IP-MAP: Representing the Manufacture of an Information Product

Organizations have recognized the need for high quality information and academics have proposed several methods to measure and improve information quality. One such method is to manage information as an information product (IP). Many modeling methods for information manufacturing systems have been described. Almost all of these lack the ability to systematically represent the manufacturing processes and are deficient in constructs offered to explicitly represent manufacturing details. In this paper we propose the information product map (IP-MAP) as a method to systematically model the manufacture of an IP. The IP-MAP is an extension of the Information Manufacturing System (IMS) proposed earlier. It offers several advantages including the ability to visualize the manufacture, implement continuous improvement and quality-at-source, and measure the quality of the IP using appropriate quality dimensions. We submit that the IP-MAP would serve as a foundation upon which a suite of quality dimensions may be identified and implemented for managing the IP quality.