Information Audit - Case Studies

Case Studies

Scholars and information professionals have since tested the above methodologies with varied results. An early case study produced by Soy and Bustelo in a Spanish financial institution in 1999 aimed to identify the use of information resources for qualitative and quantitative data analysis due to the rapid expansion of the organisation within a six-year period. Although the methodology was not explicitly credited to any of the above-mentioned scholars, it did follow a strategic (post 1990’s) IA process including gaining support from management, the use of questionnaires for data collection, analysis and evaluation of the data, identification and mapping of the IR, cost-analysis and outlining recommendations to assist with the establishment of an Information policy. In addition the IA report suggested that the process would need to be continual (cyclical as Orna, Henczel and Buchanan and Gibb suggest). Conclusions of this case-study stated that the IA allowed a greater understanding of the basis of the organisation’s information policy and personnel and identified technical problems within the organisation. In addition this method was believed to be cost and time-effective to the two auditors involved and the organisation used the results of the IA as a marketing tool to promote services users may not have been previously aware of.

In 2006 a paper testing the ‘viability’of Henczel's methodology was published in the South African Journal of Library and Information Science. The purpose of the study was to determine the financial position of an organisation (Statistics SA) through a report of financial statements made over a period of time. The IA was used as part of the holistic audit process and was limited to just the methodology of Henczel after consideration and dismissal of others. The IA followed the seven-stage process as outlined above (planning, data collection, analysis, evaluation, communicating and implementing recommendations and the IA as a contiuum) and the objectives were outlined as identifying the needs of respondents, identifying information sources and their significance, mapping information flow and identifying gaps in available sources.
Upon conducting the IA several recommendations were made including making print the preferred format for information and that the library should be responsible for missing information and address this in a development plan. Finally, advantages and disadvantages to this methodology were identified. It was reported that the methodology was flexible in its application as it provided a framework which could be adjusted to suit the needs of an organisation, that the scope could be easily expanded to cover more objectives and that guidelines for data collection and analysis were varied. Secondly it was felt that the methodology was cost-effective as it made use of existing resources (email, workspace etc). The greatest disadvantage reported was that the process was ‘cumbersome’ and that the researcher became weary with the repetitive nature of the planning process.
In conclusion, the study reported that Henczel's methodology had allowed the information professionals to effectively manage the information management activities of the public sector organisation in question. Positively it had been viewed as cost-effective and depicted a snapshot of the use of information in the organisation, yet it had been a ‘cumbersome’ process with some repetition within the planning phases.

In 2007 Buchanan and Gibb published another examination of the IA to include case studies of their own methodology, an element they had been previously criticised for not including. In the first case study conducted in a university research department, the objectives were to identify how effective information flow within the department was and what improvement would be required. The methodology was tailored to the study by removing the costing stage and establishing a workgroup to assist at various stages of the process, whilst all other stages remained as per the above (promote, identify, analyse and synthesise). Recommendations were made by the auditor towards greater synergy and systems analysis and it was found that staff immediately recognised the value of this output.
The second case study dealt with a public body within the arts sector with the objectives to streamline evaluation and approval processes and to improve communications between stakeholders. The sponsor also specified that a list of recommendations were required to be incorporated into a change management programme and this aligns well to Buchanan and Gibb's strategic directional method. The IA methodology was scoped to be primarily resource-orientated and once again the costing stage was removed. All else remained as per the original methodology. The IA output recommended that for all organisational processes a shift was needed from process-modelling to capturing process descriptions.
The main strengths identified in Buchanan and Gibb's methodology were its logical structuring of stages, provision of tools, inclusive process for stakeholders, adequate illustration of the role of effective Information Management within an organisation and much like Henczel, the flexibility to tailor the methodology. Their scope matrix was also proven to be useful. A weakness lay still in the limited instructional depth which affected the qualitative data analysis. As regards the applicability of this method, it should be noted that the costing stage was not included in either study and that this might suggest it is not required in an information audit. Further study is required to produce a more conclusive analysis of the methodology.