Consider this, had companies been controlling information resources properly over the years, the crossover to Y2K would have been a nonevent. Instead, billions of dollars were spent in preparation for the switch.

The concept of Information Resource Management (IRM) is actually quite simple: to inventory and control all of the resources needed to satisfy the information needs of an enterprise. This includes data components (data elements, records, files, data bases, etc.), system components (systems, business processes, procedures, programs, etc.), and business components (functions, jobs, human and machine resources, skills, objectives, and projects).

To implement IRM, technology was introduced over the years, starting with the data dictionaries of the 1970's which evolved into more robust products referred to as "Repositories" which included a manifest of all information resources and how they are interrelated. An IRM Repository, therefore, represents a centralized consolidation of the whereabouts of all corporate information resources, regardless of where used or how stored, including corporate records. For example, it is equally concerned with the information resources as maintained in manual files as it is with those as maintained by the computer. As such, an IRM Repository bridges manual processing to automated processing.

Basically, the concept of a Repository is to record design decisions during a development project much like how an engineer records design decisions when defining the components of any product. In fact, the Repository concept is derived from "Bill of Materials Processing" (BOMP) which seeks to itemize and cross-reference parts to products, thereby providing the means to share and reuse components. One important byproduct of both BOMP and the IRM Repository is that design documentation is always current and up-to-date; as design decisions and component relationships are updated, the documenta

To implement IRM, technology was introduced over the years, starting with the data dictionaries of the 1970's which evolved into more robust products referred to as "Repositories" which included a manifest of all information resources and how they are interrelated. An IRM Repository, therefore, represents a centralized consolidation of the whereabouts of all corporate information resources, regardless of where used or how stored, including corporate records. For example, it is equally concerned with the information resources as maintained in manual files as it is with those as maintained by the computer. As such, an IRM Repository bridges manual processing to automated processing.

Basically, the concept of a Repository is to record design decisions during a development project much like how an engineer records design decisions when defining the components of any product. In fact, the Repository concept is derived from "Bill of Materials Processing" (BOMP) which seeks to itemize and cross-reference parts to products, thereby providing the means to share and reuse components. One important byproduct of both BOMP and the IRM Repository is that design documentation is always current and up-to-date; as design decisions and component relationships are updated, the documenta

Basically, the concept of a Repository is to record design decisions during a development project much like how an engineer records design decisions when defining the components of any product. In fact, the Repository concept is derived from "Bill of Materials Processing" (BOMP) which seeks to itemize and cross-reference parts to products, thereby providing the means to share and reuse components. One important byproduct of both BOMP and the IRM Repository is that design documentation is always current and up-to-date; as design decisions and component relationships are updated, the documenta

Although techniques such as IRM Repositories and BOMP are useful on a product-by-product basis (or system-by-system), the true benefits are derived when they are used on a corporate-wide scale, thereby promoting the true concept of sharing and reusing components. And herein lies the rub; whereas the technology is certainly available to implement this concept, the management needed to make it happen isn't. Despite the considerable benefits associated with Information Resource Management, it will never be realized in this day and age for three reasons:

1. IRM requires a global perspective of information resources. Unfortunately, corporate America is more conducive to the creation of fiefdoms and, as such, there is more of a spirit of competitiveness as opposed to cooperation in the workplace. It takes true visionaries to understand the benefits of IRM and true geniuses to make it happen.

2. IRM requires standardization and discipline. In order to implement a centralized facility to share and reuse resources, agreement must be reached in terms of the standard components to be defined, their attributes, and how they relate to other components. This also requires standard processes (methodologies) for developing systems so they can be assembled in a consistent and predictable manner. Regrettably, it is fallacious to believe there are any standards in the I.T. community and, as a result, most I.T. shops consist of mavericks with different interpretations of how to address systems development. Concepts such as standardization and discipline are steadfastly resisted. Bottom-line: IRM implies a science with governing concepts and rules, not an undisciplined art form which is how most I.T. workers currently view it.

3. IRM requires long term thinking which is the exception as opposed to the rule in most companies. The true benefits of sharing a