Results of a recent Proof of Concept comparing Google and Autonomy for enterprise search in a global manufacturing company.
Montague Institute Review April 2008
Report on what's new at the first public Sharepoint conference in Seattle on March 3 - 6. Includes information on the FAST acquisition and a new federated search function. Montague Institute Review March 2008
Things to do before and during MOSS 2007 search implementation to shorten the learning curve for you and your colleagues.
Montague Institute Review February 2008
Montague Institute founder Jean Graef thinks that MOSS 2007 will suffice in some situations — but by no means all. Montague Institute Review February 2008
A brief introduction to second generation Web features, an overview of current Web 2.0 projects at National Geographic, a look behind the scenes at how they were developed, and some tips on how to develop value-added second-generation Web applications in your organization. Montague Institute Review January 2007
What do you say when someone asks why the terms in the corporate taxonomy don't match those used on the Public Web site? Learn why in this article about creating, maintaining, and deploying multiple taxonomies. Montague Institute Review December 2007
Faceted navigation enables users to narrow results from a search based on their attributes or features, such as gender, geographic region, brand, price, etc. Montague Institute Review December 2007
Highlights from three teleconferences on social bookmarking in the enterprise, including a system based on an open source program, one using a commercial social search product, and a third offered through a commercial information service. Montague Institute Review November 2007
The essentials of the Semantic Web described in layman's terms along with details on how it's implemented and examples of corporate applications. Montague Institute Review September 2007
Expertise databases sound like a good idea, but in the real world they are often not used because people don't update them. Here are some comments about what works and what doesn't for finding expertise and know-how. The discussion, comments, and links on this topic were from a recent thread on the sikmleaders forum. Montague Institute Review July 2007
This informal Member Q&A survey shows that most taxonomists reside in the IT function, but there's a wide variation in job titles, scope of influence, and responsibilities. Montague Institute Review June 2007
How a casualty insurance company used the Wordnet thesaurus to enhance enhance search in Microsoft Office Sharepoint Services (MOSS 2007). Montague Institute May 2007
Example of how indexes, glossaries, databases, and guides can save users time on a makeover of a well known Web site. Montague Institute Review April 2007
Denise Bedford describes search-related best practices used at the World Bank. The article includes best practice examples for simple search and thesaurus management as well as a checklist used to see whether a specific search system is in compliance. Montague Institute Review January 2007
Karen Loasby, Information Architecture Team Leader at the British Broadcasting System, shares her experiences in metadata management. Montague Institute Review December 2006
Society member Ruth MacEachern describes six principles that can be used to reduce the cost and risk of introducing new information technology. Collectively called “management of change” (or "change management") in the computer industry, these principles act as an antidote to budget overruns and low adoption rates created when IT managers limit end user involvement until new systems are actually selected and installed. Montague Institute Review October 2006
Highlights of two recent roundtables on how to use Google to search Sharepoint and how social bookmarking works on a corporate environment. Montague Institute Review October 2006
Pros and cons of 5 strategies for searching multiple collections with one search box: connector code, XML feeds, federated search, metadata harvesting, search engine bridges. Montague Institute Review June 2006
Service portfolio management, a concept borrowed from the mutual fund industry, can help knowledge professionals demonstrate their value and prioritize their service offerings. Montague Institute Review April 2006
Barrett Jones, systems analyst at the IMF-World Bank Library, gives tips on how to make the IT relationship more productive in four areas: communication, education, vendor support, and strategy. Montague Institute Review April 2006
Jean Graef of the Montague Institute tells how a Knowledge Base system can support and enhance the IT liaison role within the business unit. Montague Institute Review April 2006
End user developers — professionals who modify or create software to be more productive in their primary job roles — have become too numerous and too important to ignore. What should we be doing to increase their productivity and leverage their contributions?" Montague Institute Review January 2006
Collaborative software allows people to work together electronically to accomplish a task, such as writing a report, planning a PR event, or completing an IT project. As a distinct product category, its origins can be traced to the introduction of Lotus Notes in 1989. This article discusses the pros and cons of five collaboration technology strategies from the perspectives of enterprise and business unit knowledge base publishers. Montague Institute Review December 2005
