Information Flow Modeling. A Tool to Support the Integrated

Management of Information and Knowledge

Carlos Alberto Malcher Bastos, Monica Rodrigues Moreira, Ana Cristina Martins Bruno,

Sérgio Mecena Filho and José Rodrigues de Farias Filho

Fluminense Federal University, Rua Passo da Pátria 156 Bloco E Sala 502-B São Domingos,

Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Keywords: Information Management, Knowledge Management, Information Asset, Organizational Model.

Abstract: This paper discusses the importance of information flows in information management context and presents

methodological aspects and a summary of information flow modeling results, part of Knowledge and

Information Management Model (KIMM), a proposal developed and applied in the regulatory agency for

land transport sector in Brazil. In order to achieve proposed objectives, this paper presents a brief

background of KIMM project and the concepts and definitions formalization used such as: information

assets, information flows and information life cycle. Aspects such as the characteristics of good information

aligned to organizational characterization were also considered in the concepts and definitions section and

how it was applied in information flow methodology modeling. The results indicated that the information

flows are an important diagnostic tool for the evaluation of the organizational information management

status and the basis for the proposition of other models such as knowledge management.

1 INTRODUCTION

Due to the growing use and the easy access to

information and communication technologies,

information volume produced in any type of

organization has increased substantially in quantity

and complexity. In this scenario, organizational

information and knowledge management have

become essential in the organizational management

model, especially in public organizations, in which

information transparency has been increasingly a

significant requirement. For any type of organization

information has become important raw material for

the activities and tasks development, and knowledge

represents a valuable asset that, being intangible, is

difficult to measure and manage (Davenport, 1998).

The author contends that this management is

valuable because the information that gave rise to

knowledge was interpreted and increased by

meaning from interference of the environment and

the people who manipulated it, adding wisdom to it.

In this regard, it is noted that the information

management is one of the concerns and challenges

that are present in scientific literature in many

knowledge fields.

Well-known authors who address information

management issue, such as McGee and Prusak

(1994), Marchiori (2002) and Choo (2002) refer to

information management as a set of processes that

identify information needs, collect and create,

classify, store, treat, provide and use information.

This work, however, allied this information

management concept with recommendations by

information science and defined by the Institute of

Information Scientists (2001), that clarifies that the

information management consists of routines and

procedures for the creation, identification,

collection, validation, representation, retrieval and

use of information and has taken the following steps:

collection, validation, processing, storage, retrieval,

distribution and dissemination as procedures and

routines for managing organizational information,

which is understood as information life cycle.

Choo (2006) claims that, an organization that

uses information strategically, does it in order to

create "knowledge organization". The organizational

information contains multiple meanings resulting

from individuals or groups cognitive and emotional

interpretations that process it in everyday life. Thus,

the information management needs to create

Alberto Malcher Bastos C., Rodrigues Moreira M., Cristina Martins Bruno A., Mecena Filho S. and Rodrigues de Farias Filho J..

Information Flow Modeling. A Tool to Support the Integrated Management of Information and Knowledge.

DOI: 10.5220/0005135600760086

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing (KMIS-2014), pages 76-86

ISBN: 978-989-758-050-5

 2014 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

information structures and processes that are flexible

and permeable. The major challenge in information

management in organizations is to clearly define the

role of information in processes management. Hence

information management implies in mapping their

flows, define what information is valuable and to

check how it processes information quality.

For Rezende and Abreu (2006) managers cannot

ignore how the organization uses the information,

what are their main information flows, what are the

information needs for each hierarchical level and

managers competence to administer informational

resources. For these authors, the use and information

management concept encourage decisions, solutions

and customers satisfaction (external and internal).

In this sense, it was proposed a project to

develop a knowledge and information management

model (KIMM) to a regulatory agency in Brazil,

where one of its phases is the identification and

mapping of information flows in the context of

information management.

KIMM starts from the premise that knowledge

can be generated from structured information and

thus, presents a modeling approach focused on an

organization's information assets. From the

information flows models of each information asset,

it is possible to acknowledge the organization work

routine, workflow, and provide knowledge and skills

that are required to manipulate information assets.

By means of the proposed models, it is also possible

to know organization business requirements from

where system requirements can be derived for

information systems development, and also an

ontology conceptual model and glossary of terms

inherent to the field of the organization studied.

(Bastos et al., 2011; Rezende et al., 2013, 2012).

