January Chapter Meeting - Information Systems from the Info Out

Information Systems from the Info Out

• What is information and how does it relate to data 
  
• How can information systems be designed based on the information they contain 
  
• How do technology, users AND information interrelate to form an information system 
  
• How should information architects interact with data architects?

Take-away’s 

• Be more central to the design and leadership of your projects 
  
• Align your systems better to business goals 
  
• Increase your value to your teams and your organization

Information systems pervade every walk of life. From entertainment to education, foundations to corporations, information is served to us by systems. Creators of these information systems always pay close attention to technology. In more modern systems, creators also pay attention to people, the users and the organizations, behind their systems.

Strangely however, few creators focus on the information behind their systems. The information of the information system is too often an afterthought, haphazardly designed and poorly implemented. Why? Clearly, it is not that creators do not consider information important. This is the information age after all. Information is called the “life-blood” of our organizations, our most strategic asset. Information is power and the systems are named “information” systems.

Information is overlooked, not because creators don’t care, but because they do not know how to take information seriously. There are legions of professionals who know very well how to take technology seriously. There is a growing and powerful group of professionals who know how to take people seriously. But where are our professionals who know how to take information seriously?

Bob Boiko is a Senior Lecturer for the iSchool. He teaches courses on information architecture, information modeling, information management, system design, organizational strategy and organizational leadership. He is also president of Metatorial Services is a micro consultancy, specializing in content and information management strategy and design. With a range of commercial, governmental, and non-profit clients of every size, Metatorial Services has worked on just about every aspect of information management. Recognized world-wide as a leader in the field of content management, he has almost 20 years of experience designing and building Web, hypertext and multimedia systems and tools for some of the world's top technology corporations (including Microsoft, Motorola, and Boeing). Bob has sat on many advisory boards and is the recipient of many awards including the 2005 EContent 100 Award for leadership in the content management industry. He is author of two editions of "The Content Management Bible" and the book "Laughing at the CIO: Leading Information Management in the Information Age". Bob is internationally known for his lectures and workshops.