Adopting a More Holistic Approach to Discovery Within the Enterprise
Jinfo Blog

By Sophie Alexander

Abstract

With the FreePint Topic Series "Making Information Visible" drawing to a close, Sophie Alexander looks at articles from the series which focus on information discovery in the enterprise and some of the ways that finding information can be made easier beyond the implementation of technology.

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A recent AIIM report showed that 73% of respondents felt information was easier to find outside the organisation than within. As the report says, "the concept of enterprise search is an attractive one but one that is not that easy to achieve".

Several recent FreePint articles explore this concept whilst looking at some of the approaches that can be taken to improve "discovery" within the enterprise beyond the implementation of new technology.

Two of these articles, written by Steve Bynghall, are the focus of this blog. "Putting Users at the Centre of Discovery" focuses on finding information that you know exists whilst the upcoming "Facilitating Discovery and Delivering Awareness for Users" looks at discovering information you’re not actively searching for but may be of value.

A More Holistic Approach to Discovery

Google is often held up as a benchmark in the world of search but it has spent millions of dollars developing its algorithm. Enterprise search tends to be under-resourced and lacks good information management practices. Users also tend to be more specific about the results they want to see.

Understanding user behaviour and expectations is central to improving discoverability and Steve suggests a more holistic approach to discovery, which encompasses technology, good information management, user education and underpins all activities and decisions. Good information management is arguably the most critical element of discoverability, particularly the importance of taxonomies and the information lifecycle.

Whilst technology is important, we are reminded that it’s not a magic pill and investing huge amounts of money on technology without other approaches will lessen the impact it has.

Data-Driven Approaches

Ongoing data gathering in relation to current practices can be useful when looking to make improvements but can be time-consuming.

Collections of structured knowledge such as document management systems, product catalogues, and project information all provide obvious value within the enterprise and good information management practices are needed when creating specialist or easy to use searches around these collections.

It’s also important to reduce "noise" and out of date content and regular pruning of this type of content helps - whether via automated review processes, deletion policies, metrics or annual content reviews.

More role-specific and targeted training can be very effective as well as encouraging good user practices such as tagging content and ensuring content producers know how to make it findable and readable.

"Intelligent" Algorithms

In Steve's second article, he looks at ways to help users find information that they don’t necessarily know exists but may still have value. He discusses the importance of so-called "intelligent" algorithm-driven products, such as Delve in Office 365.

The number of tools that predict and suggest content has been on the increase with the most notable example being that used by Amazon. Suggestions based on basic information about the user, preferences and online behaviour are surprisingly accurate with the result that this has now entered the enterprise.

What's Next?

In the future we may see search replaced with a "push" model which delivers personalised and timely content to the individual. We are already beginning to see this in the enterprise with, for example, "Office Graph" via Delve, which delivers suggestions for content. Other ways to improve discovery include activity streams, designing digital channels and good search interfaces and encouraging curation and knowledge-sharing behaviours.

What was clear from reading both articles was that managing discovery in the enterprise is an area where information professionals can make a difference.

This Blog Item is part of the FreePint Topic Series "Making Information Visible".

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