Managing information

The theory

How do you decide if the information which you are receiving is relevant Just as important, how do you decide which information you aren’t receiving is relevant?

Well, why are you are you in a position to receive information? Presumably it’s because you have certain responsibilities, in other words - objectives. These may be easily measurable, e.g. increase the number of examination passes by 10%, or less objective, e.g. introduce induction training for new staff into your organisation.

So how do you achieve these objectives – by making decisions. (If you can achieve them without making any decisions, you should be relaxing on the beach.) If you're not sure what a decision is, jump to this explanation.

In order to make good decisions, you need good information. In other words, all the information that is relevant but none which is not relevant. If you need only relevant information to make decisions we can deduce the first “Principle of Information Management” (PIM).

Information is only relevant, and therefore needed, if it is used to make a decision

The implications

If this principle is correct, what are the implications?

If you receive information and do not make a decision based on it, you do not need that information.

But.. we need to add two notes to our principle:

A request for more information is not a decision – it just shows you didn’t get the right information in the first place.

A decision to do nothing is a decision. For example, if you have taken a patient’s temperature and it is normal, you will take no action.

Decisions cannot change the past, only the future. Thus information used to assist in decision making should look to the future. The past is only useful to predict the future.

Merely because information is relevant does not imply it is complete or in the most effective format (i.e. simple). These elements of information must be considered alongside relevance.

You need to communicate your objectives and the related decisions to your information providers.

Information providers should then tailor the information they provide to the recipients requirements.

So how can the relevance principle be applied?