The document discusses the Bootstrap Institute's vision for an "Open Hyperdocument System" (OHS) that could boost collective intelligence and improve organizational performance. It argues that current information systems are inadequate for collaborative knowledge work. An OHS would use explicitly structured, multimedia documents with object-level linking to create an integrated knowledge management environment. This would support collaborative processes, knowledge capture and application across domains. The OHS paradigm represents a shift from tool-centric to document-centric systems. Advanced prototypes are needed to drive adoption and evaluate benefits through pilot programs. Collaboration between organizations could help address common challenges and realize significant economic benefits from improved effectiveness and productivity.
Boosting Collective IQ Through Open Hyperdocument Systems
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For Quantum-Leap Improvement in
Productivity, Effectiveness, Competetiveness
A New Grand Challenge
BOOTSTRAP INSTITUTE
Douglas Engelbart, Ph.D.
Christina Engelbart
September 5, 1996
Š 1995 Bootstrap Institute
Boosting Collective IQ:
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Overview
Boosting Collective IQ
BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY
NEXT STEPS
Govt-Industry
Partnership
Repositories &
Collective IQ
Open Hyperdocument
System
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Background
Basic Collaborative Environment
⢠Consider any
organizational unit with
a missionâproject
team, task force,
department, company,
community, government
institution, consortium...
⢠...immersed in a
continuous process of
knowledge development
and exchange.
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Background
Documents as Basis for Collective IQ
Mtg
Records
Plans
Reports
Intel
Commentary
Rationale
Proposals
Email
Contracts
Lessons
Learned
Source
Code
⢠Out of this process emer-
ges a swirl of evolving
documents, forming the
basis for the groupâs
Collective IQâi.e. their
collective perception,
reasoning, memory, fore-
sight, readiness, planning,
implementation, and
integration of lessons
learned.
⢠Collective IQ depends on
the quality and utility of
this dynamically evolving
knowledge base.
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Background
Problem Statement
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
Mtg
Records
Intel
Commentary
Email
Lessons
Learned Rationale
⢠Unfortunately, in actual
practice most repositories
capture only a fraction of
the knowledge assets.
⢠And what remains often
has negligable utility
beyond âpaperweightâ.
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Background
Bigger Problem Statement
Related
Projects
Contractors
WWW
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
Mtg
Records
Intel
Commentary Email
Lessons
Learned Rationale
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
Customers Partners
⢠Then factor in interactions
with the outside world.
⢠This is a generic problem -- in
manufacturing, scholarship,
governance, education, TQM,
crisis action, engineering,
healthcare ...
⢠Prevailing information
systems fall way short of
solutions, since their un-
integrated scroll-or-print
paradigm adds little or no
utility beyond document
publishing or retrieval.
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Conclusion
Related
Projects*
Contractors* WWW
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
Mtg
Records
Intel
Commentary Email
Lessons
Learned Rationale
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
Plans
Reports
Proposals
Contracts
Source
Code
⢠What is needed is a new
paradigm for collaborative
knowledge work.
⢠This is a key point of
leverage for boosting
Collective IQ and creating
high-performance
organizations.
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Overview
Boosting Collective IQ
BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY
NEXT STEPS
Govt-Industry
Partnership
Repositories &
Collective IQ
Open Hyperdocument
System
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F
o
u
n
d
a
t
i
o
n
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
Enabling Technology
Open Hyperdocument Systems
⢠Explicitly structured multi-media documents
⢠Object-level hyper-linking, addressability, traceability, and access control
⢠Dynamic âon-the-flyâ view control for precision browsing and editing
⢠Integrated editor-browser designed to take advantage of the above
⢠Cataloging, indexing, annotating, version control, scripting, ...
Underlying Document Support
⢠What is needed for star-
ters is a new definition
of a document, around
which a coherent
foundational knowledge
environment can be
assembled.
