Dispensing with the document metaphor

Since humans found ways of scribbling on papyrus and vellum instead of clay tablets and stones we have been in love with documents. The printing press gave us books on paper, in essence just mass-produced long documents or several documents sandwiched between hard covers. For the latest generation of human development, electronic storage and laser printers has led to a massive proliferation of documents.
    In many situations, however, documents are not the best carrier of information: For smaller snippets of text representing individual thoughts or ideas, documents can sometimes seem like overkill; documents exchanged via email are difficult for people to write together; version control of documents quickly becomes cumbersome and there is no assurance that you are editing the latest version; and documents are difficult to link together to collect, say, project related information.
    Whether to use documents in a particular project or process should depend on how information is produced and consumed. In the always-on world, the capture and sharing of information can be effectively achieved without suffering the drawbacks of document handling. Thoughts can be published and shared using mechanisms that alert participants without overcrowding their email inboxes. Ideas can be developed by several people concurrently, every revision recorded in a rich, linear version history while there is never doubt about which version is the latest. Every piece of content can be tagged for contextualisation and adoption in workflows. Content can be linked to actions, issues and team members' calendars. The most useful contributions can be cross-linked to a best practice index. Security can be defined to cover authorisation and authentication within and outside the firewall. And at any point when a document is required one can be cut in the desired format while existing documents can be stored in libraries linked to the rest of the collection.
    Putting together the right solution depends on an appreciation of how a project or a process fits into the wider landscape of change initiatives or business operations. Use of appropriate collaborative tools ensures that  teams work effectively and make decisions based on the right information. The tools to make it happen all exist; with their gradual adoption, and as we consume steadily more information, a declining ratio will arrive as documents.

Comments

[Adam Cetindag]

Hi Lars,

I see that you're still blogging...

Is everything okay? I'm not with the 'firm' anymore... I'm back at Deloitte as an information specialist. :o)

Kind regard,

Adam