GoTo.

Digitisation

Document Digitisation

Paper turned into a record that can be searched, governed and retained.
Practice area
Digital Transformation
Answers the problem
Our organisation is inefficient.
Frameworks applied
GoTo IMPACT™, GoTo Trust Framework™
Commercial model
Fixed price by default
01Overview

What this practice is for.

Digitisation is frequently sold as scanning. Scanning produces images. A record produces search, metadata, retention and an audit trail. The difference determines whether the investment is used or archived twice.

The rule that governs digitisation
Do not digitise what should be disposed of. The retention schedule is agreed before the scanner is switched on.
02Services

Scope and deliverables, stated.

Every quote states deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, the payment schedule and a validity period.
01

Capture

Collection survey and appraisal

Volume, condition, format, sensitivity and retention status, so scope and cost are known before work begins.

Scanning and capture standards

Resolution, colour, file format and naming convention set against how the record will be used, not against the cheapest setting.

Optical character recognition

Text layer generation and accuracy checking, including handling of forms, tables and handwritten annotation, with a stated accuracy expectation.

02

Structure

Metadata and indexing

The metadata standard, controlled vocabulary and index fields that make the collection findable rather than merely stored.

Quality assurance

Sampled verification against the capture standard, with a documented rejection and rescan procedure.

Migration into the knowledge system

Loading into the archive or knowledge base with access control applied at the point of ingest.

03

Govern

Retention and disposal

Schedules, disposal authority and the audit trail that proves what was destroyed and on whose authority.

Digital preservation

Format migration planning and fixity checking for material that must remain readable long term.

Personal information handling

POPIA-aligned handling of personal information within the collection, including redaction where required.

03Method

How the work is actually run.

  1. 01
    Survey and appraise before quoting.
  2. 02
    Agree the retention schedule first.
  3. 03
    Set capture standards against intended use.
  4. 04
    Index against a controlled vocabulary.
  5. 05
    Verify by sample, with a documented rescan route.
  6. 06
    Ingest with access control already applied.

Expected outcomes

A searchable record rather than a folder of images.
Retention that can be evidenced.
Personal information handled lawfully within the collection.
A collection that a later system can migrate without recapture.
Measured, not asserted
Success measures are agreed at the Define stage, stated with their source and a date, and reported against on a fixed rhythm. The client is never asked at the end to accept a new definition of success.
04Applied here

The frameworks and sectors this practice touches.

05Common questions

Asked before most engagements begin.

All practice areas
Marketing and CommunicationsDigital TransformationArtificial IntelligenceAutomation

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