The objective of this paper is to present and

discuss the information flow modeling, a part of a

wider research project, conducted in technical

cooperation with the Brazilian National

Transportation Agency that aims to develop an

integrated model of knowledge and information

management (KIMM). The information flow model

is the used basis for the generation of knowledge

management models.

Information flow modeling, used in KIMM

project has its foundation in the information life

cycle and is oriented by information assets, having

as guiding principles the characteristics of good

information according to the operation model of

each organizational unit mapped in the Agency. The

flow models constitute fundamental tools to reveal

the informational treatment of an organization's

information assets and the operation of its

organizational units (departments or divisions), and

that is its main contribution.

The paper is organized as follows: Besides this

introduction, the first section briefly describes

KIMM. The second presents important concepts and

definitions for information and knowledge field and

an approach about information assets, the core of

KIMM project. In the third section, methodological

aspects of information flow modeling are presented

and how modeling was developed in the studied

organization. A results summary and the benefits to

the organization are also presented. The fourth

section presents a conclusion from the results

analysis obtained from information flow modeling,

bringing indicative for KIMM improvement and

continuity in the organization.

1.1 KIMM

The methodology applied in KIMM project includes

the organization study through five multidisciplinary

teams in five interactions and an interaction among

internal teams, called integration meeting. The

purpose of this meeting is to consolidate and

integrate models generated through individual

interactions of each team resulting in a holistic view.

Each interaction with the organization is led by

one of the specialized teams and, from the

information gathered, their specific models are

produced. The five interactions are supported by

distinct areas of knowledge, namely: land transport,

information flow, business requirements, knowledge

management and ontology.

The transport team interaction aims to identify

the information assets of the organizational units

resulting in a list of information assets and its main

features. Other products of this step include a list of

references, research and benchmarking process

results, best practices related to main business of

each organizational unit in the land transport field.

The information flow team interaction is the

target object of this paper and is explained in detail

in the following section.

The business requirements team has as main

product business use cases models that are derived

from business global information model. The models

in the business requirements area are built taking

into account the information flow.

The knowledge management team has as its

main objective the study of knowledge, skills and

professional related to information assets.

Information flows are a prerequisite for knowledge

models generation and there is a strong dependency

between KM Models and information flow map. For

InformationFlowModeling.ATooltoSupporttheIntegratedManagementofInformationandKnowledge

building KM model, formal models are produced:

 A knowledge model based on mapping skills,

knowledge and professionals, related to IAs

processing. Knowledge models identify the

forms of knowledge construction and

mobilization skills by professionals, relevant

to business processes and information flow.

KM Model map and represent knowledge/

skills/professionals (Bastos et al, 2011;

Rezende et al, 2012), analyze knowledge flow,

the steps of collecting and mobilizing

knowledge to generate innovation (Sabbag,

2007) and the processes of knowledge

conversion (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995),

supporting the construction of an architecture

and propose tools and practices that may

support KM in the organization.

 The workflow construction of the current

situation, detailing the procedures used by

employees to conduct activities in the IAs

processing, enables a better understanding of

the functioning of the organization. We can

identify gaps in knowledge flow, associated to

the steps of capturing, mobilization and

innovation, and the processes of knowledge

conversion (Bastos et al., 2011, 2013;

Rezende et al., 2012, Rezende et al.,2013).

 A Knowledge Tree that allows visualize in a

hierarchical way all knowledge identified,

showing all expertise that can be shared (Lévy

and Authier, 1995).

Ontology team has as main products

organizational terms glossary and ontology

conceptual model that formalizes the relationship

between terms and serves as input for the

development of ontology based systems.

At the end of information survey and specific

models construction, the consolidation and

integration of these models are performed and as a

product of this integration, five iterative and

integrated models are produced: information assets

model, information flow model, business use cases

model and information architecture, knowledge /

competence/ professional mapping and ontology

conceptual model.

2 CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

2.1 Information Assets

In this work, to understand the generated models and

the logic of its construction and how to manage them

and keep them is essential to understand information

assets concept and how it is used in KIMM project.

For Oppenheim, Stenson and Wilson (2003),

tacit knowledge cannot be formally communicated;

and explicit knowledge is actually information.

Thus, knowledge assets should also be considered as

information assets. According to Carlucci e Schiuma

(2007), knowledge assets are the employees skills

and expertise, the organization culture and image

and authors also add that companies that are able to

continuously develop their knowledge assets tend to

be successful.

