What is WueDMS?
A document management system (DMS for short) stores electronic documents with the support of a database. As this involves the management of documents, the term "document management" is also sometimes used. Document management is used for the joint processing of files: Revision statuses are mapped using versions, and work processes can be supported via deadlines and workflows.
We, the employees of the central administration of the University of Würzburg, have been working with WueDMS since mid-2023.
WueDMS - What is possible with it?
With the introduction of WueDMS, digital information can be accessed and processed flexibly from anywhere - whether on the move, in the office or working from home. Information and documents are now easier to find and process statuses can be accessed transparently; targeted structures for permanent process management have thus been created. Through continuous analysis and optimisation, we are constantly making our processes and working methods more efficient: Together, we are taking the University of Würzburg step by step into the digital future. The DMS offers the following advantages for JMU:
How does WueDMS work?
In WueDMS, employees of the central administration have access to a central filing location for case files in the file plan and individual case files. Filing in case files and processes enables the filing of documents in different formats. This means that emails, scans and specialised procedures can be stored centrally and in an audit-proof manner . The files and processes created can be edited in the system, changed or even released across departments. This means that standard processes and cross-departmental matters can be handled digitally in WueDMS. Paper documents and paper mail can be easily replaced by tasks and workflows in the system.
WueDMS can be offered with the following basic functionalities in an implementation project:
- File plan navigation
- Creation of files in the fileplan
- Creation of processes in the file plan
- Filing of documents (general written material) in processes
- Editing the properties of a filed document
- Full text search for documents
- Property search for files, cases and documents
- Creating a PDF document for viewing
- Extraction of the full text from each document
- Inheritance of the "File identifier" property to processes
- Inheritance of the "Process indicator" property to documents
- Changing the release status of a document
- Versioning of a document
- Local editing of an Office document via d3.one
- Creating a Word document in a process from a provided template
- Use of the standardised basic workflow
The project group assumes that many (standard) tasks can already be completed with these basic functionalities. Further functionalities can be developed at a later date in consultation with the project team(wuedms@uni-wuerzburg.de).
Final documents are stored in an audit-proof digital archive. Editing is possible using versioning. Depending on legal requirements, documents are stored for a predefined period and then automatically transferred to the archive for storage or deletion. Document properties, the contained full text or direct selection in the file plan can be used to search for documents.
Central business processes are mapped as electronic workflows in WueDMS. This allows the most important processes to be automated and the work progress to be displayed transparently. The workflows are defined by process participants in the DMS according to a specified sequence of work steps and responsibilities - from document creation, checking and approval through to audit-proof archiving.
WueDMS enables you to work with changing documents. In addition to displaying version statuses, the document status (edited/released/archived) is also visible. Deadlines and reminders also support the work processes.
It is now possible to perform an optimised, topic-specific search. The search not only targets the document titles, but also takes into account the text content of the respective document. It can be refined with all available metadata.
The University of Würzburg already makes extensive use of SAP, HISinOne and Microsoft systems. By setting up the existing interfaces in WueDMS, it is possible to store documents directly from the respective systems without having to temporarily store the documents in other locations.
In the Microsoft Office programmes (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.), it will be possible in future to store documents directly in WueDMS using an add-in - alternatively, it will also be possible to edit a document directly in the DMS, provided that the appropriate document type (Word document, PowerPoint presentation, Excel spreadsheet) is available.
Below you will find information on the current legal bases in connection with electronic administration, eFiles and document management systems.
In 2014, the Federal Cabinet adopted the "Digital Administration 2020" programme presented by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. An important component of this programme is the development of "efficient electronic administrative work". According to this programme, all authorities with federal responsibilities are obliged to introduce electronic files by 2020.
"The Federal E-Government Act stipulates that the digital file must (at least) meet the standards of the paper file. It states in § 6 Electronic file management:
'The federal authorities shall keep their files electronically. (...) If a file is kept electronically, suitable state-of-the-art technical and organisational measures must be taken to ensure that the principles of proper file management are observed.
The requirement of file regularity
The principle of proper file management, which is not standardised by law, includes the public authority's obligation to objectively document the essential factual course of events to date and follows from the principle of the rule of law, as only orderly file management enables administrative execution in accordance with the rule of law with the possibility of legal review by courts and supervisory authorities.
This results in the obligation of the public administration to keep files (requirement of file regularity)...'
Requirement of completeness and traceability
The (case) file must contain all documents. Hybrid file management (electronic and paper documents in parallel) is generally not permitted.
An electronic file is a logical summary of factually related or procedurally identical processes and/or documents, which includes all e-mails, other electronically created documents and scanned paper documents relevant to the processing and file and thus enables complete information on the business transactions of a matter. In this way, the electronic file replaces paper-based file management.
[This means that the public administration is obliged (...) to (...) record all essential procedural acts in a complete and comprehensible manner.
