Measuring and visualizing information transfer in networked collaboration

✍ Scribed by Rainer Puittinen; Ari-Pekka Hameri

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 469 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1074-5351
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1131(199903/04)12:2<85::aid-dac387>3.0.co;2-h

✦ Synopsis

Networked operations are a reality as companies are exploiting the electronic medium to distribute, disseminate and communicate information in-house and across the organizational boundaries. The article defines a set of metrics which enable to visualize the performance of the organization through its electronic communication and behaviour. Relying on document usage as the source of raw data the article presents a model to visualize the true communication network of the organization. A software application using this approach is presented and the experiences are documented. Main results strongly indicate that an analysis together with advanced visualization techniques provide management with a unique view on how the organization is performing and how its efficiency can be improved. Information networks are not only speeding up communication but also serve as a means to better understand how complicated and creative processes like product development and large-scale software projects take place and how the traditional hazard-driven management approach can become more proactive in nature.