The information asset definition adopted by the

KIMM project follows the definition presented by

Higgins, Hebblethwaite and Chapman (2006), from

Queensland Government, Australia, that describes

the information assets as a set of identifiable data

stored somehow, and recognized as having value to

the organization, allowing the execution of their

business functions, satisfying the acknowledged one

or more of your business requirements. Several

authors agree that information asset is a set of data

and that has potential value to the organization.

(Caralli et al, 2010; Higgins; Hebblethwaite;

Chapman, 2006; Oppenheim; Stenson; Wilson,

2003; Davenport; Prusak, 1998; KPMG/IMPACT,

1994). An information asset is well organized

information that has value, so it should be easily

accessible to those who need it. (IAD, 2012).

Develop an information asset requires the

definition of the issues to be solved: the

identification of the necessary information, the

information capture through documented processes

and the building of a structure to allow easy access

to those groups that benefit from the information.

This is the information life cycle logic.

Aligned to literature on the subject, in KIMM the

information assets are materialized by information

flows, which were built in the light of the

information life cycle. This means that the processes

of collection, validation, processing, storage and

retrieval, distribution and dissemination and use of

information can be properly formalized as the stages

of the information life cycle represented in flows.

Each information asset has a specific purpose

and is strategically positioned within the institution

organizational structure, so that the established

information assets architecture form an umbrella

layer that includes data, information and explicit

knowledge, that can be structured, communicated

and transferred according to need of each

hierarchical level, agreeing with several authors idea

(KPMG/IMPACT, 1994; Davenport; Prusak, 1998).

KMIS2014-InternationalConferenceonKnowledgeManagementandInformationSharing

2.2 Information Flows and Information

Life Cycle

Information flow definitions, according to Barreto

(1998), Jacoski (2005) and Altíssimo (2009)

converge on three points: _ subsidies to decision-

making processes, organizational diagnosis

facilitation and improvement opportunities. For

Barreto (1998), information flow corresponds to a

sequence of events from the information generation

by the issuer until its uptake / assimilation / uptake

receptor, generating individual and collective

knowledge, supporting the decision making. Jacoski

(2005) says that information flow is the integrating

element of supply chains that are precarious,

originates failures enabling organizational diagnosis

in the light of information management. Altíssimo

(2009) says that information flow is an information

process disseminator that mediates communication

favoring continuous improvement initiatives.

Valentim (2010) says that organizations have

different informational environments, consisting of

information flows that permeate all activities, tasks,

decision-making, that is, the action of the individual

in the workplace. In this sense, information flows

constitute fundamental elements of information

environments, so that there isn´t an information

environment without the existence of information

flows and vice versa.

In KIMM project, one of the essential purposes

of information flows is to equip managers with

fundamental inputs to decision-making process,

since flows comprise information assets which are

considered strategic organizational information

repositories.

The absence of a policy on information

management makes information flows that cross the

organizational environment occur without a

direction, wasting relevant information to the

generation and dissemination of organizational

knowledge. It would also contribute to the increase

in operating costs, hindering communication and

interaction between individuals and organizational

units, hampering understanding of the strategic role

of information and scope of institutional goals.

(Greef, AC, Freitas, M. C. D, 2012)

Some authors cite some adversity, regarding the

absence of information management, which can

compromise the performance and achievement of

the objectives of the organizations:

a) Redundancy of information and consequent

increased cost of development; inconsistency of

information obtained from various sources;

fragmentation of information communicated

between organizational units (Beal, 2008);

b) Communication barriers, decreasing their

efficiency in order to increase the effort to fulfill

the mission and make real use of the information;

difficulty in accepting risks associated with new

ways to make the information flow in the

environment; attempts to increase the flow of

information that impair their objectivity ideal

(Freire, 2006);

c) Disruption of flow and resulting inefficiency

(Le Coadic 1996 apud Altissimo, 2009); and

d) Disqualified and disordered information; poor

distribution of tasks between employees

(Canova; Picchi, 2009).

As recommended in several models of

information management, in general, information

management consists of routine and systematic

procedures for the collection, validation, processing,

storage and retrieval, distribution, dissemination and

use of information, which can be understood as the

lifecycle information. (SMIT and Barreto, 2002;

LESCA and ALMEIDA, 1994; Davenport, 1998;

McGee and Prusak, 1994; Beal, 2004). From these

models, the information must be managed through

appropriate organization information flows.

