EVALUATING INFOVINE - A SYSTEM TO ENHANCE CORPORATE MEMORY

InfoVine is a software prototype which has been developed to enhance c orporate memory and corporate consciousness. If has been implemented i n the context of paint technology laboratory notebooks at Courtaulds C oatings Holdings Ltd However, ifs possible business and industrial app lications are far wider. InfoVine is designed to perform a task whose importance is only just beginning to be recognised: that of replicatin g the information roles of middle managers, and providing a dynamic re cord of organisational knowledge. The system collects, stores and make s available information about which personnel have expertise in which technical areas. This paper examines the evaluation process that InfoV ine underwent at Courtaulds Coatings Holdings Ltd. The process was con sidered as an exercise in technology transfer and in promoting the use of the software within the organisation. The evaluation of InfoVine i s considered in the light of proven criteria for good technology trans fer. The methods used for system evaluation and the results of the eva luation are considered. The work on InfoVine has now moved into an exc iting new phase. The closing section of this paper is concerned with n ew directions for InfoVine. These include abstracting the InfoVine pri nciples to produce a generic system for enhancing corporate memory and corporate consciousness. New contexts for the development of InfoVine are also discussed.