Today I witnessed an interesting conversation and realized the importance of the Information or Knowledge Manager within an organization. In reviewing some technical documentation, it was obvious that the documentation had not been updated until the current client had actually requested said documentation.
A bit of scramble later and it is noted that there is a single author who had then been replaced. Makes for an interesting divergence on succession planning for persons responsible for documentation processes. I’ll stick with the cracking of the whip.
A non-technical person was in the room as this issue was being discussed. The question:
You mean the engineers don’t document how they fix things?
A librarian, an engineer, a coder and a project manager all laughed outloud. Organization’s do not stay on top of their documentation. Why? Because the engineers are doers, they fiddle and then fix. Rarely do they even remember in five minutes how that fix came to be. Documenting that process then becomes difficult. Especially if there is not a knowledge manager in place to monitor, maintain, and remind the technical writers that this must be done regularly.
Business mangers think its done because its a process and should be done. IT thinks I fixed it what else is there. The need for a liaison between the two is critical. A qualified Knowledge or Information Manager is a perfect candidate for this role. They can crack the whip and explain to both parties the whys and why nots of documentation updates.
If your organization is not using a qualified Knowledge Manager to bridge the gap, you could be making a big mistake.
Posted by Answer Maven 
Mind Maps allow me to shift from text to graphics in a way that works for me. Other innovations in visual representations and content creation are starting to hit the scene. One such innovations is 
Notice that I say affordable. In my recent immersions in the OPEN world, I have come away with the distinct impression that there is much to be done still. Open Source Search solutions offer great alternatives and if you pay money they will work on a problem for you. If however, you wait for the community solution your enterprise may fall behind in getting what it needs with the Open solution.
Earlier this spring, I restarted this old habit. For me, it is definitely more about the process than the catching and that’s a good thing. When I first began my business, I worked part-time for a company and did a lot of driving in that position – that was a good time to think. I’ve now replaced the drive time thinking with fishing. Now, I’m not equaling the think time by any means, but I’m also not getting paid to fish. (If only I could!)
Hopefully this has helped some with bridging the gap between the need for and the implementation of a custom taxonomy in your organization. Questions abound, when a need arises there are lots of vendors ready to jump into the water and bring you to shore. Building a bridge between your information creators and your information users with a relevant taxonomy and other appropriate tools may just be better than a rescue.