An effective and efficient flow of information

has a multiplier effect with the power of mobilizing

all organizational units turning into a driving force

of organizational development. In this sense, the

improvement of routines and procedures in the light

of the information life cycle has become an

organizational need meeting the challenges posed by

information and knowledge management.

As mentioned above, information life cycle is

characterized by seven steps shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Information Life Cycle

Source: KIMM Project

InformationFlowModeling.ATooltoSupporttheIntegratedManagementofInformationandKnowledge

The collection stage is a set of activities aimed at

obtaining data and information that are translated as

the initial input for the generation or maintenance of

an information asset. For this step, worth questions

are: what I want to get in terms of information?

Where can I, or should I acquire this information?

What search criteria should be used?

The validation step is a set of activities designed

to ensure that the information collected meet

established standards for cycle information. For this

step, the worth questions are: the search criteria were

set correctly? These criteria were followed, that is,

all information obtained meets the criteria? The

format of the information is as expected? The

sources are identified, and are competent to provide

the information?

The treatment step is defined as a set of activities

that embody the transformation of inputs for

generation or maintenance of information asset. For

this step, the worth questions are: partial results are

directed to the end result (waste)? Partial results may

be needed for use / reuse? If so, is being stored for

later retrieval? The regulatory requirements are

being met, regarding the form and content? The

criteria for confidentiality, availability and integrity

are being defined, or are already in the rules that

guide the development of information asset?

An information asset, by definition, must also

exist in digital format, in order to facilitate

subsequent search and retrieval. In this sense, the

step of storage should be concerned with issues such

as: the information security requirements are being

met? The information is being stored in order to be

possible the recovery from parameterized queries?

Those who have interest on information have the

possibility to access it when need?

The recovery stage is the time when the

information asset and data used in its construction,

can be accessed and retrieved according to search

criteria that enable the refinement of information and

re-use for other purposes. In this step, the

assumptions are the same as storage, since they are

interdependent steps.

The distribution stage is the time when

information asset is made available in appropriate

format to be handle, i.e., becomes available for those

interested. For this step, worth asking: what form of

the distribution is appropriate to potential users? The

criteria for confidentiality, availability and integrity

are being met? The information asset is kept up to

date throughout its life?

The dissemination step is the final stage of the

life cycle, in which information asset will fulfill its

goals. For this stage, worth questions are as: are

there controls on the use of information assets

(number of accesses, who accessed, etc...)? The

target audience of information asset is being

reached? Direct dissemination actions were planned,

if deemed necessary?

According Tarapanoff (2001), the stages of the

life cycle of information provide the structure to

support the growth and development of an intelligent

organization, adapted to new requirements and the

environment in which it lies.

2.3 Characteristics of Good

Information

According to Beal (2004) for the effective

information management it is necessary to constitute

a set of policies that allow access to relevant,

accurate and quality information. This information

must be submitted on time, with appropriate costs

and easy access to stakeholders. This statement

brings up what it says Stair et al (2006) about the

characteristics of good information. According to the

author, the information to be valuable for managers

must possess the following characteristics: accurate,

complete, economical, flexible, reliable, relevant,

simple, and verifiable in time, which is consistent

with a study by Beverly K. Kahn Diane M. Strong,

and Richard Y (2002) that describes the dimensions

of information quality.

Analyzing table 1, it is possible to relate the

characteristics of good information on the stages of

the life cycle of information.

For example, accurate information is the result of

the actions of the treatment phase, because the

inaccuracy can be generated by the entry of incorrect

data in the transformation process, while reliable

information is directly related to the method of

collection, i.e., its source of origin. It is important to

identify the sources of origin to guarantee the

reliability and authenticity of the information

collected. In turn, the time information is dependent

on the methods and tools related to the stages of

storage and retrieval so that information is available

when needed and in an appropriate format. For

validation step, the issues of format, integrity and

compliance with legal and regulatory (compliance)

precepts must be verified and confirmed. To

distribution step important considerations are

confidentiality, availability and integrity of

information processed in previous steps as the

collection, storage, retrieval and distribution.

The lack of quality information in an

organization can provide social and business

impacts, and should be diagnosed, and efforts should

KMIS2014-InternationalConferenceonKnowledgeManagementandInformationSharing

Table 1: Dimensions of quality information in accordance to Beverly et al (2002).

Accessibility

The extent to which information is available, or easily and quickly retrievable.

Appropriate Amount of

Information:

The extent to which the volume of information is appropriate for the task at hand.

