Leveraging Value Stream Diagrams to Illustrate Digital Preservation's Place within an Information Driven Organization - Poster Presentation

The World Bank Group Archives’ Digital Preservation work program is documented as part of an agile value stream diagram for the World Bank unit to which it belongs. The value stream diagram enables documentation of the partnerships and coordination necessary to ensure that those born-digital records of World Bank Group staff that must be preserved will be appropriately captured and ultimately guided into the Digital Preservation platform. This poster will show both the broad context, as well as drill into details of the Digital Preservation Program. Takeaways will include insights into ways digital preservation programs can leverage value stream diagrams to support team strategy and cross-organizational communication, improving digital preservation outcomes.

1. Background

The World Bank Group (WBG) Archives belongs to the Information Governance & Archives (ITSAR) team. ITSAR is a part of the much larger Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) Vice-Presidency of the World Bank Group. 

From chaos to order, ITSAR enables information and knowledge to be a strategic business asset and global public good, by transforming information governance across the entire lifecycle and preserving and illuminating our 80+ year history to enable smart, effective, and accountable WBG operations.

The ITS Vice-Presidency is undergoing a major Agile Transformation, requiring all ITS units to explore how to shift their work programs to embrace Agile thinking and processes. This has provided the WBG Archives with an opportunity to re-evaluate how our work programs exist in partnership with our ITSAR teammates as well as with teams from across the World Bank Group.

2. Poster Description

Using agile value stream diagrams has empowered the World Bank Group’s ITSAR team with a way to both understand and communicate how the components of our work program weave together to contribute to our team’s goals. ITSAR staff can also see how their efforts are part of supporting a broad and clear vision in which we serve the information of the World Bank Group and ensure its appropriate preservation. 

This has been very useful, both for encouraging collaboration across our team – as well as providing us with a visual way to guide others within our organization to see the big picture of our efforts.

The takeaways from this poster will be:

• Understanding of how value stream diagrams can contribute to a better understanding of information-based work programs and their relationship to digital preservation efforts, including insights that support management and strategic planning.

• How the digital preservation efforts of the World Bank Group’s Archive are facilitated by building on the solid foundation created by information governance and in-place records management. 

• Inspiration for new ways to analyze records management and information governance programs, aiming to improve digital preservation outcomes through communication both within teams and across organizations.