The 7 information management principles are applicable to all types of information. Information can be data, f.i. headcount figures and content f.i. web pages or documents. Each of the principles is explained below.
Principle | Information has an owner |
Rationale |
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Implication | The owner should have the following responsibilities:
The organisation facilitates the owner with his/her responsibilities and tracks the performance of the execution. |
Principle | Information has 1 version of the truth |
Rationale | Having one version of the truth has multiple benefits:
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Implication | Creating, distribution and storage of copies should be prevented by:
In practice it is not always possible to prevent information being copied and distributed to more than one location. If this is the case then a process needs to be in place to update the copy or retract the copy. |
Principle | Information has 1 location |
Rationale | Information that is stored and managed in one location saves time and effort:
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Implication |
Typically there will be different locations because different types of information require different functionality. F.i. documents need to be supported differently than financial data. |
Principle | Information is accessible unless… |
Rationale | One of the major annoyances for people is not having access to information, because this impacts peoples ability to perform their jobs. Information must be accessible unless there is a valid reason. Potential reasons are:
Information that is not accessible should be limited. Complex and expensive controls are only applied where needed. Ensuring that people are more likely to adopt systems. |
Implication |
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Principle | Information has a status |
Rationale | People should be able to determine information’s status. This means that business processes need to set the status of information. The benefits of information with a status are:
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Implication |
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Principle | Information has a lifecycle |
Rationale | Information has a limited time period in which it is valuable. Information’s lifecycle must be actively monitored and managed. Especially the ending of information is problematic for organisations. For example the following issues could exist:
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Implication |
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Principle | Information can be transferred |
Rationale | Information that has no audience is not worth creating. Information the organisation cannot use will cost extra effort and time. |
Implication | The owner has to ensure information has the following characteristics:
For the owner this means he/she regularly checks with the audience whether the information fulfils their needs. The owner can also setup review and approval processes. |
Applying the Information Management Principles will help organisation to improve collaboration, reduce compliance risks, facilitate internal and external communication and reduce costs.