How DuPont's legal department uses a collaborative network of preferred providers to lower costs, reduce risks, and increase revenues. Montague Institute Review November 2005
Society member Angela Pitts tells how her team at the Naval Postgraduate School created an interdisciplinary taxonomy for the new Homeland Security Digital Library using Teragram's auto-categorization software and the FAST search engine. Montague Institute Review October 2005
How the changing needs of Montague Institute staff, members, and course participants have driven taxonomy development. Montague Institute Review October 2005
The agenda for information professionals has changed from knowledge management to knowledge performance. Ten new realities and a wish list of support services for info pros. Montague Institute Review August 2005
A Member Q&A article comparing Verity K2 search and Google Search Appliance. We attempt to sort out the differences between the two products and highlight some of the major issues with a test that compares Google and Ultraseek searches of the Montague Institute Web site with results from our A - Z index. Four members report their experiences, and we conclude with a list of references. Montague Institute Review July 2005
On June 22, Society members from the U. S., the U.K., and Canada met to discuss how they create, manage, maintain, and integrate metadata for multiple information systems. We asked Denise Bedford, Senior Information Officer of the World Bank Group, to describe her experiences and respond to questions. This article summarizes her presentation and the ensuing discussion. Montague Institute Review June 2005
It's no longer enough to be really good at traditional technology-based roles. We need to own the problem as well as the solution. Montague Institute Review June 2005
Do the roles of taxonomist and information architect overlap? If so, how? Where do enterprise architects fit in? Society members and others share their comments and experiences. Montague Institute Review April 2005
Catherine Monte of Fox Rothschild LLP relates her experiences as Director of Knowledge Management using a proactive, collaborative approach that encourages grass roots participation. Montague Institute Review March 2005
Someone asks, "How do we position ourselves against Google, which is in essence, anti-classification/taxonomy? Or do we embrace it, and if so, how?" As this article shows, there are times when Google works well. But because it's ubiquitous and deceptively easy to use, Google creates unrealistic expectations and fosters an over-simplified model of information work. Montague Institute Review February 2005
The Internet is changing the way images are distributed, and that affects the way images are indexed. This Member Q&A article summarizes responses to a query about indexing tools and navigation schemes. We compare three different indexing approaches: stock photography, image search engines, and photo sharing Web sites. Montague Institute Review January 2005
This Member Q&A article summarizes responses to a query about how to assess intranet search engine satisfaction as well as two recent studies of search engine use by the public. An intriguing question is why employees seem to be less satisfied with site search and intranet search than they are with public search engines like Google. Montague Institute Review January 2005
Overview of topic maps: what they are, why and how they're used, how they're created. Includes member comments. Montague Institute Review December 2004
Sandy Hostetter tells how better metadata management can help CFO's produce reports that are more comprehensive, consistent, and reliable. Montague Institute Review December 2004
Just as the industrial age developed a formalized architecture discipline for physical assets, the information age needs an architecture for creating, maintaining, and using intangible assets. Montague Institute Review November 2004
Our work with clients using a Web-based format that combines one-on-one instruction, Lab work, and peer-to-peer collaboration. Montague Institute Review September 2004
What are law firms doing about knowledge management and taxonomies? How does it compare to other kinds of organizations? This Member Q&A article summarizes responses from four conference calls with law firm information managers. Montague Institute Review July 2004
In this article we use an example from our own research and experience to show how linguistic tools can promote knowledge discovery by exposing linkages between seemingly unrelated subjects. Montague Institute Review April 2004
Unless editors use Knowledge Base Publishing techniques, TBL publications will continue to be expensive and unread. Montague Institute Review January 2004
Is there an easy way to find out which accounting firm audits the books for a public company -- other than reading the company's annual report? BUSLIB-L readers suggest some sources. Montague Institute Review November 2003
Where to look for the processes and methods that organizations might employ to obtain competitive intelligence. Montague Institute Review November 2003
