Defining "Visibility"
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract

As we launch the FreePint Topic Series: Making Information Visible, Robin Neidorf reflects on the concept of visibility, its three key components, and how to participate on FreePint's research into defining visibility and addressing its challenges.

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We've just launched the FreePint Topic Series "Making Information Visible", which means I'm bending my brain a lot around the concept of "visibility".

In the physical world, something becomes visible because light bounces off it. How does it work, though, in the intangible world of business information?

I've often stated in workshops and presentations that information is like oxygen: you can't see it, but you definitely notice when it's not there. When you are responsible for the quality, quantity and purity of oxygen in your organisation, you need to make sure the decision-makers and users alike value your work and make the most of what you deliver. Otherwise, they're gasping for breath and taking hits off emergency storage tanks... so to speak.

Three Components of Visibility

As we at FreePint have investigated how information managers and their organisations think about and work on the challenges of visibility, we've come to understand it as a function of three components:

• Right technology
• Right content
• Expected and managed user behaviour.

Making progress on a single component, while useful, is not as effective as working on all three. 

Learn about the characteristics and roles of each of these three components in the article, What Is Visibility, available to those with a FreePint Subscription.

Participate in Research on Visibility

Regardless of your subscription status, you are welcome to participate in the FreePint Survey: Making Information Visible, a research project to help us better understand how you define visibility in your organisation, and how you are addressing its challenges.

The survey explores all three components of visibility - technology, content and user behaviour - as well as your role and needs as an information manager. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.

Your responses are completely anonymous, but if you provide a valid email address at the end we will send you a copy of the full report upon publication in March 2015. This report will enable you to compare and contrast your thinking about and approaches to visibility with those of your peers, as well as gather new ideas about how to address the challenges of making information visible.

And if you haven't yet done so, please register your interest in the FreePint Topic Series "Making Information Visible". Our co-producers Martin White and James Mullan have a rich range of articles, tips, case studies and resources planned for you.

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