In reviewing the book Information Strategy in Practice by Elizabeth Orna for this month's issue, I found myself wondering about the following questions:

• Is an "information strategy" a good model for planning an organization's information needs?
• How does "information strategy" as Elizabeth Orna defines it compare with other information planning methods?
• What's the best model to analyze needs for Knowledge Base Publishing?

As technology continues to blur organizational boundaries and create new business models, we need to adapt existing planning techniques based on functional specialties. We can't afford to use models that are too complicated, take too long, or can't be implemented.

Knowledge Base Publishing requires planning tools that:

• reflect the way people really work;
• provide for individual initiative and unplanned situations;
• are detailed enough for computer specifications;
• bridge departmental and functional boundaries;
• yield measurable benefits.

In this article we discuss the pros and cons of five planning models and look for techniques than can be adapted for an integrated print-Web-database publishing system.

Five information planning models
The five models are:

• Information store
• Compliance
• Efficiency
• Usability
• Marketing

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