Mapping Information Flows: A Practical Guide

Information Management Journal, Jan/Feb 2004 by Hibberd, Betty Jo, Evatt, Allison

Information mapping based on an organization's goals and objectives can help shift the information professional's natural bottom-up point of view to a top-down, strategic perspective and increase his or her perceived value

Mapping information flows is a process for analyzing how information is transferred from one point to another within an organization. While the concept is simple, it is important to understand that mapping information flows can also support a ranking system to identify the most valuable potential clients for information resource center (IRC) services, create a picture of the competitive landscape, and help define the necessary actions for short- and long-term budgeting.

In her book Practical Information Policies, Elizabeth Orna states, "Experience shows that people concerned with information management have no difficulty with the concept [of information mapping], or with deriving knowledge and information needs from the objectives of their own organizations. And it usually takes no more than a few hours to produce the answers."

While many information professionals faced with the task would no doubt disagree with her assessment of the time involved, they consider mapping information flows important as a framework for analyzing how information moves within an organization and for understanding the services necessary to match the true needs of their clients.

Orna further notes, "...information flows are helpful in disentangling the reality from strings of words" and says she considers information mapping a method to "visualiz[e] the immediate and wider organizational context and the Outside world'...." In other words, the outcome of this process produces a deeper understanding of the organization that enables a more direct link to key stakeholders. This can be especially important if the IRC reports to non-information functions within the organization.

The benefits of mapping information flows are threefold:

1. It enables understanding of how information is used and by whom. Bill Dietrick, in an article about knowledge mapping, describes it as, "What information exists inside my organization, and where is it located?"

2. It pinpoints the ultimate client or key stakeholder for various types of information services, as well as where information touches as it passes through the organization.

3. It helps to focus information services on the highest potential opportunities. This last benefit can make the value of the information center even more obvious. Orna tells us that libraries or information centers are undergoing an unexpected development. They are changing from "... a store of information to a source of knowledge and innovation ... a business intelligence service converting information to intelligence by means of expert filtering, editing, archiving, and researching." In order to accomplish this transformation, the information professional uses skills and capabilities uniquely suited to the task. According to the Information Advisor, among these skills are the understanding of the organization as a whole and how the parts work together; the ability to comprehend and elaborate on information needs; the ability to identify inefficient or improper uses of information; and the ability to improve the value of the information by evaluating, filtering, abstracting, and providing a broader organizational and/or industry context.

A Five-Step Process

Mapping information flows is a five-step process involving certain tasks.

Step 1: Describe the Current Situation

The initial task is completion of an organization chart for the company, identifying current clients as well as those who are not clients. Once this high-level chart is complete, drilling down into each department's information needs to see how to better serve them is vital. A simple way to begin this process is to identify current clients by drawing a circle around each one on the chart. Then ask the following questions to determine how familiar you are with the clients' needs:

* Do you know the various departments' managers and their individual roles and spheres of influence? To identify those spheres of influence, look for a department manager who frequently not only controls his own department, but also has direct impact on other departments. An example could be strategic marketing, as it may drive the timing of releases of products within the product development department.

* Do you know your client's total information budget?

* Do you know your client's products, services, and markets?

* Do you understand your client's environment or the business influences that determine how they operate?

Some clients are impacted more by external factors, while internal forces may drive others. In her article "Information Needs for Management Decision-Making," Susan Goodman describes the theory of information use environment (IUE) postulated by Robert S. Taylor:

... it is important to understand the nature of the work environment because its characteristics will affect the flow and use of information ... People in specific environments make conscious and sometimes unconscious assumptions about what constitutes problem resolution and what makes information useful and valuable in their contexts. The main function of the unit will often determine the real or perceived availability of information, patterns of dissemination, level of reliability, and access to information.