Which stage reduces the volume of ESI and converts formats for review?

• A. Analysis
• B. Preservation
• C. Collection
• D. Processing

Answer: (D)

In eDiscovery, the processing step is where the data is culled down and prepared for review. This stage reduces the volume of Electronically Stored Information by removing duplicates, filtering out irrelevant material, and applying techniques like email threading and keyword or date-range filtering. At the same time, it converts files into standardized formats or into formats that the review platform can handle efficiently, so reviewers can work smoothly with a consistent set of data.

This makes processing distinct from other stages: collection is about gathering data from sources, preservation ensures data is kept intact and legally on hold, and analysis (the review phase) comes after processing when reviewers examine and make determinations about relevance and privilege.