Why do you do what you do?
When recording the pieces of knowledge that form a body of institutional memory, an organization needs to make note of the "Why" behind what it does. We do some things for very good reasons, and we do others because of the classic that's the way it's always been done, and in some cases, those reasons are the result of personal preferences or other insufficient reasons to continue doing them that way.
Nobody seems to know, for instance, why the buttons on women's clothes open on the opposite side of those on men's clothes. If the style used on men's clothes is more convenient for right-handed people (who are by far in the majority around the world), then why don't women's clothes adopt the same convention?
This same sort of matter applies in a workplace context: Why does a particular plant open at 7:00 instead of 8:00? Is it because the superintendent is an early bird, or is it because opening early allows the plant to complete a sequence of other tasks so that a certain type of truck traffic is off the road before the afternoon rush hour?
Institutional memory should document why you do what you do. There's nothing wrong with doing anything in a certain way because it suits your personal tastes and preferences -- everyone does that. But the institution should know when there's a purpose behind a manner of doing things and when it's only a matter of taste.
Nobody seems to know, for instance, why the buttons on women's clothes open on the opposite side of those on men's clothes. If the style used on men's clothes is more convenient for right-handed people (who are by far in the majority around the world), then why don't women's clothes adopt the same convention?
This same sort of matter applies in a workplace context: Why does a particular plant open at 7:00 instead of 8:00? Is it because the superintendent is an early bird, or is it because opening early allows the plant to complete a sequence of other tasks so that a certain type of truck traffic is off the road before the afternoon rush hour?
Institutional memory should document why you do what you do. There's nothing wrong with doing anything in a certain way because it suits your personal tastes and preferences -- everyone does that. But the institution should know when there's a purpose behind a manner of doing things and when it's only a matter of taste.
