October 11, 2017

Inaugural CIP Today Newsletter - Oct 2017

Update: Made public as of Nov 2, 2017.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of CIP Today, a newsletter for CIPs. As the lead developer for the initial CIP and the architect for the current version, I'm pretty proud of what we've done with it in just 6 years: the number of CIPs continues to grow, the percentage of CIPs that maintain it continues to grow, and whenever I talk to CIPs I hear about how it's empowered them within their organization and among their professional peers.

When we started putting this newsletter together, we wanted to make sure that it was relevant to CIPs - the issues you're facing today, the issues on the horizon, and how to ensure that you provide value to your organization. At the same time, the CIP is an individual certification so we need to include things that are of value to you, the individual CIPs reading this. I hope that you will find this valuable, and I welcome your thoughts, comments, and submissions at jwilkins@aiim.org.

Sincerely,

Jesse Wilkins, CIP
Director, Professional Development
AIIM

Standards Update

ISO 32000-2 – Richer PDF File Format
by Betsy Fanning, CIP

Several weeks ago, ISO published ISO 32000-2, PDF 2.0 -- a new version of PDF. What does that mean to you? Let’s take one step backwards before revealing the new things that PDF can do based on this new standard. When PDF was first introduced in the 1990’s, it was considered a proprietary specification that quickly became a de facto standard fully driven by the market and what it’s users wanted. The PDF Specification was proprietary because the development of it was all done by Adobe Systems only. In 2008, that all changed! Adobe offered the specification to ISO to become an international standard. AIIM played a part in making that happen in its role as the secretary to the ISO committee for document management standards and where PDF/A (PDF/Archive) had been previously developed. The PDF Specification was published by ISO in 2008 as ISO 32000-1. It was an exact replica of the then current Adobe version of the specification.

So, what makes ISO 32000-2 or PDF 2.0 so special? This is the first PDF specification that was developed with input from experts from many countries and not controlled by Adobe. At the working group meetings, we had subject experts from 11 countries discussing the specification and working on new features.

You may say, PDF works now, why do we need new features? PDF was not broken and the industry felt the need to for some new things for the file format. These new features are the result of organizations implementing techniques to remove paper from their processes and consequently identifying new ways to use electronic documents. In addition to improvements to the file format, PDF 2.0 also:
  • Allows secured PDF files to be delivered inside a readable “cover letter” document.
  • Provides additional support for rich media annotations, geospatial features, PRC (Product Representation Compact, a 3D format).
  • Gives any PDF document the ability to include machine-readable metadata about the files attached to it.
  • Include source data and other file formats as part of the PDF document.
  • Improved the support of tagged PDF to make PDF files more accessible and easier to repurpose.
  • Updated digital signature features.
  • Supports 256-bit AES encryption
While the working group responsible for this standard is taking a short, well deserved break, it is actively seeking even more new features for the next version. If you have any ideas of what you would like PDF to do that it does not do today, please feel free to contact me, Betsy Fanning, at betsy.fanning@3dpdfconsortium.org to share your ideas. [Read more.]

Announcements

CIP Certification Maintenance:

We've made some quality of life chances to certification maintenance. If you're a CIP, you can now submit your CEUs directly through a web-based form. This form only takes one activity at a time, though, so you'll need to submit another form for each event you do. As with the current PDF form, if it's an AIIM event - webinar, conference, training course - simply report the activity. If it's from a chapter event or another event producer (ARMA, MER, PMI, etc.) you will need to attach some sort of documentation such as a receipt, certificate of attendance, or agenda. And of course the event has to be educational and relate in some manner to the CIP. This blog post explains the recertification process in greater detail.

We're still working on the payment process - more on that below. The form is live.

We're also introducing a new automated process to send out periodic reminders to CIPs that you need to complete the recertification process. We don't want to spam you, but we do want you to be able to complete your recertification in a timely and non-stressful manner, so we're going to send a reminder every 6 months or so, more frequently as your renewal date nears. Look for those emails starting this month.

Preapproval for CIP CEUs:

In addition, if you're an event producer and want to request credits for your event, we have a form available for that as well. The form asks for basic information: point of contact, event name, date, website, # credits requested, and includes a button to upload an agenda. We turn these around pretty quickly. The form is live and available here.

Changes to Fees & Payment Process Effective January 2018:

We've had more than a few former CIPs complain that they were decertified because they didn't know the process, weren't reminded, etc. To address that and hopefully streamline the overall process we're making a number of changes. We already noted the email reminders above; we're also changing the payment process.

1. Effective January 2018, the recertification fee will change from annual payments to a single payment during the three-year term. You can pay that fee at any time, but you must pay it within the 3-year anniversary of your certification date.

2. We're also increasing the member renewal fee to $135. This brings the pricing in line with other AIIM member discount rates and is still a bargain compared to the cost (and stress!) of taking the CIP test again. The non-member rate will remain unchanged. So if you're a professional member (and why wouldn't you be?), if you pay whatever balance is due on your CIP renewal by the end of this calendar year, you'll be paying the current rate. If you wait until 2018, you'll have to pay $135 less whatever you've paid this cycle. Please contact me at jwilkins@aiim.org with any questions.