Believability The extent to which information is regarded as true and credible.

Completeness The extent to which information is not missing and is of sufficient breadth and depth

for the task at hand.

Concise Representation The extent to which information is compactly represented.

Consistent Representation The extent to which information is presented in the same format.

Easy of manipulation The extent of which information is easy to manipulate and apply to different task.

Free-of-error The extent of which information is correct and reliable.

Interpretability The extent of which information is in appropriate languages, symbols, and units, and

the definitions are clear.

Objectivity The extent of which information is unbiased, unprejudiced, and impartial.

Relevancy The extent of which information is applicable and helpful for the task at hand.

Reputation The extent of which information is highly regarded in terms of its source or content.

Security The extent of which information access to information is restricted appropriately to

maintain its security.

Timeliness The extent of which information is sufficiently up-to-date for the task at hand.

Understandability The extent of which information is easily comprehended.

Value-added The extent of which information is beneficial and provides advantages from its use.

be directed towards its solution. Information with

multiple sources, use of subjective judgments,

systematic errors in the production of information

beyond storage lot is some of the factors that

influence the quality of information (Strong, Lee,

Wang, 1997).

As a mechanism to mitigate the impacts of the

lack of quality information, the information flow

modeling made use of analysis of information assets

in the light of the life cycle of information that

resulted in a set of propositions for improvements in

order to cover the gaps identified at each stage of the

life cycle of information.

3 INFORMATION FLOW

MODELLING IN A

REGULATORY AGENCY –

CASE STUDY

Information management in a public organization

must be supported by the vision, mission and

institutional values, which should be aligned to the

principles of public administration. The policies for

information management should have as premises

the future vision of the top management, the

institutional objectives expressed in regulations and

also its strategic goals defined in the strategic plans

of the organization. They should also provide quality

information to promote assertive decisions resulting

in services that meet efficiently the needs of citizens,

achieve public confidence and eliminate the waste of

resources. For this purpose (providing quality

information) that KIMM was planned.

The proposed model was constructed in the light

of an organization's information assets, and

considering aspects of organizational structure and

mode of operation of the regulatory agency.

In this sense, capturing the organizational model

should be directed towards the identification of the

information model, enabling the development and

construction of internal architectures (from the

perspective of systemic thinking from Zachman,

1997) that support organization, management and

technology (under the contingency perspective of

Laudon and Laudon, 2000).

Duties and responsibilities of an organization

are, in a sense, distributed by virtue of its

organizational structure, which directly impacts the

communication processes and management of

organizational information. The processing and

generation of information from the perspective of

information management have to minimize

asymmetries, ambiguities and redundancies of

information and mitigate the impacts of the

weaknesses of the environment in which the

organization operates, and especially developing

products and services in order to meet its

institutional mission.

KIMM scoped and aligned to what brings

organization theory, the study of organizational

design characterization rests on a set of four

variables that are crucial to them. The first variable

refers to how to structure the organizational units,

information perceived through the preliminary

InformationFlowModeling.ATooltoSupporttheIntegratedManagementofInformationandKnowledge

studies of the organization and documented in an

organizational vision that is input to start the

modeling work of other teams. The second variable

refers to the operation of each organizational unit,

which can be identified through the analysis of

information assets and its purposes in relation to the

organization's business model. The third variable

concerns how resources for products and services

development are applied; this information is visible

in information flows. And the fourth variable refers

to how people are managed in relation to their skills

to meet organizational characteristic, perspective

studied by knowledge management modeling.

3.1 Methodological Aspects of

Modeling Information Flow

As described in 1.1, information flow modeling is

initiated after information assets identification.

Importantly, information assets are identified and

validated together with organization staff. The first

approach to information flow modeling is the

identification of future vision which is understood

during a meeting with organizational unit leaders.

During this meeting longings and desires for a future

in a medium and long term are declared, ignoring

resource constraints. On this occasion information

assets previously collected are restated and

prioritized. This is the main input to understand the

characterization of the organizational unit under

study. Through main information assets it is possible

to know its workings and identify operation model.

Analysis of organizational characterization is done

to identify similarities between models of operating

units, their points of convergence and hence

procedures that could become a performance

standard in the regulatory agency. It is also

important to identify the characteristics of

information assets that are most relevant for each

type of transaction identified.

