June 13, 2009
I’ve been thinking about requirements a lot lately. For my upcoming birthday I asked for a wheelbarrow. For my business, I’ve been thinking about my on-line presence.
One seems simple and the other seems complicated. However, as I have since learned, nothing about wheelbarrows is simple. I simply want a tool to carry heavy bags of organic potting soil to by 25 square foot garden in my backyard that can be stored in my garage. Easy right? No!
There are collapsible wheelbarrows and wheelbarrows that can be laid on the ground to scoop stuff into and there are big wheelbarrows that can handle 100 foot trees or something ridiculous like that.
Result of pre-shopping? I had to define my requirements. Result of requirements definition? We’ll see next month but I can reasonably expect a manageable wheelbarrow that can stand alone so that items can be taken in and taken out.
In thinking about my on-line presence the requirements may appear to be extremely complicated but the wheelbarrow requirements exercise has caused great focus. Here’s a list of reasonable requirements for Answer Maven.
- Consistent identity across networks
- Easy to find information
- Consistent blog tags that demonstrate my taxonomy ability
- Accurate, current Professional biography
- Clean, simple presence
- Can be found
Those requirements are broad but they will and do guide my inputs into the Internet and my future developments of such things as my website. (I’m about two weeks behind on meeting this deadline–must get busy.)
Many times, we don’t get or have what we need because we were not careful enough to set expectations and define our requirements. When working on a technology project you must know what you want to happen and let the people who can make it happen know. If something you dream is technologically impossible–the tech folks will let you know.
Product people, and this is anyone who is responsible for gizmos and content, must know what they want and communicate. Without definition it’s easy to say you didn’t get what you need. Success doesn’t just mean saying I want a wheelbarrow. It means saying I want a wheelbarrow that can stand up by itself and can handle up to 150 pounds of cargo and can be stored in my garage.
If you are having a problem with your wheelbarrow technology, have you really figured out what you really want?
Constance Ard June 13, 2009
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Information Management | Tagged: Collaboration, Information Management, IT, requirements, Strategic Planning, wheelbarrow | 
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Posted by answermaven
May 27, 2009
The inspiration from this post came from this quote:
While I couldn’t agree more that IT organizations need a track where technical excellence is rewarded with a solid career path, I still think those technical experts need to spend real time with business peers. ( Practical Analysis: Reaquaint Yourself With Your Changing Business by Art Wittman)
In recent years I have seen the blending of library and IT due to the fact that digital information is growing. This forced collaboration has not always been comfortable.
Librarians as a general rule enjoy working with others and try to make all relationships work. (Note: as a general rule…there are those of us who just want to get down to business and avoid the touchy feely stuff.) IT, as a general rule, has seemed more comfortable with the technology than the technology users. Taking the strengths of both and blending them to benefit business is the ideal situation.
Each service provider, and librarians and IT truly are service providers, must recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their colleagues and partner to maximize business investments.
Understanding how users seek and apply information is the librarian specialty, providing the technological infrastructure to deliver the information is the IT domain. Users don’t care who is making it happen behind the scenes as long as they get the data they expect and need when they hit enter to send their search to the data wasteland.
Collaboration between IT and Librarians is becoming smoother. IT is learning how informaiton users seek and apply content. Librarians are raising their awareness of the infrastructure and programming demands on making search work. Optimizing the skills of both groups to deliver content efficiently is good business.
If your organization is not combining business goals with content management practices, you are using resources inefficiently. In the current economic climate businesses should be assessing internal practices, evaluating current information resources and ensuring the collaboration of IT, librarians and business peers to maximize resources.
The collegial relationships that are growing between the tech and management side of information is a strong company asset. Are you using it for your benefit?
Constance Ard May 27, 2009
Leave a Comment » | Business, Information Management | Tagged: Business Intelligence, Information Management, IT | Permalink
Posted by answermaven
March 12, 2009
Normally, I don’t like to mix my volunteer activities with this business. However, on occasion I am reminded that life always mixes even when we least expect it.
Sunday March 8 was International Women’s Day. I attended an event at the University of Kentucky WT Young Library: Women’s Health is a Social Justice Issue. As you would expect health as a social justice issue was part and parcel of the conversation. What I did not expect was the speaker, Loretta J. Ross, founder and National Coordinator of SisterSong , to bring Information Technology into the conversation.
As Ms. Ross discussed the major issues she considered to be social justice issues she threw Information Technology into the mix. I did a double take and during the Q&A session asked for an elaboration. What exactly about IT is a social justice issue? She began by reminding me of things I knew: access and ability to use IT hardware and software are important. The conversation did not stop there. She elaborated on the privacy issues that were emerging, especially as it related to medical information. The conversation on this issue concluded with an even deeper look at IT access based upon the health of the electrical grid.