AIIM Partners with IAPP:

You may have seen that we've announced a partnership with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Under the terms of that agreement, we'll be teaching several of their privacy courses including CIPP/US, CIPT, and CIPM. Courses will be listed on the AIIM training website as we schedule them. We're working with the IAPP to assign CIP CEUs for all of their courses; in the meantime, if you take or have taken an IAPP course, submit it per the usual process and it will be awarded CEUs.

AIIM Partners with ICRM:

We've also partnered with the Institute of Certified Records Managers. Under the terms of that agreement, the AIIM ERM Master Class will be accepted in lieu of Part 5 of the CRM exam. CRM candidates will still need to pass exam Parts 1-4 and Part 6 to receive the CRM certification. And of course the ERM Master Class is worth CIP CEUs - 26 CEUs to be specific. [Read more.].

BPM Course Updated:

I'm pleased to announce that in September we launched a revised version of our BPM Specialist and Master courses. The course content has been updated to reflect changes in technology as well as changes to practices in the discipline. [Learn more.]

Modern Records Management Course Update:

We're also working to update our ERM course, which we have renamed to Modern Records Management. We're planning to launch the Specialist course in early November. If you want a sneak peek at the course outline, send me a note at jwilkins@aiim.org.

The AIIM Conference 2018

I'd like to personally invite you to attend the AIIM18 conference, scheduled for April 11-13, 2018 in San Antonio, TX. There are a ton of activities that should be of interest to CIPs, including:

  • CEUs! 12.5 for the conference and another 6.5 if you take one of the precon workshops.
  • World-class networking throughout the conference
  • A CIP-only networking session
  • The annual CIP group photo
  • The exclusive CIP T-shirt
  • And more! For more information visit http://www.aiimconference.com/.

Share Your Story

As a CIP, I want to know what you're doing and how you're doing it. If you have a story to share, an article you think would be of interest to other CIPs, or even just want to tell your CIP story, send me a note at jwilkins@aiim.org. I can help you write it if needed, and we'll make sure it gets in the next newsletter.

Upcoming CEU Opportunities

Just a reminder that all CIPs have to complete 45 hours of continuing education every three years in order to remain certified. Here are some upcoming AIIM events you might wish to consider:


And non-AIIM events are OK too, as long as they are educational in nature and address at least one topic on the CIP. Vendor demos/presentations/sessions as well. Questions? Ping me at jwilkins@aiim.org.

Key POCs

You have questions? We have answers. Here's where to get AIIM-related information:



Marco Klindt: PDF/A considered harmful for digital preservation. The author notes in section 1.1 that his title is "a bold and provocative statement." But it's a good read, if a bit technical for many readers in the middle bits. And if it does serve to start discussion, especially around some issues like redaction, I think that's a good thing. Will be watching for any other responses on Twitter.
WBT Systems: How to Continue the Conference Learning Experience. Lots of this could be applied to training courses as well.

October 3, 2017

Ride the Lightning: DOJ Attorneys Foul Up Redaction, Jeopardizing Case I talk about this regularly in my ECM and ERM classes. From the story Sharon linked to:
In the inadequately redacted portions of the brief, the prosecutors described the content of Black’s interview with the FCA. One sentence was highlighted in black and written in a gray font that was clearly legible. Other portions of the brief were blocked out with what appeared to be black highlighting but were easily read by copying and pasting the contents of the brief into another text document. Word searches of the document returned text that was barely hidden behind the faulty redactions.
I can maybe sorta see someone clueless about redaction using a black highlighter on black text. How do you black highlight gray text that is still clearly legible and leave it that way? Maybe DOJ needs to take my ERM workshop in October.

October 2, 2017

Graphic Imaging Services to offer CIP workshop in Las Vegas, NV

Update 10/31/2017: This workshop has been preapproved by ARMA for 18.0 IGP continuing education credits - 9 general, 8 IT, and 1 legal.

I am pleased to announce that Graphic Imaging Services, a provider of document imaging services in the Las Vegas, NV area, will be hosting a special Certified Information Professional (CIP) Preparatory workshop in Las Vegas January 9-12, 2018.

The workshop will be taught by Pam Doyle, CIP, a world-renowned expert in information management. The workshop itself will run Jan 9-11 with the onsite proctored exam being delivered on Friday, Jan 12.

Updated location: The workshop is being held at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino, 9090 Alta Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89145.

This course is being made available at the incredible price of $995. The registration fee includes:
  • 3 days of instruction delivered by one of the best information management experts in the industry
  • Access to the online CIP prep workshop materials for 6 months
  • Classroom handouts & materials
  • The CIP study guide
  • The CIP exam fee for one exam
For more information or to register, please visit https://www.graphicimaging.net/event-id/certified-information-professional-cip-training-2018/ or contact Lisa Desautels at Lisa01@graphicimaging.net