The Process of Information

There is enough pressure on Water Utilities (WU) towards a more lean and resilient operation. In order to accomplish that, decisions take place.

However, any decision requires facts, data, or parameters that originate from the process that is the object itself of our decisions; that is why it is crucial to understand the process that originates this data.

 

2.1 From data to knowledge

 

Before any decision, measurements are in need. They are the raw material needed to be analyzed and presented to be informative. (Water and Loughborough University, 2014).

The registration of recordable facts is the basis for starting any reliable and systematic decision-making process, as we can see in the diagram below.

Once the pieces of data emerge, the management molds throughout the in-house report catalog, combining different data types, thus generating information. In WU's case, this reporting catalog is in part designed and enforced by the Water Regulator or Authority. Under these circumstances, Water Regulators are the main drivers for the creation of information.

 

 

Once these reports are generated through different time intervals, assessment and critical decision-making occur, and knowledge originates (see Figure 4).

Knowledge is information decoded and made concrete in the light of the individual's understanding of the context (World Bank, 1999)

This knowledge will enable  WU management and policymakers to reach the following objectives (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2013):

• Bring the right people
• Propose a suitable methodology for planning and budget
• Interpret and use results
• Adopt and integrate communication channels that will influence and motivate others within the company and other stakeholders

What happened after this process is the formation of the experience and judgment that can contribute to continuous improvement.

 

2.2 Dissecting Information

 

As we saw above, the smallest part of the information process is data. There are different types o data:

There different types of data:

• Quantitative(can be measured objectively) or Qualitative data (measured subjectively); it is the views, opinions, and perspectives of an individual and group.
• Data could be nominal,too: i.e., a name worth no "value."
• Ordinal: e.g., very bad, bad, good.
• Interval:  values provide order and also indicate the difference between the values
• Ratio: most natural measurements (e.g., height, weight). These have zero value.
• Discrete: it can take only one value.
• Continuous: can take any value.

 

When data for the various areas and items of interest links in a context, they form variables (Matos et al., 2015), as shown in Figure 5.

Significant variables form parameters, especially if they define or describe relevant elements of the project. The value derived from these parameters is what we call indicators, which provide information about a subject matter with a significance extending beyond that directly associated with a parameter value (ISO, 2007).

These indicators are the dials in an airplane cockpit (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, 1992). They are used to communicate information about progress towards a specific goal in a simplified manner, condensing information about complex issues (Water and Loughborough University, 2014).

Applying this concept to WU, indicators are: "Quantitative or qualitative factor or variable that provides simple and reliable means to measure achievement, to reflect the changes connected to an intervention, or to help assess the performance of a utility." (IBNET, no date)