The challenge of information
management
Tallinn University, Estonia.
http://www.tlu.ee/~priitp/IM_31/IM_31_Synopsis.htm
26 October 2006 03:00:23
Contents
1. Supply work,
business and consumption processes with information — This is
the basic goal: work cannot be done without required information.
2. Improve and
speed up business, work and consumption processes through information use and efficient
information processing — Information is not only one of the inputs to the work process. By improving information supply
and its processing, the whole process usually can be made more efficient.
3. Create
and maintain competitive advantage through new, IT-based work and business
processes — Often,
information technologies allow reorganization of work in completely new ways,
and creation of totally new businesses.
4. Efficient use
of organization’s information assets — While previous goals come from activity
(process), this goal statement invites to think about organization’s
information not as some side-product of activity, but as the central
resource. Information, not activity may be the „real thing”.
5. Reduce
unnecessary complexity of information processing systems; protect against
information overload.
1.
Situations where meeting the information need, or information processing --
is non-trivial and requires application of specialized skills, resources and
system development.
2.
Situations where present information management in organization does not
satisfy the needs.
In
competitive environment, the advantage that a party acquires through
possession of more or better information. Related concepts:
◦ Information delta – difference in information between
competing parties.
◦ Information superiority, information dominance – In competitive situation,
tactical dominance of a party through better information and more capable
information systems.
Some research has indicated that outstanding information
management can result in organization’s profitability 20-40% above the
average. Modern technology is capable:
◦ in Data Acquisition – practically every process can be traced and
informational record created.
◦ in Data Storage – text: no limits to what can be stored.
Graphical information: capabilities expand very rapidly.
◦ in Access to Data – it is possible to create fast, practically
immediate access to practically all data.
◦ in Data transfer – speed satisfies most requirements.
◦ in Automation – many operations of human work can be
replaced by computer operation, or improved significantly through computer
support.
What is not possible? (What information management will
not do?)
◦
Content creation – an
IT solution itself does not generate meaning.
◦
Complete information management – new-ness and certain surprise are essential elements of information.
Therefore, a comprehensive information management system – that eliminates
all risks and surprises – is not possible.
◦
Solving non-informational problems – IT solution can affect positively yet will not solve problems of
work organization, social problems, psychological problems, problems of
education, etc. Therefore, the Science of Information Management will not
make Management, Business Strategy, Social Theory, Psychology and other
sciences unnecessary.
Ideal state
— a state of system or situation, real or
imagined, where one or several useful properties have been maximized (pushed
into theoretically maximal value).
◦ Information at your fingertips — a system,
where all useful information has been organized into structures that allow
immediate access. (The property absolutized: search time.)
◦ Complete information — a situation where decision
maker can use all information that is relevant to the decision. (The property
absolutized: quantity of information.)
◦ Real-time — interaction (information exchange)
between user and the information system, or between information system and
its environment where system’s response is practically immediate. (The
property absolutized: response time.)
◦ Information at the point of need — the worker or
operator is given at each moment exactly the information required by the work
process. (The properties absolutized: information relevance, search time.)
◦ Anytime, anywhere — access to information at any
time, from any location, achived by IT infrastructure and information
systems. Related terms: „24-7”, „365-24-7” —system uptime 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a year.
◦ 99,95% — system uptime.
◦ Seamless integration — Connecting two or more IT
systems with no problems of compatibility.
◦ Fully integrated enterprise — An organization which
has succeeded in connecting all its IT and information systems into one
integrated system (or, a system of systems).
◦ Company's nervous system — An image used by Bill
Gates to conceptualize IT and information systems in an organization.
◦ Information society — a society that produces most
of its economic value in form of information products and services, as
opposed to exploitation of natural resources, agricultural and hard goods production.
We can see
extremely wide spectrum of information management problems in practice. These
problems and information needs are solved and managed in very different ways.
To enumerate and discuss all possible approaches is impossible. Still, we can
distinguish a number of broad, general directions and approaches
toward solution of informational problems. In particular the following
strategies are very common, and certainly belong to the most important ones.
◦ Promoting
the understanding of information importance in the organization — This
is very important. If people in the organization do not realize the
importance od data and information, and what are immediate as well as
indirect effects of good and bad information management, then IT will not be
used to its full potential.
◦ Improving
the organization of existing information — Often, we do not need build
a new IT system. Instead, we can take the information at hand and bring it to
better shape, using various techniques, some of those are very simple. This
strategy can be considered at any time; it can bring quick return at low
cost.
◦ „Informatization”
of the process — A general strategy of identifying information
processing operations in a work process and building IT solutions to supply
these operations with information and high quality and low cost. Making
processes more information-intensive has become practical necessity in
virtually all areas of life today.