Requirement of truthful record keeping
This includes the] (...) obligation of the public administration (...) to record these [procedures and information] truthfully. Conversely, this obligation entails the fundamental prohibition of the subsequent removal and falsification of lawfully obtained knowledge and documents from the files (safeguarding authenticity and integrity).
Requirement of long-term preservation
"Describes the obligation of the public administration (...) to ensure the long-term preservation of files. These principles also apply to IT-based electronic file management. The electronic file must therefore be kept on data carriers that ensure that its content cannot be changed or deleted without authorisation or only with disproportionate effort due to the special type of storage. It must also be possible to store the data until the retention period expires. From a data protection perspective, the confidentiality (and, if necessary, erasability) of the data must also be guaranteed. Last but not least, marketability must be ensured and the content must be available and readable within a reasonable period of time. This may include secure porting and conversion to current data carriers or data formats due to the limited shelf life of the carrier media or data formats."
(Steinbrecher, Wolf (2020): Agile introduction of the e-file with Scrum, Springer Berlin/Heidelberg)
E-Government Act § 6 E-GovG
Act to promote electronic administration and to amend other regulations(E-Government Act - EGovG) of 25 July 2013, Federal Law Gazette 43/2013 of 31 July 2013
Art. 20 Digital procedures as a rule
"(1) 1Stateauthorities shall as a rule conduct appropriate administrative procedures or separable parts thereof digitally. 2Proceduresconducted digitallyshall be designed by the state authorities in a user-friendly manner within the meaning of Art. 10. 3Art. 12 remains unaffected.
Art. 33 Digital files
(1 ) 1Stateauthorities shall, and district authorities and other authorities may, keep their files digitally. 2Theprinciples of proper file management shall be observed. 3Theprocessed data shall be protected against loss of information and unauthorised access and changes.
(2) If an authority uses digital file management, it shall transmit files, processes and documents to other authorities digitally in compliance with the provisions of data protection law.
(3) 1Paper documentsshall be transferred to a digital format and stored. 2Theymay subsequently be destroyed, provided there are no conflicting obligations to return or retain them. 3Duringthe transfer, it must be ensured in accordance with the state of the art that the digital version corresponds to the paper document."
(Act on Digitisation in the Free State of Bavaria(Bavarian Digital Act - BayDiG) of 22 July 2022 (GVBl. p. 374) BayRS 206-1-D
Art. 2 Application of Regulation (EU) 2016/679
"1Theprovisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR) shall also apply to the processing of personal data by public bodies outside the material scope of Art. 2 (1) and (2) GDPR, unless otherwise stipulated. 2Articles30, 35 and 36 GDPR only apply if the processing is automated or the data is stored or is to be stored in a file system."
(Bavarian Data Protection Act (BayDSG) of 15 May 2018 (GVBl. p. 230) BayRS 204-1-I)
Art. 7 Special automated procedures (on Art. 6 para. 3, Art. 26 GDPR)
"(1) [...] 1. [T]he retrieval is carried out from data sets which are open to consultation by any person without authorisation or after special authorisation, or
2. the procedure takes due account of the rights and freedoms of the data subjects and the tasks of the authorities involved.
2Forretrievals pursuant to sentence 1 no. 2
1. the recipient shall be responsible for the permissibility of the individual retrieval,
2. the body making the retrieval shall ensure that the transmission of personal data can be determined and verified at least by means of suitable sampling procedures; it shall verify the permissibility of the retrievals only if there is reason to do so.
(2) 1Theestablishment of automated procedures which are intended to enable several public bodies to process personal data in a database or in which the participating public bodies are intended to enable mutual access to the stored personal data shall be permissible insofar as this is appropriate, taking into account the rights and freedoms of the data subjects and the tasks of the participating bodies, and insofar as risks to the rights and freedoms of the data subjects can be avoided by technical and organisational measures. 2Procedurespursuant to sentence 1 that may involve a high risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subjects shall only be authorised if they are established by law or on the basis of a law."
(Bavarian Data Protection Act (BayDSG) of 15 May 2018 (GVBl. p. 230) BayRS 204-1-I)
See, among others, § 19 GDPR
"The protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security, and the free movement of such data, shall be governed by a specific Union act. Therefore, this Regulation should not apply to processing activities of this kind. However, personal data processed by public authorities under this Regulation, when used for the purposes set out above, should be subject to a more specific Union act, namely Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1). Member States may entrust competent authorities within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/680 with tasks which are not necessarily carried out for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security, so that the processing of personal data for those other purposes falls within the scope of this Regulation to the extent that it falls within the scope of Union law. With regard to the processing of personal data by those authorities for purposes falling within the scope of this Regulation, Member States should be able to maintain or introduce more specific provisions in order to adapt the application of the rules of this Regulation. Those provisions may specify more precisely the obligations for the processing of personal data by those competent authorities for those other purposes, taking into account the constitutional, organisational and administrative structure of the Member State concerned. (...)"
(REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC(General Data Protection Regulation))
