Knowledge Management on the Windows Platform

[Dennis D.]

Hello:

Is there a unified strategy of information management on the Windows
platform? There are software devices in the operating system that are doing
management.

Favorites, Application Data folders, the Registry, Program Files, and
shortcuts are examples of how the platform is expecting knowledge management
behavior from the user.

So I am a user and I want to manage the information on my system.

In order to begin to design a km system that interacts with the file system
intelligently, we must go to the system architects to find out what they had
in mind when designing, coding, and implementing the various software
management components available in the system. Is there an underlying
schema, and if so where is it documented? If there is not a single scheme,
then there is a challenge for the Microsoft software engineers. There should
really be a wide selection of basic information management solutions
available that step from the file system to the user interface, and those
schemes should be documented. They could be categorized by common types of
users. In that documentation would be explained the utility value,
functioning, and maintenance of the components used in the scope of the
solution from front to back.

Let's take a single example: I am thinking of a (small business) camera
shop. I am a customer of this shop.
The knowledge I have related to this shop include: location, phone number,
managers name and phone extension, a url for the company, receipts from a
web based application that I interacted with on the site, a photo album
application supported by the business, photos (data from the application),
and MS Office documents related to the shop. What is the Microsoft strategy
for bringing all this information together in one place for the user,
because that is the objective of a user interface, and in this case, a
Windows user interface.

As a consumer, I have a large collection of this type (business, product,
contacts) of object. Further, I have non-business related (scholarly texts,
applications, and data) information in other collections of which there are
many. To date, the collections are decentralized primarily by the operating
system itself; decentralized by type of communication, type of
documentation, etc. It would be much more useful to group these objects
according to their meaning.

Is there a scheme that Microsoft is using to manage information in the
Windows system? I want to interact intelligently with this system. The
system itself seems to preclude and obfuscate an intelligent management
strategy. For example, it is a good idea to keep application data on a
separate partition or drive, and yet the Application Data folder is located
on the main drive. The registry reflects the locations of some data, but not
all. There is a favorites menu, but there is also a Start Menu, and there
are shortcuts.

Is there some documentation on how this is all supposed to come together in
a cogent and cohesive knowledge management strategy? If not, are there third
party knowledge management applications or documentation that will help
organize information, applications, and data using the Microsoft Windows
platform?

Thank You,

Dennis D.,

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Windows XP is an "operating system" and forms the basis for installing
and managing the appropriate software this is appropriate for your business.

It's important to find a consultant who you feel comfortable working with.
Look for someone who:

..Understands your local market and industry.

..Wants to involve you in the selection and implementation process.

..Has the necessary resources and proven experience.

Visit: http://www.microsoft.com/BusinessSolutions/buying_process.aspx#Find

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hello:
|
| Is there a unified strategy of information management on the Windows
| platform? There are software devices in the operating system that are doing
| management.
|
| Favorites, Application Data folders, the Registry, Program Files, and
| shortcuts are examples of how the platform is expecting knowledge management
| behavior from the user.
|
| So I am a user and I want to manage the information on my system.
|
| In order to begin to design a km system that interacts with the file system
| intelligently, we must go to the system architects to find out what they had
| in mind when designing, coding, and implementing the various software
| management components available in the system. Is there an underlying
| schema, and if so where is it documented? If there is not a single scheme,
| then there is a challenge for the Microsoft software engineers. There should
| really be a wide selection of basic information management solutions
| available that step from the file system to the user interface, and those
| schemes should be documented. They could be categorized by common types of
| users. In that documentation would be explained the utility value,
| functioning, and maintenance of the components used in the scope of the
| solution from front to back.
|
| Let's take a single example: I am thinking of a (small business) camera
| shop. I am a customer of this shop.
| The knowledge I have related to this shop include: location, phone number,
| managers name and phone extension, a url for the company, receipts from a
| web based application that I interacted with on the site, a photo album
| application supported by the business, photos (data from the application),
| and MS Office documents related to the shop. What is the Microsoft strategy
| for bringing all this information together in one place for the user,
| because that is the objective of a user interface, and in this case, a
| Windows user interface.
|
| As a consumer, I have a large collection of this type (business, product,
| contacts) of object. Further, I have non-business related (scholarly texts,
| applications, and data) information in other collections of which there are
| many. To date, the collections are decentralized primarily by the operating
| system itself; decentralized by type of communication, type of
| documentation, etc. It would be much more useful to group these objects
| according to their meaning.
|
| Is there a scheme that Microsoft is using to manage information in the
| Windows system? I want to interact intelligently with this system. The
| system itself seems to preclude and obfuscate an intelligent management
| strategy. For example, it is a good idea to keep application data on a
| separate partition or drive, and yet the Application Data folder is located
| on the main drive. The registry reflects the locations of some data, but not
| all. There is a favorites menu, but there is also a Start Menu, and there
| are shortcuts.
|
| Is there some documentation on how this is all supposed to come together in
| a cogent and cohesive knowledge management strategy? If not, are there third
| party knowledge management applications or documentation that will help
| organize information, applications, and data using the Microsoft Windows
| platform?
|
| Thank You,
|
| Dennis D.,
| --

 

[Dennis D.]

Thanks Carey:

The first computer language I learned was ADA. I've been around for awhile.
You know if you ask an engineer to help you tie your shoe laces you will be
late for work, and if I were looking for business solutions I would call
IBM. They will sell me a knowledge management system, a good one.

No, I just want to know if there is a knowledge management strategy
somewhere behind the technology that Microsoft exposes to the generic user /
developer. If there is, then where is it documented. Why? Although the
computer is primarily a communication device, still many, if not most people
are using it to manage knowledge (information). Therefore, you would think
that there might be such a philosophy existing somewhere in the structure of
the user/developer interface design groups.

It would not surprise me if KM was not implemented in the design process,
even though it should hover somewhere around the center of this particular
science. The lack of a structured methodology in this respect germinates a
farmland for consultants.

If there is not a structured KM methodology available for the casual user of
the operating system, then it might be beneficial to Microsoft to invent a
few. Didn't they invent BOB or ALEX as a little bird with a clown voice that
was supposed to fulfill the most passionate desires of the users? Seems like
I remember something like that going on. Right direction, wrong solution.

Thanks again Carey. I posted this in a few newsgroups, and yours was the
only response. Maybe I'll ask the question again next year.

Dennis D.
DenniSys.com