Version control is critical to effective records management. Version control enables users searching for and/or reviewing documents to locate and decipher exact documents with minimal time and effort.
Version control is recommended for several reasons:
- there is an ‘audit trail’ of how a document developed during the drafting process.
- you can be assured that you have the most up to date version of a document
- you can state which documents were ‘in force’ on a specific date – this might be crucial for appeals processes.
Each draft should have a number control system and, where appropriate a descriptive format at the end of the name, e.g.
- Recordkeeping Plan Version 0.01 - DRAFT
- Recordkeeping Plan Version 0.02 - DRAFT
Final versions should be
- Recordkeeping Plan Version 1.0 - FINAL
Subsequent amendments to the first ‘issued’ version.
- Recordkeeping Plan Version 1.01 - DRAFT
And a major revamp
- Recordkeeping Plan Version 2.0 – FINAL
- Recordkeeping Plan Version 2.0 – DRAFT
It is recommended to have a naming guide to make sure all records are titled consistently and are easy to identify.
If you are working within a recordkeeping system such as TRIM/CM then the system will number drafts for you, and when you finalise the document in the system it will make that version FINAL so that no more edits can be made. However, naming the versions as they are edited will still be useful as a search feature.
Version control tables for documents
Documents should have a Version Control table, which should be inserted at the beginning of the document. This may be necessary for documents where there are legal or regulatory reasons for having a clear audit trail of changes. It is also good practice for all policy documents.
For drafts, it could look like.
| Version | Date | Author | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 16/12/05 | A. Jones | - |
| 0.2 | 12/01/06 | A. Jones | Comments of working group added |
| 0.3 | 22/03/06 | F. Brown | Amended to include change in procedure at Section 2.1 |
| 1.0 | 03/04/06 | B. Smith | Final draft approved by committee |
For the published version,it can be shortened to:
| Version | Date | Author | Revision Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | April 2006 | SRO | First release |
| 2.0 | May 2011 | SRO | Second release |
A simple policy will help staff members consistently and easily name records and help ensure that records are accessible.
For further information, contact the State Records Office via email at sro@sro.wa.gov.au
