Knowledge Base Article Management: Deletion vs. Archive

Introduction

 Articles in need of deletion will be set to archive status for at least six months, meaning they will be visible to Purdue IT Technicians, but not public users. After six months, a review will be held to determine if the article should be left in archive status or permanently deleted.  

Overview

When to Delete a KB Article (permanently removing it from our database) 

  • Irrelevance: If the content is outdated and no longer relevant to any current processes, products, or services, it should be deleted. 

  • Duplication: If the article is a duplicate of another article that contains the same information, it should be deleted to avoid confusion. 

  • Errors: If the article contains significant errors that cannot be corrected or if it provides misleading information, it should be deleted. 

  • Compliance: If the article violates any compliance or regulatory requirements, it should be deleted immediately. 

When to leave KB Article in archive status (meaning it is visible to Purdue IT employees, but not the public) 

  • Historical Reference: If the article contains historical information that may be useful for reference but is not actively used, it should be archived. 

  • Seasonal Information: If the article is relevant only during certain times of the year (e.g., tax season, holiday promotions), it should be left in archive at least a year to ensure that it’s not needed again at the start of the next semester.  

  • Project Completion: If the article pertains to a completed project or initiative, it should be archived for future reference. 

  • Low Usage: If the article has low usage but may still be relevant to a small audience, it should be archived rather than deleted. 

Procedure: 

  1. Review: IT Service Management (ITSMO) will review archived knowledge base articles and notify TDX teams when an archived article is six months past it’s last modified date and is a candidate for deletion. 

  1. Decision: Based on the criteria above, decide whether to delete or archive the article. 

Action:  

  1. Respond to the ITSMO with a decision to keep the article in aarchive status or to delete it. ITSMO will either remove the article or change it’s modified date and be reviewed again in 6 months. If the article should be permanently left in archive status, please share that information in your email.  

 

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