Linköping Studies in Science and Technology. Dissertations, No. 1778 On A Need to Know Basis: A Conceptual and Methodological Framework for Modelling and Analysis of Information Demand in an Enterprise Context by Magnus Jandinger (formerly Lundqvist) Department of Computer and Information Science Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden Linköping 2016 Copyright © 2016 Magnus Jandinger ISBN 978-91-7685-713-7 ISSN 0345-7524 Printed by LiU-Tryck 2016 URL: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-130492 To friends and family, without whose valuable assistance, the best parts of this thesis have been conceived. ABSTRACT While the amount of information, readily available to workers in information- and knowledge intensive business- and industrial contexts, only seem to increase with every day, those workers continue to have difficulties in finding and managing relevant and needed information despite the numerous technical, organisational, and practical approaches promising a remedy to the situation. In this dissertation it is claimed that the main reason for the shortcomings of such approaches are a lack of understanding of the underlying information demand people and organisations have in relation to performing work tasks. Furthermore, it is also argued that while this issue, even with a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms, still would remain a complex problem, it would at least be manageable. To facilitate the development of demand-driven information solutions and organisational change with respect to information demand the dissertation sets out to first provide the empirical and theoretical foundation for a method for modelling and analysing information demand in enterprise contexts and then presents an actual method. As a part of this effort, a conceptual framework for reasoning about information demand is presented together with experiences from a number of empirical cases focusing on both method generation and -validation. A methodological framework is then defined based on principles and ideas grounded in the empirical background and finally a number of method components are introduced in terms of notations, conceptual focus, and procedural approaches for capturing and representation of various aspects of information demand. The dissertation ends with a discussion concerning the validity of the presented method and results in terms of utility, relevance, and applicability with respect to industrial context and needs, as well as possible and planned future improvements and developments of the method. POPULÄRVETENSKAPLIG SAMMANFATTNING Det blir idag allt vanligare att medarbetare upplever att de har svårt att hitta sådan information de behöver för att lösa sina arbetsuppgifter, detta trots att de ofta har tillgång till en mängd olika stödsystem och informationskällor. Vad som en gång brukade vara ett problem förbehållet endast större organisationer, med allt för mycket intern information, har idag dessutom blivit allt vanligare även för mindre organisationer, mycket på grund av det informationsöverflöd Internet har medfört det senaste decenniet. Samtidigt har, de senaste åren, en mängd, allt mer avancerade, tekniska och procedurella approacher för att lösa denna typ av problem föreslagits utan att ha medfört en påtaglig upplevd förbättring. En möjlig förklaring till ovanstående är att det finns en diskrepans mellan medarbetares upplevda behov och vad olika lösningar tillgodoser. En sådan diskrepans är högst troligen ett resultat av otillräcklig förståelse för medarbetarnas informationsbehov i relation till sina arbetsuppgifter. Vi har med andra ord blivit allt bättre på att bygga informationssystem som är kravställda ur ett funktionsperspektiv men har fortfarande inte kommit speciellt långt när det gället ett informationsflödesperspektiv. I denna avhandling diskuteras inte bara vad informationsbehov är i relation till en verksamhetskontext utan också hur sådana informationsbehov kan fångas, analyseras och beskrivas i syfte att utgöra ett underlag till bättre lösningar för informationshanteringen. Lösningar som faktiskt upplevs tillgodo se det behov av information verksamheters medarbetare har för att lösa sina olika uppgifter. Sättet på vilket detta görs i avhandlingen är genom att, baserat på teoretiska och empiriska studier, presentera ett begrepps- och metodramverk för informationsbehovsanalys som är empiriskt prövat i verkliga organisationer. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research presented in this dissertation has only been possible due to a number of individuals and organisations, to which I would like to convey my deepest gratitude. Firstly, the bulk of the empirical knowledge is a result from the research project Information Logistics for SME: Improving information flow based on information demand patterns (InfoFlow), funded by The Swedish Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen). Without that funding and the cooperation of the partners in InfoFlow, this dissertation would simply not have been feasible. Special thanks go to Eva Holmquist and Arne Nilsson at SYSteam Management AB (today named Evry), Jan Strandesjö at Proton Engineering AB, Per Högberg initially at Kongsberg Automotive AB but now at Skye Consulting AB, which all have contributed in one way or another to what is presented here. The same gratitude also extends to School of Engineering, Jönköping University and Linköping Institute of Technology for providing me with the opportunity and the facilities to perform and finish my long overdue Ph.D. studies. However, above all else I would like to thank three persons in particular, Prof. Kurt Sandkuhl, Assoc. Prof. Ulf Seigerroth, and Prof. Sture Hägglund, all acting as my supervisors and guides. Your help, and more importantly patience, have been crucial for the research leading up to the text you are about to read. Thank you all! TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1 – Background, Prerequisites, and Approach .......................................................... 1 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Research Intent, Focus, and Setting ....................................................................... 6 1.1.1 Research Context ....................................................................................................... 6 1.1.2 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Practical & Scientific Contributions ..................................................................... 10 1.2.1 An Information Demand Perspective on Enterprise Analysis ................................ 11 1.3 Dissertation Structure ........................................................................................... 12 1.4 Related Publications ............................................................................................. 15 1.5 Intented Readers ................................................................................................... 19 2 Research Approach ....................................................................................................... 21 2.1 Theory Selection ................................................................................................... 21 2.2 Defining Information Demand ............................................................................. 22 2.2.1 Chosen Approach to the Initial Empirical Investigation ......................................... 23 2.3 Developing a Method in a Scientific Manner ....................................................... 28 2.3.1 Ensuring Validity, Relevance, and Rigor of Methodological Efforts ..................... 29 Part 2 – Information Demand from a Small-scale Business Context Perspective ........ 35 3 Information Demand and Use: a Theoretical Perspective ........................................ 37 3.1 Information as a Concept ...................................................................................... 37 3.1.1 Differences between Data, Information, and Knowledge ....................................... 37 3.1.2 Different Views on Information .............................................................................. 41 3.1.3 The Implications of Relevance and Context on Information .................................. 41 3.2 Information Demand: Related Theoretical Work ................................................. 43 3.2.1 A Sociological Perspective on Information Need ................................................... 44 3.2.2 Information Need and Information Retrieval .......................................................... 45 3.3 Information Acquisition and Use from an Enterprise Perspective ....................... 47 3.3.1 Location as a Key Factor when Choosing Information Sources ............................. 48 3.3.2 Strategic and Managerial Aspects of Information Use within SMEs ..................... 48 3.3.3 Perceived Source Credibility, Relevance, and Availability .................................... 49 3.3.4 Utilisation of ICT-support for Information Use ...................................................... 50 3.4 Theoretical Implications for Conjectures ............................................................. 51 4 Information Demand and Use: an Empirical Perspective ........................................ 53 4.1 Relationship Between Role, Task, and Information Demand .............................. 53 4.2 Relation Between Role, Task, and Information Sources .....................................