◦ Information
support to human activity — The same goals as in previous strategy,
but a different philosophy. For knowledge work, IT systems should not control
the worker, but give him or her support. This strategy provides a variety of
tools to the worker who is free to choose and apply them as he or she likes.
◦ Language
development (taxonomies and coding systems) — Information processing
is an activity; but the activity is maybe not the most critical aspect of it.
All information processing takes place in context of language. There are
natural, human languages, and many more or less formal, computer languages,
including various coding systems. Languages provide the context for
information processing. Languages should not be taken as given; language
development is an important direction of information management improvement.
◦ Using
meta-information — Meta-information is information about information.
Usually we limit our thinking to the view that information is a description
of the objects in the „real world”. But information itself needs to be
described. Introduction and skillful use of meta-information is a promising
direction of information management improvement.
◦ Use of
templates and patterns — Template (pattern) is a set of structural
features of a solution that was found to work in one situation; if extracted
and stored, a template or pattern can be used to solve further, similar
problems. For example, think of the role of document template in word
processing.
◦ Creation
of information model — To understand, and possibly control or operate
something, a general strategy is to build a model of it. Models can be built
on paper, or even made of wood; but computer modelling is superior to these
approaches in several respects. Complete, large, elaborate, easily modifiable
information models form the core of many important information systems.
◦ System
development — Information management problems can be of two types:
one-time, or recurrent. Problems can also be simple or complex. To handle complex,
recurrent informational problems, the organization has to allocate many
different resources (hardware, software, operators, infrastructure). System
development is the process of building these resources into assemblies that
can be usable over long time and for a range of complex problems.
◦ Process
improvement through IT — It is not enough to provide information
support to and automate existing work processes. To maintain competitive
advantage, organization must continuously seek ways to introduce new,
efficient business models and work processes. Information technology has
become a very important source and enabling factor of process innovation.
There is a lot of new technology available, and organization can certainly
find something that fits its profile and makes sense economically as well.
◦ Information
design — People today want their information to come in forms that are
similar to what they experience in media channels that they use. Information
provided by information systems must be not only timely and correct — it must
be designed in accordance to aesthetic values and customes of the information
user. This places an extra burden to information system designers; a burden
that is not fully met today.
◦ Optimal
mix of information channels — It is not enough any more to build
single systems. Organizations employ a multitude of information systems, IT
equipment and media channels. That informational landscape has become
complex, and often it is changing so fast, that nobody even has full picture
of it. Still, it must be managed, somehow.
◦ Standardization
and simplification — One strategic way to help untangle the
informational problems is to actively use standardization of information
system elements. Organization must follow industry-level standarization; it
must also conduct standardization at its own. Without the use of standards
and deliberate simplification of information management processes, system
building will constrain not aid the business.
◦ Intelligent
use of Low Technology — Often, new technology is used where „low”
technology works better. While many organizations are hypnotized by the
promises of the latest technologies, a more mindful organization can often
create value (and advantage) by clever use of less simple technology.
Confidence
in information management is built mainly by study through practice. One
cannot claim competence without trying hand in system development,
programming, information architecture, information design, or other
disciplines of the information management group of sciences. A certain
conceptual apparatus is still needed – in order to get an overview, to build
“a big picture”, and to help fill in the places where knowledge is
insufficient. We have tried to put together a basic set of information
management concepts. It is organized in form of short articles. Access to the
articles is provided through a conceptual outline and through an index.
Very many
techniques exist that can help solve information management problems. These
are best studied in practice sessions in infomation management courses.
Information
management is important for organizations. Information management is tighly
related to business processes and competitive advantage of the company.
Therefore, information about company’s information systems and informational
capabilities is usually considered confidential. Information about
organization’s on-going IT projects, IT strategies and lessons learned from
completed projects is also an important strategic asset. Information on these
matters can still be acquired, from various sources; yet, its potentially
fragmentary and biased nature must always be taken into accont.
Information
work is characterized by its relative idiosynchrasy. A manual worker
maybe can be equipped by a shovel of standard shape and measurements. But
requirements of knowledge workers as to their informational tools and work
environment differ widely. It may sound counter-intuitive, but people’s
information needs and information behavior are highly variable.
Therefore,
developers and educators should research through, develop and articulate a
spectrum of ideas and solution tools that may be applied to a spectrum of
information management problems.
Then,
practitioners can choose, try and use specific ideas and techniques for their
specific needs.
in the problems of information management, how about if wrong information is passed, then that means it will lead to a competitive disadvantage because of inefficiency.
ReplyDeleteis the innovation or generating a new system of information system a achieve competitive advantage in some companies ?
ReplyDelete