How can I use it?
Why you need it
Organisations are under pressure to reduce time to market and provide products and services more effectively and efficiently. Information that works is the key to accurate and timely communications with customers, suppliers, employees and regulators.
What organisations?
Information Mapping has helped hundreds of companies make their external and internal communications easier to access and easier to understand. Many are in highly regulated fields such as the financial services and pharmaceutical sectors. Government departments and the armed forces also use it.
Any organisation can benefit, especially if it has complex or high-risk information to explain to customers, employees or suppliers.
What type of documents?
Any communication – spoken, printed, or viewed on-line in a database or on a web site can benefit from Information Mapping. People will benefit from Information Mapping if they write or read:
- Key messages and policy statements
- Proposals, reports, memos and emails
- Policy and procedure documentation
- Regulatory information and compliance documentation
- Quick reference materials
- Training manuals and courseware
- Online or paper forms and data collection systems
What about online?
Information Mapping provides tools to analyse what the audience is doing and what information they need. The audience’s task determines their navigation path through the site, and their need for information determines the level of detail presented to them.
Information Mapping helps writers develop an information hierarchy so that audiences understand where they are, where they have been and where they need to go next.
Presentation guidelines help audiences scan the information provided, skip what is not needed, and retrieve what is needed for the task at hand.
Who benefits?
Information Mapping saves time for readers and writers alike. These are some of the benefits.
People in... |
can... |
|---|---|
operational departments |
write procedures that are easy to use, reducing user training time and the risk of operational errors. |
audit roles |
interpret and explain rules and regulations consistently, reducing the possibility of non-compliance. |
project management roles |
develop business case and project documentation that explains the risks, costs, benefits and work of a project simply and without ambiguity. |
project teams |
produce training materials that ensure that the benefits of a project are realised quickly and thoroughly. |
trainers |
create courseware that enables learners to acquire key skills they will retain and use. |
sales roles |
write winning proposals that quickly convince potential clients of the value of complex products and services. |
any role |
benefit from clear and concise emails and letters whose purpose is clear to the recipient. |
staff roles |
produce policies that managers and staff can follow without calling for help. |