Re: Information Architects; was: Re: job title nomenclature on biz cards

[eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]

"Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote on 08/24/2004 11:40:33 AM:
> I don't think there's much of a "standardise everybody 
> else out of a job" factor in KMS.

While I did mean it 'tongue-in-cheek', I am partially serious. If the 
system is to store the documents and classify them, with the effort to 
catalogue them spread out to those that create the documents, you 
certainly threaten anyone whose previous tasks involved producing the 
reports and storing/classifying the documents.

For example, moving engineering drafting to a drawing management system 
replaces site specific groups whose only purpose was to ensure that all 
drawing were routed to the correct people and archived. Tracking document 
status and delivery eliminates many tasks required by project management 
to ensure milestone achievement.

While the people affected may be reassigned, you won't be popular with 
them when their usual routine is reduced to a button click and they can no 
longer baby and pamper their beloved spreadsheet and word processor files 
all day long. ;)

Also, a good number of people lose a large amount or real and perceived 
power. Once the information is easily browsable and manipulated, the 
people involved are no longer 'indispensable' and they are no longer 
required to be in the loop and do not control the purse strings to the 
information they previously were in charge of. It is probably this 
obstacle that presents the largest hurdle in getting company employees to 
use the system. It is also the obstacle that is most important to smash 
for the betterment of information flow and the good health of the 
organisation.

Eric L. Dunn
Senior Technical Writer

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