Information life cycle
Information in the colloquial sense contains, among other things, data, news, and knowledge. Any information follows a life cycle that goes from original creation until oblivion. The change of information can be seen with city names: St. Petersburg, Petrograd, and Leningrad. Each phase in the life of information requires other activities. The information life cycle essentially clarifies the substantial uses of information.
The information life cycle includes: generate, process, update, store, re-use, and delete
- Generate
Generating information needs an adequate explanation that describes the information so that others understand the information. The regular use of new information under the avoidance of additional synonyms supports the organization's understanding and fast-spreading.
- Process
Processing information should follow specific rules, which guarantee that the desired result is obtained. The processing rules contain mainly additional meanings and stipulations for interpretation, which should be documented clearly.
- Update
Similar to generating the information, an update renews the information and requires, therefore, an adequate, new description that describes the information clearly and emphasizes the changes to the original meaning. The consistent use of the new meaning is essential.
- Store
It is crucial to store all relevant elements of the information. It is challenging to avoid redundant storing and always to keep the same structure. As soon as inconsistencies become visible, these should be eliminated pro-actively.
- Re-use
Re-use is another variation of generating, which requires that an adequate description of the information be provided, and additionally, the origin is clarified. The consistent use of information is essential.
- Delete
When information is deleted, all occurrences should be eliminated in the operative systems. Nevertheless, because the information is a meme that has its way of replicating in people's minds, it is recommended to archive definitions. This facilitates for a long time the determination of the original meaning and structure.