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Workflow
Shared
Files
F
o
u
n
d
a
t
i
o
n
Apps
&Utilitie
s
Journal/
Library
Email
Enabling Technology
Open Hyperdocument Systems
⢠Explicitly structured multi-media documents
⢠Object-level hyper-linking, addressability, traceability, and access control
⢠Dynamic âon-the-flyâ view control for precision browsing and editing
⢠Integrated editor-browser designed to take advantage of the above
⢠Cataloging, indexing, annotating, version control, scripting, ...
Underlying Document Support
Shared
Screen
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
⢠...with component tools suppor-
ting document development,
capture, integration, manage-
ment, use, and re-use;
⢠...as well as supporting basic
collaborative processes;
⢠...across platforms & apps
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Enabling Technology
Open Hyperdocument Systems
D
o
m
a
i
n
s CASE
Command
& Control
Reengi
neering
Manufact
uring
Commu
nity Nets
Program
Mgmt
Workflow
Shared
Files
F
o
u
n
d
a
t
i
o
n
Apps
&Utilitie
s
Journal/
Library
Email
⢠Explicitly structured multi-media documents
⢠Object-level hyper-linking, addressability, traceability, and access control
⢠Dynamic âon-the-flyâ view control for precision browsing and editing
⢠Integrated editor-browser designed to take advantage of the above
⢠Cataloging, indexing, annotating, version control, scripting, ...
Underlying Document Support
Shared
Screen
Education
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
⢠Given this foundation,
extensions into specific
application domains
becomes a relatively
minor task.
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Enabling Technology
Supporting a Range of User Interfaces
(1) Standard Browser: such as
Mosaic, Netscape, Explorer, ...
D
o
m
a
i
n
s CASE
Command
& Control
Reengin
eering
Manufact
uring
Program
Mgmt
Workflow
Shared
Files
F
o
u
n
d
a
ti
o
n
Apps
&Utilities
Journal/Li
brary
Email
⢠Explicitly structured multi-media documents
⢠Object-level hyper-linking, addressability, traceability, and access control
⢠Dynamic âon-the-flyâ view control for precision browsing and editing
⢠Integrated editor-browser designed to take advantage of the above
⢠Cataloging, indexing, annotating, version control, scripting, ...
Underlying Document Support
Shared
Screen
Education
Community
Nets
(2) Augmented Brower:
adds selected OHS features
(3) Browser-Editor: adds
integrated editor
(n) Full OHS: for
high-performance
users
Input Formats:
⢠MS Office
⢠Word Perfect
⢠ascii email, ...
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
. . .
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OHS Sample Applications
⢠Collaborative Authoring: Structured outlining and rearranging, easy
reuse of existing material, easy link-creation to cite related work--
can uniquely address any object anywhere in the knowledge space.
Publish, review, comment(see below).
⢠Study: Precision browsing (multi-window jumping, view control),
keep annotated list of links to selected passages, email annotated
links to author or co-workers with questions or comments
⢠Publishing Online: Draft or final document is submitted to the
repository, automatically assigned document number, cataloged;
email notification with link automatically issued to distribution list.
Can supersede, add to, reply to, etc. Full access and version
control, traceability, accountability, authentication.
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
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OHS Sample Applications (cont)
⢠Meeting Support: Agenda development, group note-taking,
shared-screen, presentations, full access to repository
⢠Admin: Status reports, time records, todo lists, email, policies,
procedures, reference manualsâall integral
⢠Project Management: Work breakdown, status reports, etc.
structured and crosslinked for automated managment reporting
and perusal at any level of detail; can backtrack on events to
change course or debrief
⢠Software Engineering: Structured source code, cross referen-cing
between source, design, requirements, bug reports, user
documentation; click on procedure name to access its source; OO
structure semi-automatic; each line of code stamped with time/ID
of last edit
⢠Reengineering/Technology Transfer: Support close coordina-tion
between designers, users, implementers (via augmented
repository, precision browsing, hyper-email, shared screen...)
