NVRA CM Certified Master flashcards

36 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Records management policy hierarchy

A four-tier document structure of policy, standard, procedure, and work instruction, where each lower-tier document must trace upward to a higher-tier clause, ensuring consistency and auditability across the program.

Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles

Eight principles: accountability, transparency, integrity, protection, compliance, availability, retention, and disposition. They form a widely used framework for assessing records program maturity and identifying gaps.

Records management steering committee

A cross-functional oversight body typically including legal, IT, compliance, privacy, and business operations that sets program direction, resolves conflicts, and reviews audit findings on a fixed meeting cadence.

Program gap assessment

A structured comparison of the current records program against a control framework, producing a prioritized remediation plan with owners, timelines, and measurable target states.

Retention trigger event

The specific event that starts a retention period, such as record creation, supersession, contract termination, or employee separation. It is not the calendar year unless the schedule says so.

Legal hold

A written directive suspending disposition of identified records and custodians because of reasonably anticipated or active litigation, investigation, or audit. It overrides the retention schedule until formally released.

Defensible disposition

Destruction or transfer of records under an approved schedule, supported by documented approval, an audit trail, and a certificate of destruction that proves the action was routine and authorized.

Spoliation

The destruction or material alteration of evidence relevant to reasonably anticipated litigation. The duty to preserve can attach before a complaint is filed, making early hold issuance critical.

Hold release approval

Written confirmation from counsel that a matter is closed and no appeal, audit, or related matter keeps the hold active. Disposition resumes only after this documentation is filed.

Certificate of destruction

A record naming the destroyed series, volume, destruction method, date, operator, and approving authority. It is the primary evidence that disposition was authorized and routine.

Record metadata

Structured descriptive data that is part of the record itself: creator, creation date, version, classification, retention rule, and disposition status. It must persist through migration and storage.

System of record

The authoritative system designated in writing as the source for a given data element. When multiple systems hold copies, this designation determines which copy governs retention and disposition.

Migration validation

Pre- and post-migration comparison confirming that content, metadata, embedded links, and audit trails survived intact. Failures are logged and remediated before the source system is retired.

Tamper-evident audit trail

A time-stamped, protected log of record access and actions that cannot be altered without detection. It is retained for the life of the record plus any applicable hold period.

Data governance versus records management

Data governance assigns ownership of data quality, definitions, and access. Records management governs lifecycle and disposition. Both are required; neither substitutes for the other.

File plan and taxonomy

A classification structure mapping business functions to record series so retention rules, access controls, and disposition actions can be applied consistently and automatically across repositories.

Sensitivity classification tiers

A scheme such as public, internal, confidential, and restricted, where each tier carries defined handling, storage, transmission, and destruction rules that users must follow.

Privacy impact assessment

A documented review completed before a new system or process collects personal information, covering purpose, data elements, retention period, access rights, and risk mitigation measures.

Purpose limitation

A privacy principle holding that personal information may be collected and used only for a stated, legitimate purpose and must be deleted when that purpose is exhausted, subject to legal retention obligations.

Least privilege access

Granting users only the access needed for their role, with periodic entitlement reviews and revocation at separation. It limits exposure of confidential records and supports audit compliance.

Third-party processor obligations

Contract terms binding vendors to confidentiality, specified security controls, breach notification timelines, and return or certified destruction of records at contract termination.

Backup versus archive

Backups are short-cycle copies for operational recovery. Archives preserve records for their full retention period. Treating backups as archives creates cost and legal risk and is not acceptable practice.

Media refresh cycle

Scheduled migration or rewriting of magnetic and optical media before the manufacturer's rated life expires, preventing data loss from media degradation and format obsolescence.

Chain of custody

Documentation tracking records from creation through storage, retrieval, transfer, and destruction. It is essential for establishing authenticity when records are used as evidence.

Imaging quality control sampling

A defined percentage of scanned images checked for legibility, completeness, orientation, and metadata accuracy. Results and exceptions are logged before originals are destroyed.

Storage environmental specifications

Required ranges for temperature, relative humidity, light exposure, and pollutants in records storage areas, with continuous monitoring and retained logs to demonstrate compliance.

Vital records

The subset of records essential to continue operations and protect legal and financial rights during and after a disruption. They are identified through business impact analysis.

Vital records protection methods

Three approaches: dispersal (duplicate copies at another location), duplication (backup copy kept separately), and protected storage (vault or hardened facility). Selection depends on criticality and cost.

Recovery time objective

The maximum acceptable downtime for a critical function before the impact becomes unacceptable. It drives prioritization of vital records and system recovery sequencing.

Recovery point objective

The maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time, determining backup frequency and replication strategy for systems holding vital records.

Business impact analysis

A study identifying critical functions, dependencies, recovery time objectives, and recovery point objectives. Its results determine which records are designated vital.

Change readiness factors

Awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement. Training addresses only knowledge and ability, so records program adoption also requires communication, sponsorship, and reinforcement mechanisms.

Stakeholder influence-interest mapping

A technique plotting stakeholders by influence and interest to select engagement strategy. Legal and IT usually rank high on influence and must be engaged early in records projects.

Records project work breakdown

Decomposition of a records initiative into deliverables, typically inventory, retention schedule development, policy revision, training, and system implementation, each with owners and milestones.

Pilot rollout

Deploying a records program in one business unit before enterprise rollout to surface workflow gaps at low cost and to develop internal advocates who support broader adoption.

Program adoption metrics

Measures such as classification compliance rate, on-time disposition rate, and help desk ticket volume by category, used to demonstrate that a records program is working after launch.