In this three-part series we define the triple bottom line concept, describe its impact on information services, and suggest some directions for future development. Montague Institute Review October 2003
Marcia Morante gives a primer on single-source publishing - using a single unformatted document source to create multiple formatted outputs. Montague Institute Review October 2003
Tasks, deliverables, and work flow changes for each of five stages in the development of a taxonomy for our Web journal and research material. Montague Institute Review August 2003
Books reviewed: Unlocking knowledge assets, Information architecture, Enterprise content services, Metadata solutions, Google hacks Montague Institute Review July 2003
Susan Milne, a plain language expert at Clarica, explains how the company designed a program to use plain language as a branding technique. Montague Institute Review June 2003
Card sorting is a pen-and-paper exercise used to find out how people organize information or to test existing organization schemes. This article discusses best practices, recommendations, tools, and tips on how to formulate questions. Montague Institute Review June 2003
Practical tips on taxonomy development primarily for Web sites (both Internet and intranet) with the goal of making them easier to use. Montague Institute Review April 2003
How a hands-on learning environment addresses 5 issues in taxonomy instruction: developing a common mental model, finding a vendor-neutral technology for prototyping and testing, presenting proposals to senior executives; educating and assisting corporate content owners; sorting out security, access, and governance issues. Montague Institute Review March 2003
An ontology is a representation of a specific concept model that describes complex relationships between things, including rules and axioms. This article includes some other definitions, examples, and references along with comments from members. Montague Institute Review March 2003
Explores the role of "desktop" databases in helping content creators design a more comprehensive and efficient reader experience. Montague Institute Review January 2003
Discussion of 10 taxonomy myths, created in part by the multi-disciplinary nature of the task and the hype surrounding content management technologies. Montague Institute Review November 2002
Mike Crandall reports on a recent meeting of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative designed to get input from users in corporations and information vendor firms. Montague Institute Review November 2002
How the state of Minnesota integrated a content management system with the Ultraseek search engine for its North Star information portal. Montague Institute Review October 2002
Discussion at the September 19 roundtable, "Adding value with taxonomy," focused on four main issues. What are the business drivers for taxonomy-related investments? What are the pros and cons of various taxonomy-creation tools, techniques, and strategies? How does taxonomy impact human resources in terms of staffing and organization? How does taxonomy add value? How do companies determine the return-on-investment for taxonomy-related expenditures. Montague Institute Review October 2002
It's beginning to look like "Web Services," a new standard for allowing programs to exchange data, will do for Internet transactions what the World Wide Web did for Internet publishing. Montague Institute Review September 2002
How one information manager accesses the effectiveness of his department's Web site by acquiring and storing user access histories, analyzing the data for patterns or clusters, and acting on the analysis in creative ways. Montague Institute Review September 2002
Discussion of three software approaches to sharing current awareness information compiled by individual subject matter experts. Montague Institute Review June 2002
Review of two books on usability, assessment of their value based on usability principles, discussion of usability in a corporate context. Montague Institute Review May 2002
The role of A - Z indexes in publications and corporate intranets, cost/benefit considerations, and software tools for indexing. Montague Institute Review April 2002
The OpenURL is an emerging standard that makes it easier for users to access and explore research materials and information services. Montague Institute Review March 2002
Society members respond to four different queries on metadata standards, information life cycle, quantifying the value of knowledge, and experiences with the Vivisimo program. Montague Institute Review February 2002
Like the Swiss Army Knife, Acrobat 5 can perform an amazing variety of practical tasks for authors, publishers, and readers. Montague Institute Review February 2002
Why is architecture important? What are the pros and cons of different architecture designs? Includes examples from the Montague Institute web site. Montague Institute Review January 2002
A Society member wanted to know whether it's better to create a taxonomy from the top down (from the general to the specific) or the bottom up (vice versa). Responses from other members show that companies are using both approaches. Montague Institute Review October 2001
Description of a pilot project to reduce the costs of Internet retrieval by customizing search and integrating the search and browse functions. Montague Institute Review September 2001
