3.2

• Information Categories for Individuals


  • Communication
  • Education and Training
  • Planning
  • Financial
  • Entertainment
  • Research
  • Location Dependent
• Communication


  • Texting a friend about dinner plans
  • Sending an email to a family member in another country
  • Ringing work because trains are delayed
• Education and Training


  • Revision textbooks
  • Logging into a virtual learning environment to upload a completed worksheet
  • Hand-written feedback sheets from a teacher after an exam
• Planning


  • Using a shared document to arrange meeting dates
  • Using a webpage hosting a bus timetable
  • A calendar app
• Financial


  • Using a bank statement to plan holiday saving
  • Creating a spreadsheet of expenditure this month
  • Logging in to a secure web page to buy a present online
• Entertainment


  • Reading a film review in a magazine
  • Listening to a podcast about trains
  • Watching a tutorial on DIY
• Research


  • Using online encyclopedias for a school project
  • Searching for research articles to write an essay
  • Using a recipe book
• Location Dependent


  • Find local pizza restaurants
  • Searching for emergency dental care on holiday
  • Pokemon GO
• Information Categories for Organisations


  • Knowledge Management & Creation
  • Management Information Systems (MIS)
  • Financial Analysis & Modelling
  • Contact Management
  • Internal and External Communication
  • Big Data
  • Marketing, Promotion & Sales
  • Decision Making
• Knowledge Management & Creation


  • Managing information across an organisation e.g. sharing information between branches in different cities
• Management Information Systems (MIS)


  • A system that provides an overview of key information e.g. the location and contact details of each charity worker in a disaster area. A decision can be made on overall figures or individual data as appropriate
• Financial Analysis & Modelling


  • Analysing trends e.g. determining the top selling products in a year or weekly cash flow, to create models of customer/user behaviour
• Contact Management


  • Managing contact between a business and the customer e.g. tracking appointments at a doctor's surgery
• Internal and External Communication


  • Providing a communication medium to staff and/or customers e.g. posting Christmas opening times on the website, or sending a staff email invite to the Christmas party
• Big Data


  • Any data too large or complex for traditional data analysis techniques to be used e.g health data on the population of an entire country
• Marketing, Promotion & Sales


  • Identifying patterns or trends in sales figures, so that certain products or areas can be targeted, e.g. to plan marketing campaigns
• Decision Making


  • Using available information to make decisions, e.g. a charity deciding on the amount of aid to be sent to a disaster area based on local data