After identify future vision and organizational

characterization, the second approach is mapping

information flows for each information asset. For

information flows generation, meetings with actors

directly involved in information assets are carried

out. In addition to meetings, methodology includes

document analysis, to study key documents used and

produced by organizational unit beyond the

regulations governing organization duties. Exchange

of information among project teams is an important

interaction design for leveling the understanding and

knowledge about organizational unit under study.

For modeling and representation of information

flows and other models, it was adopted Enterprise

Architect (http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/) as a

tool, using UML language and adopting stereotypes

developed specifically for the project.

Mapping of information flows has two moments:

one to understand the current situation of the

information flow and other representing the desired

situation considering the future vision and the

elimination of problems and deficiencies found.

Flows in current situation information contain

three essential parts while flows of desired situation

contain four parts, as shown in Figure 2.

The first part represents information life cycle

and explains how information is produced, showing

resources that are being consumed and products

generated for information asset. Information life

cycle is illustrated by the hexagons in the center of

the model. They are colorful and also identified by

numbers and that is associated with a stage of life

cycle, as can be seen in figure label. The second part

identifies actors and workers, stereotype developed

for the project, which interact directly with

manipulation of information depicted in the flow. It

allows clarify which actors can manipulate the flow

and the role played by each one. The third part

represents the inputs used for the information

handling throughout the construction of information

asset and the outputs resulting from the processing

of each stage of the life cycle. All the legal

foundation and documentary are also represented as

an entry in the information flow in this third part.

The fourth part, presented only in models of the

desired situation, represented by rectangles linked by

a dotted line spread over the flow of information,

indicates the propositions of improvement and in

which stage of information life cycle these will

impact directly, if implemented. The rectangles with

a folded corner are present to help the understanding

of the figure. They are not part of the model.

Regarding the stages of information life cycle on

the scope of the project, the collection step

corresponds to actions to collect, acquire and seek

information. The validation includes actions to

verify, compare, analyze, demonstrate and validate

information. The treatment is related to actions as

clean, sort, consolidate, index, build and develop,

that is, the treatment step is where the processing of

information occurs. Storage corresponds to action to

save the information processed in a particular media.

In the recovery step is where the information stored

is reused. The availability of information occurs in

the distribution step and it is necessary to establish

appropriate mechanisms for distribution. On

dissemination step is where spread occurs, in fact,

the rational use of information produced and

KMIS2014-InternationalConferenceonKnowledgeManagementandInformationSharing

Figure 2: Information Flow Model of the Future Situation – Part A - Source: KIMM Project.

processed. This last step is where information asset

fulfills its role in the organization. Dissemination

strategies should take into account the characteristics

of the organizational unit and the quality dimensions

of information relevant to the organizational context

and purpose of information asset.

Figure 2: Information Flow Model of the Future Situation

Part B - Source: KIMM Project.

Among models of the current situation and the

desired situation, a diagnosis in the light of

information management, information flows mapped

in the current situation are analyzed in order to

identify gaps or nonconformities in each step of

information life cycle and under these deficiencies

or nonconformities or gaps, improvements are

proposed and they origin information flows

modeling for desired situation.

In the project, improvements have been

categorized into four thematic classifications:

information management, knowledge management,

people, organization/procedure for information and

knowledge management. In this paper we present

only those referring to information management and

organization/procedure for information management

(IM).

The main results of the modeling of information

flow are described in the following section.

3.2 Summary of Results Obtained from

the Modeling of Information Flow

Fifteen organizational units were modeled. For each

of them, top management future vision was obtained

and organizational characterization was identified.

Regarding future vision, three concerns were stood

out, according to statements of leaders: need for

information technology solutions, such as business

InformationFlowModeling.ATooltoSupporttheIntegratedManagementofInformationandKnowledge

intelligence tools implementation; automation of

routines and procedures to make faster documentary

proceeding, internal communication and real-time

answers to questions, mainly from other government

agencies; and issues inherent to intelligent

surveillance, aiming organizational efficiency.

Figure 3 shows part results of organizational

characterization analysis of three organizational

units dealing with core activities of the regulatory

body: regulation and monitoring of international and

national road transport of passengers, the railway

infrastructure and road infrastructure. From the

analysis of their information assets were perceived

similarities in their operating models, represented by

three small circles on the figure, which allowed to

define main characteristics of these organizational

units that are responsible for the grants in the agency

and, in this sense, could be characterized as

managing sourcing organizations, as illustrated by

the larger circle in Figure 3. For this type of

organization, free-of-error, completeness, timeliness

and reputation are key information characteristics to

ensuring the quality of information produced. Efforts

should be made to ensure that these dimensions are

present in the treatment of gaps identified in

information life cycle of an information asset.