How a commercial bankers' trade association made the move from classroom instruction to Web-based distance learning. Montague Institute Review August 2001
Overview of content management software, identifies the current major players, and looks at what may be on the horizon for the near future. Montague Institute Review July 2001
How to decide what kind of taxonomy contractor you need, which tasks they can perform, what their deliverables look like, and where to find them. Montague Institute Review June 2001
Description of the process and outcomes when one company piloted the Semio classification software integrated with The Brain visualization program. Based on Beth Pabich’s presentation. Montague Institute Review May 2001
Lucent's use of predefined searches to tag news stories and internal documents with terms from a specialized vocabulary. Montague Institute Review May 2001
List of Web sites, articles, white papers, courses, and roundtables on various aspects of taxonomy creation and use. Montague Institute Review April 2001
Taxonomies need to be managed as a service which business units and departments pay for on a subscription or project basis, like market research or computer services. This article helps knowledge base publishers understand how taxonomies work and how to implement them. Montague Institute Review March 2001
In this point-counterpoint article, Adrian Dale (formerly of Unilever) describes the company's approach to taxonomy development -- its tools, techniques, rationale, and results -- while Jean Graef of the Montague Institute offers her insights and comments. Montague Institute Review March 2001
Summary of activities and events in 2000, preview of what's in store for 2001. Includes a new focus on taxonomy and more membership options. Montague Institute Review January 2001
Overview of content management -- what it is, why it's needed, how it saves time and money, and where to find more information. Montague Institute Review December 2000
Can you rely solely on the Internet’s free business information for research rather than using one of the three main fee-based information services? Montague Institute Review December 2000
Society members offer suggestions for finding a user survey for knowledge base management; the article includes member comments, samples, and a discussion group presentation. Montague Institute Review November 2000
Crandall describes how the Knowledge Architecture group at Microsoft uses XML to enrich an enterprise search service with specialized content from departmental webmasters and make it easier for them to create and maintain their own organization schemes. Montague Institute Review October 2000
Crandall describes two kinds of taxonomies created or supported by his group -- "search and tag" and "navigation." Montague Institute Review October 2000
Extensive summary of tools and techniques in 6 categories: BUSLIB resources, Internet, email, word processing, software/databases, and pen/paper. Techniques range from simple, manual methods to sophisticated databases. Montague Institute Review September 2000
Society members offer comments and suggestions on instant messaging. The Editor offers background and perspective on this popular method of communication. Includes screen shots, links. Montague Institute Review July 2000
Members offer opinions on whether there's a rule of thumb to calculate the ratio of concurrent users to "real" users. Montague Institute Review June 2000
Interviews with 12 knowledge stewards -- information professionals that work on the front lines to help teams achieve specific business objectives. Montague Institute Review May 2000
A description of Society members’ emergent taxonomy Community of Practice- what it is, how interested people came together, different types of participation, creating an infrastructure and policy, and assessing the value of the CoP. Montague Institute Review April 2000
Summary of a roundtable in which participants shared common problems and solutions on three topics -- barriers to knowledge partnering, knowledge facilitation, and collaboration tools. Montague Institute Review March 2000
The way your company organizes information (i.e. its taxonomy) is critical to its future. A taxonomy not only frames the way people make decisions, but also helps them find the information to weigh all the alternatives. Montague Institute Review February 2000
Members suggest resources for personal, commercial, and alert services and offer advice on how to find out what’s being said about your company. Montague Institute Review January 2000
The need for collaborative taxonomy- a basic, consistent subject classification scheme. The scope of creating a shared subject taxonomy, the benefits, required training, and possible areas for collaboration are discussed. Montague Institute Review December 1999
Advice on finding classification systems, in manufacturing, to standardize lists of product names and to uniformly describe products and services. Montague Institute Review December 1999
Demand-side focus creates a sweet spot for information professionals looking to add value -- roundtable participants offer tips. Montague Institute Review November 1999
How one company developed a new multi-disciplinary support team to help project teams shorten “ramp-up” time and share knowledge. Different types of teams are described, as well as the kind of support each needs at certain points of its development. Montague Institute Review October 1999
