A patent/CA1287407C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1988-11-19 JP JP63291123A patent/JPH0740237B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1988-12-02 EP EP19880311435 patent/EP0322130A3/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1988-12-23 BR BR888806845A patent/BR8806845A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US4899299A (en) | 1990-02-06 |
| JPH0740237B2 (en) | 1995-05-01 |
| EP0322130A2 (en) | 1989-06-28 |
| BR8806845A (en) | 1989-08-29 |
| JPH022453A (en) | 1990-01-08 |
| EP0322130A3 (en) | 1992-03-11 |
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