Information Mapping: what is it exactly?
Posted by Andrew Jackson on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 @ 12:23 PM
So in earlier posts, I’ve talked about why you might not of heard about Information Mapping before and the reasons why I love it. Now for the tricky bit – trying to explain what it is.
Finding Information Mapping hard to define is nothing to do with its complexity. Far from it. Overall, Information Mapping's simplicity and straightforwardness is it’s real strength.
The difficulty is more to do with the fact that it’s a little bit different from anything else you might have come across and so at first sight it may appear a little unfamiliar and abstract.
Relating the unfamiliar to the familiar
Typically, when we are faced with something unfamiliar, we try to associate it with something familiar to help us make sense of it. So, let’s start by doing that.
Let’s start with something very familiar. The difference between structured and unstructured. Most of us know about this in all sorts of aspects of our lives. We know what unstructured can feel like at it’s worst – messy, out of control, no sense of direction. Versus structured at it’s best – organised, planned, ticking along nicely.
So the first thing to say in explaining Information Mapping is that it’s a structured approach. It means there’s an overall framework, there are guidelines, there’s the ability to scope what you’re doing.
Trusting the unfamiliar
The next thing we often ask when faced with something unfamiliar is “Does it work?”. “Can we trust this new thing?”. We can listen to the experiences or opinions of other people to help us answer this question. And this often gives us a powerful steer.
However, if we want a more objective answer, we might look to the experts for some help. Is this new thing built on solid ground? Has anybody independently evaluated it?
In the case of Information Mapping, the entire approach is based on research carried out by its creator, Robert Horn. Second, numerous people have carried out studies to evaluate its effectiveness.
So, assuming you are happy to trust the research and evaluations, we can say that Information Mapping is structured, research-based and fully evaluated.
The shelf-life of the unfamiliar
The third thing we might ask is about longevity. Is it something that will stand the test of time or is it just a passing fad. A bit like the question recently asked about the music of Michael Jackson, “Will it still be around in 100 years?”
In the case of Information Mapping, it’s been around for over 40 years now. So it doesn’t pass the 100 year test yet, but it’s well on the way!
The relevance of the unfamiliar
Possibly the final thing we will ask when faced with something new and unfamiliar, is “How does it apply to me?”. “Is it relevant?”. “Can I use it?”.
This depends entirely on your job. If you are a person working in a business (or indeed any other kind of organisation) who needs to communicate with customers, colleagues or suppliers in some shape or form, then it is likely to be relevant and useful to you.
So to sum up an answer to the question, “What is it exactly?”, we can say that Information Mapping is a structured, research-based (and evaluated) approach that helps people in all walks of business life to communicate more effectively with their colleagues, customers and suppliers.
There’s still plenty more to say, but this is a start.