Microsoft Purview Records Management Administration Training Course

Course overview

Organisations cannot defend records decisions when retention rules are inconsistent, labels are applied manually without governance, or business content remains scattered across SharePoint, Teams and Exchange. Records managers and Microsoft 365 administrators need to translate policy, regulatory and operational requirements into controls that users can follow and auditors can evidence. This course addresses the practical administration work behind a defensible Microsoft Purview records programme: file plans, retention labels, disposition review, event-based retention and record declaration.

Participants configure and govern Microsoft Purview Records Management using a structured implementation approach. They learn to design retention schedules, build and publish retention labels and label policies, distinguish retention, deletion and record status, configure regulatory records, apply event-based retention, manage disposition reviews and investigate the effects of retention holds. The course also covers scope planning, SharePoint and Microsoft 365 workload considerations, permissions, testing, reporting and change-control decisions needed to operate the service reliably.

Teaching combines instructor-led demonstrations with guided administration labs in a Microsoft 365 environment. Participants work through a realistic records-management scenario, converting business requirements into a file plan, label architecture, publication plan, disposition process and governance model. They leave with a documented Microsoft Purview Records Management implementation blueprint that can be adapted for their own tenant, alongside practical configuration patterns and an evidence checklist for testing controls.

The course is suited to professionals responsible for records policy, information governance or Microsoft 365 compliance administration, as well as managers sponsoring a controlled migration from unmanaged content to governed digital records.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Translate records policy requirements into a Microsoft Purview file plan and retention schedule
• Configure retention labels with retention, deletion, record and regulatory-record settings
• Publish retention labels through label policies and plan user-facing application methods
• Design event-based retention using event types, events and retention-label triggers
• Set up disposition review workflows, reviewer roles and documented disposal evidence
• Assess how retention labels interact with Microsoft 365 workloads, preservation and legal holds
• Create a testing matrix for label application, retention behaviour, disposition and audit evidence
• Produce a phased Microsoft Purview Records Management implementation blueprint

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Records Managers — who must turn retention schedules and disposal authorities into enforceable digital controls
• Information Governance Managers — who own policy, classification and accountability for organisational information
• Microsoft 365 Administrators — who configure Purview settings, label publication and workload integration
• Compliance Officers — who need defensible retention, disposition and audit evidence for regulated information
• SharePoint Administrators — who manage document repositories that require consistent record controls
• Legal Operations and eDiscovery Professionals — who need to understand the operational boundary between retention and preservation holds

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable navigating the Microsoft 365 admin environment and working with SharePoint Online document libraries, permissions and basic content-management concepts. Familiarity with their organisation’s retention schedule, records policy or disposal authority is useful, but not essential; examples are supplied in class. Attendees should understand the difference between a document, record and business event at a basic level. No prior Microsoft Purview configuration, PowerShell scripting, eDiscovery experience or formal records-management qualification is required. Complete beginners can attend, but should expect to spend time learning Microsoft 365 terminology alongside the records-management method.

Training methodology

The instructor introduces each control through a records-management decision, then demonstrates its configuration in Microsoft Purview. Participants complete guided labs covering file-plan design, retention-label settings, publication, event triggers and disposition review. Short case discussions require groups to resolve conflicts between business usability, retention obligations and legal preservation. Each day adds material to an implementation blueprint. On the final day, participants test a configured scenario, review evidence outputs and present a practical rollout plan for their own organisational context.

Course outline

Day 1: Records governance and Purview foundations

• Microsoft Purview Records Management architecture and administrative roles
• Records lifecycle concepts: retention, disposal, preservation and declaration
• ISO 15489-aligned records principles and accountability
• Translating disposal authorities into retention requirements
• File plan structure, record categories and metadata decisions
• Microsoft 365 workload boundaries for SharePoint, Exchange, Teams and OneDrive
• Governance operating model, stakeholders and configuration change control

Workshop: Participants analyse a sample retention schedule and produce a draft file-plan hierarchy with accountable business owners.

Day 2: Retention labels and record controls

• Retention label anatomy and retention-period calculation options
• Retain, delete and retain-then-delete configuration patterns
• Record and regulatory-record label settings
• Default labels, manual labels and auto-application decision criteria
• Label naming conventions, descriptions and user guidance
• Retention label publication through label policies
• Permission planning for label creators, publishers and records administrators

Workshop: Participants configure a set of retention labels and a label policy for three business record categories in the lab tenant.

Day 3: Applying labels and managing retention events

• SharePoint Online library configuration for records classification
• Retention label application through users, defaults and bulk approaches
• Auto-apply label conditions and suitability limitations
• Event-based retention use cases and event trigger design
• Creating event types and associating retention labels
• Importing, validating and managing retention events
• Testing label application and retention outcomes across content scenarios

Workshop: Participants build an event-based retention scenario for a contract completion process and document its trigger and test cases.

Day 4: Disposition, holds and defensibility

• Disposition review stages and reviewer assignment
• Disposal decisions, proof of disposition and audit evidence
• Disposition exports and records of reviewer actions
• Retention holds and preservation concepts in Microsoft 365
• Operational interaction between retention settings and legal preservation
• Exception management for misclassified, duplicate and contested records
• Control testing matrix for retention, disposition and access permissions

Workshop: Participants conduct a disposition review case, record approval and rejection decisions, and assemble an evidence pack.

Day 5: Implementation planning and operational administration

• Phased deployment strategy for Microsoft Purview Records Management
• Pilot selection, success measures and business acceptance criteria
• Migration and legacy-content classification considerations
• User adoption communications and records-handling guidance
• Administrative monitoring, audit review and periodic control assurance
• Configuration documentation and change-management register design
• Implementation roadmap, risks, dependencies and governance checkpoints

Workshop: Participants complete and present a Microsoft Purview Records Management implementation blueprint covering labels, owners, testing, rollout and assurance.

Tools & standards covered

Microsoft Purview portal, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Purview PowerShell, ISO 15489-1

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions