IIM National Newsletter June 2007

 

 

IIM Newsletter
June 2007
The Institute for Information Management 
National Conference 
Rydges Hotel, Canberra
14th - 16th August 2007
Early-Bird Registrations Prize Draw

Robine Polach
National President
Dear Member,

We still have islands of information. Even in to-days world where we have connectedness enhanced. Our systems work better together the people managing these systems have better working relationships, leading to more effective business management. So why is it that we still have 'silos' of information?

Could it be that we have traditionally designed and supported individual business application areas with definitions, dictionaries, structures and more all defined from the aspect of each application. This could be what has lead to multiple unconnected, and often disparate, sets of data intended to represent same business concepts.

How do we now pull this all together? To better support the organisation we need integrated data, clearly defined business concepts and an understanding of how these concepts are represented within the organisations data stores.

How do we go about ensuring that what is in our transaction systems can be pulled out to be reported on and capable of providing our organisations with the ability to analyse and perform analytical analysis for future predictions.

Can we be sure that we are accessing our master data; that is correct accurate data? Is there a tool that will implement the policies, procedures and infrastructure to support the capture, integration and subsequent shared use of accurate, timely, consistent and complete data? Well yes there is, there are many, what is required is an understanding of these tools, the Information Professional needs to be aware of them. 

They need to have the opportunity to learn what the tools can do for organisations. This way they can make good strategically balanced decisions in regards to what is needed in there organisation.

IIM is one type of Professional Group that pulls together forums that enable their members and other Information Professional to learn by case studies and the experience and the knowledge of colleagues. The IIM National Conference is being held between the 14 - 16 August at the Rydges Lakeside, Canberra. 

At this conference you will be able to learn and see how the questions above are being dealt with. We have extended the Early Bird registration till end of June, with one of the lucky early bird registrants winning an iPod, the winner will be drawn at the conference, dinner. So don't forget to register and get in early, so you can be one of the entrants for the Ipod. I look forward to seeing you at the IIM National Conference.

Our June News Letter has two articles which were submitted for inclusion, I would like to thank the two authors:
Marita Keenan, Information and Records Management Consultant, Marita has retired (lucky person). Her article is on 'Information Management Policies'
Alex Jouravlev, Consultant with Business Abstraction, his article is 'Visual Modelling for Information Management' Alex has asked me to co-author the second article which will be in the August Newsletter.

Thank you very much for these articles.

Robine Polach
President
The Board of IIM welcomes the following new members to the Institute:
Corporate Members
EMC
Sigma Data Solutions
 
Queensland Transport 
 
Individual Members
Ms Rosemary Johnson
Ms Alexandra Kokkonen
 
Ms Debbie Ludwig
Ms Sneza Schmidt
 
Ms Morma Tovey
 
As Information Managers I feel sure that we all know and, if by chance we don't, then this article I am writing will enlighten you. Australia.gov.au is the primary online entry point for the Australian Government. It is highly promoted in most of the Australian Government promotions. It receives approximately 500,000 visitors per month (growing at 50% per annum) and is intended to be the natural starting point for individuals seeking government information and online services. The Special Minister of State, Gary Nairn, has recently announced a $42.4 million budget initiative that will enhance australia.gov.au enabling it to be a personalised entry point to government for individuals.

The idea is that the Australian Government Online Service Point (AGOSP) will provide users of Australian Government services with an optional personalised account, which will allow them to 'log on' and interact with government via australia.gov.au, this being the central online access point to Government.
Information management policies enable the organisation to re-assert itself in the management of its documented memory. Information management policies relate to the management and use of information objects, or the explicit knowledge, of an organisation. One of the key questions that arise in respect to information management policies is whether there should be one policy, a set of policies, one policy with underpinning guidelines or an over-arching policy supported by a set of sub-policies. Whatever structure is selected it is important that policies have policy statements that summarise the policies themselves and that can be easily understood and quoted. 

Some of the proposed sub policies in the diagram could fit under one or more elements and may also have a complimentary sub policy in the Information Technology Policy Framework e.g. e-mail. For this reason scoping of each policy / sub policy is really important and all relevant parties should have input to the development of the related policies.

Marita Keenan  B.App.Sci. (ILS), MRMA, AALIA.
Information and Records Management consultant (retired)

keenan@akns.com.au

State
Date 
 
Sydney
Tuesday 17th July
SHAREPOINT 2007 AND BEYOND
Speaker: Pieter Reede, Microsoft Pty Ltd
Time: 7:45am
Venue: L'Aqua, Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Park 
Cost: IIM Members - Free 
Non-Members - $30
Registrations: Booking Form Link
State
Presenter 
 Presentation
Melbourne
Luke Naismith
Corporate Strategy Manager
Dept Justice Vic
 
How often as an Information Manager have you come across diagrams in UML or some other modeling language? Will let's try and demystify this for you. In the real world there are many types of ways to show information diagrammatically.