I ended up leaving this event with a new perspective on IT. Beyond the technical details and the concerns that I have had about access, my concerns and interest now include the sustainability of the power grid, the need for greater broadband access and a continuing dedication to the advancement and security of electronic medical information.
Knowing that conversations about IT are making their way to the advocacy environment reiterates our need to think broadly about security issues as well as access to not just information but to the sources of locating that information, whether it be historical newspapers or electronic publications that never see print.
Constance Ard March 12, 2009
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Posted by answermaven
February 12, 2009
Now that’s a headline to get your attention, right? I have been planning on reacting to this post by Stephen Arnold for several days now and this morning seems an opportune time to do so.
The gist of Mr. Arnold’s post is that the Recommind report about IT and Legal departments in an Enterprise don’t work well together when it comes to effective e-discovery practices.
IT and ____ (name the department) have a history of not working well together and it takes concerted efforts by IT and the ____ department to recognize and repair that situation. There has been a lot of press in the past about Libraries and IT learning to collaborate and it may be time to push the collaboration factor into other departments.
The security and litigation preparation of your organization depends upon proper retention and effective rendering of necessary documents. Understanding why those things need to happen may help IT departments choose wisely when purchasing software that helps solve the problem. Legal eagles should not buy in a vacuum either. They need to understand that software requires hardware, especially when it comes to e-discovery.
Today’s E-Discovery Best Practice:
- Cross-Educate IT and Legal about E-Discovery Functions and Requirements
Constance Ard February 12, 2009
Leave a Comment » | Information Management, Legal Issues | Tagged: Best Practices, E-Discovery, IT | Permalink
Posted by answermaven
January 22, 2009
One of the things I have noticed during the past 8 months or so is that education opportunities abound from a variety of sources. Personally, the best sourced for continuing education that assist in building my skills and business are from my professional organizations: AIIP and SLA.
Later this morning I will be attending an AIIP webinar that is targeted to first year independent information professionals. This afternoon I am attending a free webinar provided MKS and Ravenflow that discusses Content Management.
As I focus my business on content management and strategic information solutions, I find it important to expand my knowledge continually. If I’m not aware of available solutions, how can I advise my clients on their best options?
Continuing Education also comes in the form of reading. For the first time in my life, my reading is stretched beyond my comfort zone. I read more technical info than ever before. Understanding the nuances of how information solutions work will only assist me as I guide clients to the right source for their content management needs.
I’ve always done a great job of thinking broadly and strategically for information solutions and user needs. Now I know it is important to stay abreast of the technical nuances as well. Strategic thinking without technical ability results in time and effort wasted. Wasted anything is the last thing I want for myself or my clients.
So my education continues. While I long for my own tech support department, I’m lucky to have colleagues who can provide assistance and advise as needed. These colleagues offer layman’s term explanations for the gritty technical details that are just out of my grasp.
And I find that as the knowledge expands, those gritty details are understood more quickly and sometimes I don’t even have to call my tech support for assistance. So, maybe I’ll learn enough to network my home and office computers in the next few months or build a network server that can be my data back-up. If I can’t apply that technical knowledge directly, I will at least have learned the how-to and why behind the process and thus my strategic ability remains intact and ever-expanding.
Constance Ard January 22, 2009
Leave a Comment » | Information Management | Tagged: AIIP, IT, SLA, Strategic Planning | Permalink
Posted by answermaven
July 7, 2008
This Legal Technology article speaks to the success of collaboration between attorneys, IT staff and clients.
“It’s not enough to hear client requests filtered through lawyers — IT professionals need to be present at the substantive discussions of client needs and how they might be addressed.”
Filtering user needs through third parties who may not quite understand the technicalities usually leaves something to be desired in the final product. As a librarian I would push the need for collaboration even further. Often times IT staff understand the how to make it work part but lack a full understanding of how clients will use the products.
There is a proliferation of literature about the need for libraries and IT departments to work together. This need to work together should overcome territorial concerns and take into consideration the client needs. Finding the right information when it is needed and in the format that the client will use it is critical for business success.
IT knows how to make the technical parts work, librarians understand how the searches will occur and how the data will be recycled for new uses. To really make your clients happy make sure you have IT, Library Staff and attorneys at the table.
Mass collaboration has been successful for multi-billion dollar corporations in today’s global economy. If law firms want to grow and retain clients they must understand the changing world and embrace this shift in doing business. Small steps such as cross-departmental collaboration is a good safe step for firms who want to test the water first.
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Posted by answermaven