Using "rapid application development" (RAD) techniques, Arthur D. Little is developing its KM program on four fronts at once -- content, culture, process, and infrastructure. Originally published in the AD Little magazine, Prism, in Q2, 1998. Montague Institute Review September 1999
Applying principles of academic scholarship to the workplace can help companies create and leverage their intellectual capital. Montague Institute Review June 1999
Suggestions of where to find a thesaurus of subject headings for science and technology, especially for telecommunications and networks, contributed by BUSLIB-L members. Montague Institute Review June 1999
Discusses "upstream" knowledge management -- organizing and adding value when a source is identified or a document is written. Montague Institute Review April 1999
At this roundtable a cross-functional group from the chemical, pharmaceutical, accounting, law, publishing, management consulting, and manufacturing sectors shared their successes, insights, and challenges in leveraging experts. Montague Institute Review February 1999
Case study of how J. D. Edwards used a print editorial model to create and organize its intranet, called the "Knowledge Garden." Montague Institute Review February 1999
How companies provide research services in cyberspace, and how they deal with specific challenges in “virtual” service- cost, communication problems, the training and education of staff, organizational friction, and culture clash. Montague Institute Review January 1999
Discussion of the terminology of divestiture techniques and how SEC's role is not the labeling or defining of divestiture terms, but in ensuring that all the required information from transactions is disclosed. Montague Institute Review January 1999
Summary of suggestions for finding progressive firms -- those that lead their industries in trying new tools and techniques. Montague Institute Review January 1999
Why intellectual assets should be inventoried, as well as advice on how to develop and organize an intellectual asset inventory. Montague Institute Review December 1998
The pros and cons of seven different software tools for finding an expert (with Internet links), and a description of Mitre Corporation’s ExpertFinder. Montague Institute Review November 1998
The book is one of the oldest and most familiar examples of a knowledge "package." In this article we look at how the book is evolving into a more complex (and useful) way of packaging knowledge. Montague Institute Review October 1998
Profile of knowledge base editor Kris Liberman, who operates an intellectual capital logistics service for accounting firm Ernst & Young. Montague Institute Review September 1998
Knowledge base editing and productivity tools for content owners. A description of tools available for the application of knowledge, including operating system tools, program tools, special-purpose add-ons, and databases and scripting tools. Montague Institute Review September 1998
Building a knowledge base as a by-product of regular business processes is appealing because it eliminates the cost of separate tasks for finding, classifying, and compiling information. In contrast, a "heroes" approach (i.e. hire good people and leave them alone) is more often used when a company wants to improve its knowledge creating activities. Montague Institute Review August 1998
Summary of responses to questions about proactive librarianship- collection policy, client types, SDI/current awareness activity, and adding value. Montague Institute Review August 1998
This article describes those functions most often tapped for knowledge managers and quotes seven title holders about their roles. Includes annotated links to six related articles. Montague Institute Review July 1998
This article discusses one class of KM activity, operational functions, which includes all aspects of KM, from compilation to dissemination. Montague Institute Web site July 1998
Businesses have embraced the Internet not only because it offers compelling savings in operations, but also because it is accelerating the restructuring of markets and the emergence of new business models. Montague Institute Review June 1998
page 42 from "Company Research on the Internet.” Description of the information food chain that links authors, publishers, and information consumers. Montague Institute Review June 1998
While many knowledge base editors are working to make information more accessible, others are developing ways to cull the undergrowth, add value to what's left, and identify trends and patterns as the information is used. Montague Institute Review May 1998
How to assemble a basic tool kit for searching the web, how to develop a search strategy, and how to organize information and documents in a “virtual library”. Montague Institute Review April 1998
Highlights of a panel discussion on metadata presented last month by the Boston chapter of the Special Librarians Association (S.L.A.), a professional association for corporate and subject-oriented librarians. Montague Institute Review April 1998
Summary of 1998 roundtable on the role of the knowledge base editor. Includes candid comments on enterprise-wide strategic issues, "nuts and bolts" issues, and cutting edge issues. Montague Institute Review March 1998