Complete and error free information is essential

for negotiation and drafting of contracts as well as

time information is important for management and

review of contracts and service levels established in

the concession contracts. Maintaining a good

reputation of the organization through quality

information is essential to the credibility of the

organization. In this sense, the stages of validation,

processing, storage and retrieval of the information

life cycle should include procedures and routines to

ensure the presence of these features on

informational treatment of organizational units’

information assets.

The organizational characteristics, in another

perspective, can be used as an important indicator

for identifying best practices in organizational

knowledge management, appropriate to each

organizational unit and planning personnel training,

and indicative for benchmarking best management

practices. This issue appears as a suggestion for

improvement but has not been fully explored in our

methodology.

84 information assets were identified and that led

to one hundred and seven current situation

information flows and 105 information flows to the

desired situation. The desired situation flows were

generated from the diagnosis made considering

aspects of cohesion and coupling in connection with

restructuring, which explains the difference in

quantity between the current and desired situations.

Figure 3: Part of organizational characteristics analysis

result - Source: KIMM Project.

The analysis of life cycle through information

flows reveal situations as below, where the values do

not directly represent the data in the agency:

Table 2: Percentage of information assets that do not meet

fully and systematically each step of information life

cycle.

Collection 10%

Validation 30%

Treatment 20%

Storage 25%

Recovery 30%

Distribution 15%

Dissemination 40%

The analysis of the stages of information life

cycle on each information flow aims to identify lack

of activities and/or systematic procedures that can

ensure compliance, accordingly the objectives of

relevant step. The table, shown in isolation, does not

mean necessarily that the step is not being

considered by organizational unit, but that could be

optimized.

In the table is shown that for 40% of information

assets no dissemination projected in its information

life cycle activities, this means that there is no

control and monitoring on the use of information

assets (number of access activities, who accessed,

etc...) and identification of the target audience. And

yet, 30% of all information assets do not meet

validation step with fully systematized activities and

so the completeness of information may be

compromised, as there are not always technical and /

or a set of logical- time organized tasks so that the

information collected undergo a validation process

smooth and consistent. The importance of these

KMIS2014-InternationalConferenceonKnowledgeManagementandInformationSharing

results should be analyzed considering the

characteristics of the organizational unit

540 improvements recommendations were listed

in four predetermined categories. For information

management (IM) and organizational/procedures for

IM categories, 411 improvement opportunities were

identified. These two perspectives, automation of

procedures, systems integration, defining storage

activities, implementation of systems based on

ontology are part of the main improvement

recommendations established. Improvements were

made available along with other project results

through reports and those related to information

lifecycle were represented in information flows in

the desired position, to indicate which stage of the

life cycle information would be impacted if they

were implemented. Other improvements were

represented in each specific model.

4 CONCLUSIONS

It was presented the information flow modeling part

of a project to propose a knowledge and information

management model (KIMM), developed for a

Brazilian regulatory agency.

Information Flow Modeling proposed as a part of

the project proved to be an important diagnostic tool

for assessing the state of information management in

organizations and a basis for the proposition of other

models such as knowledge management one.

Life cycle analysis of organization information

assets has clarified several issues of non-compliance

relating to steps.

The representation of flows as they are today and

how they should be in the future along with the

associated improvements facilitate improvements

implementation planning and their impact upon

implementation record.

Assessing the quality of information along with

the organizational characteristics also proved to be

useful tool to help in prioritizing improvements to be

implemented.

The EA tool was adequate for representation of

flows, allowed to visually record how these flows

occur and all aspects related to modeling them.

An important benefit of modeling information

flow is the information whose production is

continuing in the organization in all levels:

operational, tactical and strategic, though each of

these levels has specific needs and demands

regarding the use and application of the information.

The modeling of information flow showed that,

in most of the stages of the information life cycle,

information assets are not systematically enforced.

This implies that the implementation of KIMM

involves the adoption of new practices for the

collection, validation, processing, storage, retrieval,

distribution and dissemination of information and

mechanisms for the application of knowledge in the

organization. This is a change in organizational

culture and the relative strengths of the cultural

factors that act as facilitators and those that act as

inhibitors will determine the feasibility, robustness

and speed of change in organization.

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KMIS2014-InternationalConferenceonKnowledgeManagementandInformationSharing