'Design' Critical in Information Age

FRAMINGHAM (02/14/2000) - Information technology professionals are missing a critical skill for the "no-time-to-read '00s": information design. Providing broad access to data created an information deluge. Now it's clear that getting more information isn't the bottleneck; making more sense of it is.

Mastering information design can help. Information design is the practice of logically organizing information to clarify what it means, distill that meaning to its simplest form and get the meaning across as effortlessly as possible.

Well-designed information is actionable - it's clear, truthful, timely and obviously meaningful in the context of the decisions at hand.

Have you mastered information design when you can create slick PowerPoint presentations? Not by a long shot. It involves serious analysis and thoughtful communication. For example, a pharmaceutical firm couldn't tell why it was losing market share in one region of the U.S. - despite voluminous data on physician prescriptions. Its conventional approach to the problem - focusing on its regional competitor - wasn't getting it anywhere. When information designers boiled all the data down to two easy-to-read, formatted pages, they pinpointed the real problem: An influential doctor had changed his prescribing patterns. So the company targeted the physician personally with a renewed marketing effort. Then the IT organization took over to ensure that the new two-page format flowed right out of the firm's information management systems.

In many cases, using graphics engages people and helps iron out tough issues fast. And when the message jumps off the page, people make good decisions more quickly. According to Edward Tufte, author of the landmark book on information design Visual Explanations, the space shuttle Challenger was lost because of an information design failure. The night before the launch, concerned engineers sent 13 disorganized charts about O-ring failures to NASA officials. If the data had been presented well in a simple chart showing the correlation between outside temperature and O-ring failure, everyone would have seen immediately that to launch that chilly morning would be a terrible mistake.

Good information design will also help customers navigate your Web site.

Logical navigation can mean the difference between a delighted visitor and one who turns his back on you in disgust.

In spite of the benefits, most IT professionals aren't using information design. Why? They're unfamiliar with its concepts, and they shy away from getting involved with content. Some information professionals believe their responsibility ends when they've provided access to information. In contrast, the info jockeys in high-speed firms embrace information design to provide actionable information. To bridge the gulf, executives must make information design part of everyday information management. Here's how to get started:

-- Pilot information design for a mission-critical issue. Tackle a complex problem where executives say a 50 percent improvement in decision speed will set your firm apart. Ask your toughest line executives to help lead the charge.

-- Bring in design pros to show you the way. Hire information design experts for your pilot. Then tap some of your own business-oriented analysts who are good listeners, analysts and communicators to shadow the experts as they do their work.

-- Build information design literacy. Tell your information management staff that making information actionable is everyone's job. But it's not rocket science. Make time for information design classes from firms that provide training in it. Expand your recruiting net to include some schools that teach Internet technology and information design together.

Many IT executives will legitimately complain that information design falls well outside their traditional roles. They're absolutely right - welcome to the real Information Age.

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