How Raytheon/Texas Instruments is fighting the not-invented-here syndrome with a special award and other incentives that encourage employees to share what they know. Montague Institute Review March 1998
User comments on using NewsEdge delivered via Lotus Notes -- search capabilities, real-time feature, pricing, and customer service. Montague Institute Review March 1998
Reviews of NoteBooks for Lotus Notes-user comments on current experience (likes and dislikes), product features, vendor support, installation, and customer service. Montague Institute Review March 1998
At A. O. Smith, Judy Sayrs is developing such knowledge base building blocks as communities of practice, training for information gatekeepers, an intranet-based virtual library, and a knowledge map. Montague Institute Review February 1998
Dissects the product development processes of different companies to reveal the factors that promote and inhibit innovation. In so doing, it uncovers a treasure trove of knowledge base publishing possibilities. Montague Institute Review February 1998
Comparison of the relative merits of the Standard and Poors and the Compustat information services. Includes product description, and comments of users on cost,and ease of use. Montague Institute Review February 1998
This article summarizes findings on research to see if new forms of organization can improve the quality of information services for R&D. Montague Institute Review January 1998
Benefits of meta information, discusses factors which influence how much a company should invest in creating it, and provides tips for minimizing the cost. Montague Institute Review January 1998
Eleven examples of corporate profit centers spread across the entire spectrum, from cost savings to new business opportunities. Montague Institute Review December 1997
BUSLIB-L members offer advice on choosing an information service for business searching- cost, coverages, and search options. Montague Institute Review December 1997
This article reviews four publications which give a unique perspective on the process Skandia used in creating its "Navigator" and the reporting instruments it developed. Montague Institute Review November 1997
Like many companies involved in knowledge management, Monsanto is finding that it needs to define new roles. Here’s the background on a new position called knowledge editor. Montague Institute Review October 1997
In this book, author Tom Davenport applies the now-fashionable concept of business ecology to the field of knowledge management. Based on the concept of interacting biological systems, business ecology is concerned with the interaction of a business, its customers and suppliers, and the business environment. Montague Institute Review October 1997
Practitioners, consultants, and academics disagree on whether it's desirable to measure intellectual assets. This article summarizes the various points of view and cites examples. Montague Institute Review October 1997
Summary of a talk given by Jeanne W. Ross of MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research. Describes research findings on the implementation of new approaches to the management of global infrastructures in several large firms. Montague Institute Review October 1997
A briefing which explains intellectual capital - what it is, its possible applications, and tools and techniques to measure and manage it. Montague Institute Review October 1997
Comparison of the commercial information services, Dialog, Lexis-Nexis, and Dow Jones- cost, user friendliness, and customer service. Montague Institute Review October 1997
Current thinking about intellectual capital and its component parts -- structural capital, human capital, and customer capital. This review tells why it's a must-read for CFO's and others interested in the topic. Montague Institute Review July 1997
As goods and services become more knowledge-based and companies increase their spending on information services, should the Chief Financial Officer become involved in managing intellectual as well as physical and financial assets? Montague Institute Review June 1997
Text of Buckman's talk at SIM. Bob Buckman of Buckman Labs describes the culture change needed to implement a knowledge management system -- increased communication, the exchange of knowledge, a code of ethics, and effective engagement on the front lines. Montague Institute Review January 1997
Article describes the revenue generating activity of several organizations that offer the services of their corporate universities to external clients, and includes a summary of the benefits and problems of marketing services to external clients. Montague Institute Review January 1997
How to enhance business relationships in 3 steps: 1) identify gaps, map key business relationships, use the Internet to fill in gaps and add value to the relationships. Montague Institute Review February 1995
This article discusses the differences between Internet and traditional marketing, describes Internet marketing techniques, and illustrates several Internet marketing tools. Montague Institute Review December 1994
This article looks at the role of information services in at each stage in the corporate life cycle – birth, expansion, maturity, and renewal. Montague Institute Review June 1993