Here are three; CHEN is used by Academics, UML in system design, by the Technical side in a business, ERD is another modeling technique to design relational databases. All three have some overlap features so it is correct to say that if you draw up diagrammatically in ERD and provide to the systems people they are able to create there system specifications. ERD and UML are progressing into the business side to cover the demand for visualisation. ERD is more prevalent as there are more Data Modellers that are experienced and mature enough to be able to tackle Business Conceptual Modeling.  A picture is worth at least a 1,000 words.

 

As Information professionals we need to understand the information systems that are being used in our work. Not all these systems are computer based some are processes which have existed for a long period of time within your organisation. These systems can be shown in flow charts that demystify the process.
In this our IIM's June Newsletter we have the first of two articles written by Alex Jouravlev. This article and the next provide an overview of what is Visual Modelling.

Even in this introduction a form of visualisation has been used.

Also it is good to note that using visualisation tools is not a new concept. If you look at the Dewey Decimal Classification system this system provides the librarian with a visual concept of what the book is about e.g. 330 for economics + 9 for geographic treatment + 4 for Europe = 330.94 European economy. So it is true to say that we see many variations of modelling and Alex's articles provides one view into this field.
As IT/Information Mangers this group have to focus on delivery of systems which will improve the way the organisation does its business. Application developers (and DBA's and Business Analysts) work very carefully to ensure that they deliver a system that meets the business requirement. Business requirements can change faster than they can be documented and sometimes the business is not sure of their requirements. 

The other key problem facing developers is business requirements which are rapidly changing. Information managers face even more hurdles. To do this sensibly the organisation should build a system which collects this information once and re-uses it across all applications and functions. Having faced this challenge the information manager then suggests to the organisation that they should invest in a corporate approach to information and build systems which address these larger corporate issues. 

So despite their best efforts at being good information managers they are constrained by the same issues that all of the other information managers face ? the organisation generally does not understand information issues and does not understand the value of information as an asset.


The next article will look at the information providers, those tasked with taking a variety of information sources and turning the data into something useful. Integrity - Verifying or helping to verify data integrity

 
Authors: Steve Neilsen works in the IT industry and has a keen interest in Information Management and Robine Polach, works as an "Information Architect" and is President of IIM.
 

 

 
Victorian Opera is pleased to offer members of The Institute for Information Managementa 20% discount for the productions of:
The Love of the Nightingale 
Orphee et Eurydice 
Premium - Your Price $104 (Normally $130) 
A Reserve - Your Price $68 (Normally $85) 
To receive your discount, call 1300 795 012 
or visit a Ticketek outlet and quote the password PROCNE
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - Moving Beyond Capture
Mastering your customer knowledge
Knowledge management and IT
Knowledge management 2.0
Case study: HLA networks on environmental knowl;edge
Case study: Making .gov.au a work of art
Other stories include Enter the Dragon: XML

IIM is pleased to advise it has endorsed1 the following external conferences.
Organiser 
Event Details
Conference Link
KM Asia
Enhacing knowledge culture and discovering new possibilities
29-31 October 2007
Suntec Singapore
International Convention & Exhibition Centre

Ark Group is proud to bring you KM Asia 2007, a pan-Asian event, now in its seventh year. Ark Group has leveraged its position at the heart of the KM community by collaborating with KM practitioners to ensure that the direction and content of the event adds real value to your time at KM Asia 2007.

Win a free pass to this conference by replying to the IIM Office with the title "Free Pass" by 30th June 2007. All other costs are the responsibility of the winner. Note available to  Vendors
5th Annual Knowledge Management Conference and Exhibition
"Knowledge, Discovery and Collaboration
Ark Group Australia has worked closely with the KM community to ensure that KM Australia 2007 delivers new initiatives to increase knowledge sharing and networking opportunities to make your time at the event valuable.
You will see advances in KM methods coupled with today?s collaborative working You will see advances in KM methods coupled with today?s collaborative working techniques.
Date: 23 - 25 Jul 2007
Venue: Sydney Convention Centre  
IIM Member Discount: 15% applies
 
 
IT Project Management 2007
IT Project Management 07 is Australia's leading forum for programme and project management leaders. Hear innovative case studies and learn real techniques
Date: 1-2 May 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia  
IIM Member Discount: 15% applies. Quote Priority Code C*100/LN
 
AFR GovTech Summit 2007
Australia's foremost government specific technology event addressing:
. Shared Services  & Procurement
. Spatially Enabling Government
. Security & Fraud
Date: 19 - 20 July 2007
Location: Hyatt Hotel, Canberra
IIM Member Discount: 10% applies.
1. IIM makes every endeavour to ensure quality and relevance to our members. No warranty applies to these events
PRIVACY POLICY
The IIM respects your privacy. We do not disseminate your contact details to any third party. Your details are used solely by us to advise you of industry events and news of relevance to information management professionals. Should you prefer not to receive emails from us, simply reply to this message in the subject line with UNSUBSCRIBE. You can view IIM's Privacy Policy here