Information Management

Part 2 of the Information Management and Knowledge Management Series

July 7, 2022

In the first part of this series, we explored the three keys to making a communication system work for your company. As a friendly reminder, the three keys are:

• • Communication must move freely to connect with each learning style.
  • The system must be wildly visible.
  • The system must provide value.

When these three elements are in a system, there is an opportunity to collect, translate, transmit, interpret, and provide feedback within a continuous loop.

Behaviors, including procrastination, are carefully managed with effective performance management, so the system is effective.

Assume you successfully create a communication system and are ready to add valuable information into the pipeline. Just like a physical pipe, there is a starting and ending point on the physical structure. The size, shape, and materials used to assemble the pipe dictate what it can hold, how long it can hold it, and how fast it travels.

The baseline questions associated with physical pipes are also true with information! Information is collected, transmitted, and stored. The information collection pace depends on the amount of exposure and the medium of exchange. For example, your company may have a small team of five individuals dedicated to business development initiatives. Among those five teammates, one likes to learn through the written word, two members enjoy visuals, one embraces podcasts, and the final person loves in-person networking opportunities. Each individual exposes themselves to information through a chosen medium that resonates with their preferences.

The transmission of information often leans on the preferred collection style and your communication system. For example, the individual who collected information through a podcast will likely schedule a meeting to discuss and exchange ideas through voice-based communication. In contrast, your reader on the team will want to compose a narrative for submission in a shared portal. In either scenario, storage is paramount.

In a digital world, we can store different types of information, not limited to videos, narratives, podcasts, and visuals. We are often limited by storage and resolve such limitations by investing in more space. More space includes physical space, cloud space, and brain space! We only have so much time, passion, and opportunity to collect, transmit, and store our preferred information. For this reason, information management is a must.

Information Management

The term is how a company collects, stores, and provides access to information and it has three important elements:

• • Classification
  • Access Control
  • Longevity Restrictions

Classification arranges information. Think of the library. In a very basic sense, there is an adult, juvenile, and youth section. Within each section are additional organizational structures, such as graphic novels, non-fiction, fiction, and references. This classification system allows individuals to quickly collect information in their preferred format, transmit findings through your communication system, and store them. Such classification extends well beyond the library and the cyber environment through search engines and web pages, to name a few.

Access control ensures the right person has the information at the right time. It is the selective restriction of information based on various credentials. Access control ranges from physical and logical to granular types, including role-based access control (RBAC) and discretionary access control (DAC).

Longevity restrictions allow the information to remain relevant. Date and time labels guide this element of information management to ensure you and your company are keeping up with the times. The best example in this scenario is the Progressive Insurance ad featuring your parents. You can hear it in your head, “No fussing, no cussing…CRASH!” The sign is dumped in the trash and no longer is available. Your longevity restrictions “dump the old information” to make room for the new.

Leverage your communication system to explore your information management needs and guidelines to shape your classification system, access control, and longevity restrictions. Align information to be properly managed and prepare for the final part of this series – Knowledge Management.