Information can be organized and stored using different organization systems. They all have in common that they seek to make information more easy to find, re-use and maintain.
Organization systems are used to make group and relate information that are similar and to make information easier to find. Example of organization systems are:
- Topic based
- Matrix based
Hierarchical Information Organization
Hierarchical organzation of information is the most common. You know it from the folder structure of your hard drive. Items are placed in folders with subfolders to make sense of it all. In Crystallize items are organized hierarchically in the catalogue.
Items stored in a folder can be arranged in a particular order. This is the sequential organization strategy.
Topic Based Organization
Topic based information organization is centred around assigning semantic labels to items. Topics are organized in topic maps. Topic maps contain topics defining a specific taxonomy like production locations or taste flavours for coffee.
Matrix Based Organization
Organizing information in a matrix can make it more accessible. For example when managing products for a point of sale system (POS) or the highlighted products for a specific category.
In Crystallize we use the grid organizer to store information in a matrix.