Developing "docuteam context", a new Archival Information System Based on Records in Contexts (RiC)

In December 2023, the International Council on Archives (ICA) adopted version 1.0 of the new archival standard "Records in Contexts" (RiC). In the meantime, various archives have launched projects to apply RiC, primarily in the field of dissemination and access. In this DLM presentation I aim to show how the path from specific projects through the identification of initial best practices to the development of standard software for RiC can look like. The focus will be on the question of how the new archival standard developed over many years by the "Experts Group on Archival Description" (EGAD) is be implemented to support day-to-day work in archives. After all, it is essential for the acceptance and dissemination of RiC that, in addition to training and education, standard out-of-the-box software is available for archives.

For the development of its new archival information system based on RiC, docuteam used a user centered design (UCD)-approach. This approach was possible because docuteam employs not only IT staff but also over 30 scientific archivists who work on analogue and digital archival material in customer archives.The development process had to be tailored to the specific needs of the archivists in order to support them in their work. On the other hand, the RiC conceptual model and the ontology provided a framework that couldn't be adapted at will (otherwise it wouldn't be a standard anymore…). Consequently, the data model and the specific user requirements had to be coordinated with each other again and again.   

One finding was that users wanted quick responses to their input. The software was therefore released in short iterations, in line with the ‘release early, release often’ principle. Large issues, such as the implementation of protection periods, were divided into several small steps in various iterations. The biggest challenge was translating the conceptual innovations of the new standard into practical benefits. It became clear that an archival standard alone does not solve any problems yet; the standard only proves its suitability when it can be applied in practical tools. The close collaboration between archivists, business analysts and developers helped to realise the development at this speed.