EDRM Publishes eDiscovery Maturity Self-Assessment Test

SAINT PAUL, MN--(Marketwired - Sep 24, 2014) - EDRM, the leading standards organization for the e-discovery market, announced today the release of the EDRM eDiscovery Maturity Self-Assessment Test (eMSAT-1), the first self-assessment resource to help organizations measure their e-discovery maturity. 

eMSAT-1 is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet containing 25 worksheets organized into seven sections covering various aspects of the e-discovery process. Complete the worksheets and the assessment results are displayed in summary form at the beginning of the spreadsheet. "This self-assessment resource is just the beginning of a dialogue," says Kevin Clark. "The EDRM Maturity Model team will be developing a series of specific self-assessment guides and practical e-discovery tool kits all aimed at a common goal: helping organizations measure and improve their e-discovery processes."

eMSAT-1 is the first of several resources and tools being developed by the EDRM Metrics group, led by Clark and Dera Nevin, with assistance from a diverse collection of industry professionals, as part of an ambitious Maturity Model project. "E-discovery literature often focuses on amorphous concepts like 'proportionality' or what is 'reasonable,'" says Matthew Knouff, team leader of the Maturity Model initiative. "However, corporate stakeholders, legal teams and others who want to improve e-discovery effectiveness within their organization might not understand how to implement those concepts in a practical manner. EDRM is focused on defining clear metrics so that companies can take a measured approach to improving their e-discovery processes. We are doing something new that is designed to help organizations make tangible improvements." The eDiscovery Maturity Model, of which eMSAT-1 is the first part, is dedicated to building practical resources that facilitate discussion among all stakeholders throughout an organization, allow for meaningful self-assessment of current e-discovery practices and offer practical means for process improvement.

The EDRM Maturity Model Self-Assessment Test is the fourth release in recent months by the EDRM Metrics team. In June 2013, the new Metrics Model was released, in November 2013 a supporting glossary of terms for the Metrics Model was published and in November 2013 the EDRM Budget Calculators project kicked off. "The EDRM Maturity Model represents a consolidation of many of the resources the EDRM Metrics team has developed over the past year. We look forward to actively engaging the global e-discovery community with this project," says Nevin.

Primary contributors in the development of eMSAT-1 are Knouff, Evan Benjamin, Tiana Van Dyk (Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP) and Brett Livingood (Bryan University).

The EDRM Maturity Model team welcomes input from all corners of the e-discovery industry. To join, comment or ask questions please email mail@edrm.net. EDRM continues to develop, compile and publish frameworks, standards and resources -- all focused on addressing practical issues related to e-discovery and information governance.

eMSAT-1 is available for download at www.edrm.net/resources/emsat1.

Information about EDRM membership is available at www.EDRM.net.

About EDRM
EDRM creates practical resources to improve e-discovery and information governance. Launched in May 2005, EDRM was established to address the lack of standards and guidelines in the e-discovery market. In January 2006, EDRM published the Electronic Discovery Reference Model, followed by additional resources such as IGRM, CARRM and the Talent Task Matrix. Since its launch, EDRM has comprised 292 organizations, including 180 service and software providers, 70 law firms, 35 corporations, 3 industry groups, 2 universities, and 2 governmental bodies involved with e-discovery and information governance.