Classification Technology
For The Knowledge Worker

Reprinted from Infologics, Inc. Special Report, 7-19-99

By Cyndi Seidler

Information Technology has been severely handicapped by the lack of a classification standard. While emerging systems show signs of technological advances, such as Data Mining, this fundamental issue to all Knowledge Management efforts remains almost totally User-dependent. This handicap isn’t helped by the widely used sales-pitch that says that "their" knowledge management tools are enterprise-wide solutions. In actuality, they are limited to a department-by-department functionality. This is because these systems lack the sophistication of classifying information uniformly across the organization. Infologics’ Uniform Subject Classification System (USCS™) System is the tool that does this.

Leading experts have constantly worked on strategies to overcome the issues of "structured organization-wide subject filing schemes" needed to manage all forms of media, whether it is paper, electronic, microfilm, audio, or video. This is evidenced in various industry trade publications and industry conventions, each covering topics relating to the need for a system that provides indexing or classification by category of information.

Infologics’ white paper on "Information Assets Management" emphasized that the USCS is the solution to achieve uniformity across an enterprise. This system classifies any type of document or file by subject. Using classification in a structured hierarchy, a user is directed to a single, appropriate classification for the document they wish to index. That code structure is linked to all relevant document management functions, as well as legal and administrative retention values, providing uniformity when classifying anything.

Using USCS technology, an organization can complete inventories of records in less than half the time of any other known methods in existence today. Infologics’ President, Lowrie W. McIntosh, explains, "During the process of inventory capture, all records are classified by subject and retention values are ready to apply. This makes it possible to quickly segregate the important files from the unimportant."

What about retrieving documents easily without a long list of immaterial results? Because USCS reduces search time by up to 90%, it brings all related information together, streamlining the search results. This technology vastly improves filing and retrieving efficiency. According to McIntosh, "In many cases, this means saving one day per person per week, or a 20% improvement in productivity, in addition to promptly having the ‘right’ information at the right time."

The same class structure at both the sending and receiving ends, the same class structure on all hard drive directories of desktop computers, and the same class structure applied to the organization of hard copy files is available. No lost time would be incurred because the old terms can be used while the more efficient tools are gradually put into place.

Copyright © 1999 Cyndi Seidler.  All Rights Reserved.

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