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Overview of: 
Uniform Subject Classification System (USCS)

USCS:

• Introduction

• Overview

• Defined

• How it works

• With Records Management

• The Patent

• Presentation slides

The USCS is based on a patented technology that normalizes terms that are currently in use throughout the enterprise, providing methodology to achieve classification uniformity for any type of electronic or physical information object. 

The enterprise, by its inherent nature, is in a constant process of change and an enterprise solution must support this dynamic environment. No new technology is going to change how these organizations operate at their core level. The founder of Infologics and holder of the U.S. patent, Lowrie McIntosh, spent many years working with some of the largest multinational corporations solving real business classification problems. The patented technology within USCS is based on how these businesses truly work. By incorporating existing business practices; corporate, administrative and retention policy; and differentiating between Official, Informational (copies), Vital, and Sensitive records; USCS enables the enterprise to apply the best features of records management in a uniform fashion without requiring major changes in operations. 

Although many knowledge management systems claim to be enterprise‑wide, they are actually “department” solutions with each department independent of the others. They tend to classify information into application-specific containers or folders. Separating information in this way maintains barriers and inhibits the use of valuable information relationships. These systems are more concerned about the physical location and status of the record than its informational content. USCS enables associative information relationships that use the enterprise’s established administrative and legal retention policies as the glue.  It encompasses the enterprise as a whole, dealing with the entire spectrum of information, making it unique to any other implemented methodology. 

The patented use of synonyms normalizes terms into uniform descriptions that bridges all existing terms. It provides uniform terminology and the ability for that terminology to become more accurate with use. Synonyms may include industry or company specific vernacular, acronyms, abbreviations, technical and industry‑specific terms, jargon, and foreign terms. This allows the USCS to adapt to each individual’s perception of a subject, translating user descriptions into a uniform set of terms. The use of foreign language terms as synonyms makes it possible for the system to uniformly classify records using any language throughout international divisions of the enterprise.

The USCS embodies the enterprise. The classification structure links to relevant document management functions, as well as records management requirements. Using terminology from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and other legal citations, retentions are tied to specific references (legal citations, industry standards and/or corporate policy) governing how long a record should be available and for what intended use. USCS facilitates the movement of electronic records from on‑line to near-line, off-line storage, and finally to destruction – always maintaining the relationship between the Official records and all generated copies. 

The power of USCS lies in this ability to adapt to changes in corporate policies within a dynamic business environment. Each item implicitly links related items, bringing relevant information together as needed. Most other systems have a typical life cycle of 3 to 5 years before their usefulness is compromised by the inability to effectively cope with change, requiring scrapping and starting over as the only recourse.

The Chart of Accounts is the classification foundation for USCS and as it is essential to the financial management of the enterprise. The Chart of Accounts provide the framework upon which business relies to manages assets. It is a mandatory component in any day-to-day business operation. To accurately represent the essence of an organizational entity and to cope with the dynamics of change, it is essential that the Chart be part of the management of records in the same manner as it function in the overall business. USCS bridges the gap between the management of corporate records and day-to-day business operation by treating corporate records as any other asset.

Some additional key features and benefits of USCS are as follows:

• Easy for users to understand and use
• Provides consistent enforcement of records retention policy from creation to destruction
• Provides an umbrella that includes existing classification and indexing systems, as synonyms
• Incorporates current terminology to describe documents, as synonyms
• Provides an enterprise-wide library of Official terms
• Establishes a classification structure applicable to all media
• Differentiates between Official records and copies
• Identifies Vital and Sensitive records for security
• Identifies record responsibility by Cost Center
• Maintains security by adapting “natural relationships” and “need to know” requirements

The use of USCS process and methodology is licensed at an application level (corporate licenses available and subject to special pricing). Like to license to an entity that can incorporate into their offering to apply to a broadly based offerings. Tailored training or consulting services will be at the then current rates for such services. The licensed set of USCS components consist of the following items:

• Technology Transfer Document: outlines the USCS process and methodology application to enterprise record management requirements. It contains training and a systematic roadmap to the implementation of USCS to a typical enterprise operation. 
   
• Enterprise Classification Profile: provides a starting point of 70% to 80% of the line items that are typically required for implementing USCS. The profile is a distillation of engagement data based on the application of USCS technology over many years of successful implementation in some of the largest multinational corporations across many industry groups. The profile has been normalized to fit a typical engagement.   
   
• Custom Support: is optionally available for tailored training and implementation of the USCS deliverables.