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Paradigm Shift Summary
From
⢠Tool-centric system
⢠Function-oriented tool
system
⢠Authoring and publishing
⢠Isolated passive libraries
and archives
⢠One user class:
"easy to use"
To
⢠Document-centric system
⢠Integrated end-to-end knowledge
management environment
⢠Developing, integrating and
applying knowledge online
⢠Active âlivingâ libraries of work in
progress, seamlessly integrated
within the orgâs work processes
⢠Many classes of user:
pedestrian to high performance
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Paradigm Shift Summary (cont)
From
⢠File level addressability
⢠âLoad & scroll browsingâ in
WYSIWYG or outline viewing
modes, with canned links
⢠Windows tied to a file and to
the application used
⢠Each application has custom
file design
To
⢠Object-level addressability
⢠âPrecision browsingâ - jumping
directly to any object in any file with
on-the-fly custom views
⢠Windows are a portal onto the
repository; a variety of applications
may be used on any file
⢠Applications use common file
design
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OHS Summary
⢠âHypermediaâ redefined to facilitate
âliving repositoryâ :
â collective work processes
Âť collaboration, coordination, concurrency
â capture, integration, management
â rendering into applicable knowledge
â faster easier access, utilizability, traceability
⢠Very rich, generic, evolvable environment
⢠Built to open standards
â universal definition of a âhyperdocumentâ
â component tools operate on these documents
across platforms and application domains
â Integrated, evolvable, scalable
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Overview
Boosting Collective IQ
BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY
NEXT STEPS
Govt-Industry
Partnership
Repositories &
Collective IQ
Open Hyperdocument
System
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Beyond the Technology
⢠OHS is specifically designed to boost Collective IQ, supporting
dynamic knowledge processes and knowledge repositories in an
integrated, scalable, fully interoperable environment.
⢠Inevitably, such OHS functionality will be standard in commercial
operating systems, applications, and utilities
⢠Advanced prototypes are needed to keep pushing the frontier, and
creating a pull on the marketplace to bring it about sooner as well
as cost-effectively
⢠Advanced pilot trials are needed in a variety of application domains
to hammer out the common requirements, co-evolve the work
processes, and evaluate the benefits, while paving the way for the
rest of the organization
⢠The implementation teams responsible for these pilots should
themselves be the first pilot groups (the essence of bootstrapping)
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Beyond the Technology (cont)
⢠Boosting the Collective IQ within the product cycles and the
improvement cycles of the organization offers compounded ROI
⢠This dovetails into a larger comprehensive strategy for creating
high-performance organizations
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Boosting the
Capacity to Improve
This âImprovement Infrastructureâ will be key to the
organizationâs survival and success
H T
A
Core Business
Activity
C
Improves Bâs
Capabilities
B
Improves Aâs
Capabilities
A - Core Business: I.e. delivering products and
services, marketing, R&D, operations, training, ...
B - Improve ability to perform Core Business: I.e.
new technologies, work processes, org structures, ...
C - Improve ability to Improve: I.e. new forms of
stakeholder participation, better techniques for
ongoing assessment of needs and opportunities, new
selection criteria, implementation strategies, co-
evolution of tools and processes, ...
Try categorizing the activities in your org thusly:
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The Bootstrap Challenge
⢠Is your organizationâs âAâ activity ahead of the
capability curve?
⢠Is its âBâ competence equal to the task?
⢠Is its âCâ activity poised to leverage its capacity to
improve?
⢠Is its Collective IQ increasing rapidly enough?
⢠There are no proven guidelines for creating high-
performance organizations, no shrink-wrapped
technologies or practices as yet designed for
them...
⢠How will these get created?
â How will your organization get oriented and
positioned to take advantage?
H T
A
Core Business
Activity
C
Improves Bâs
Capabilities
B
Improves Aâs
Capabilities
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Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
Consortia
Initiatives
Communities
Other
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
Universities
Universities
R&D Labs
Institutes
Other
Organizations serious about boosting their Collective IQ and their
capacity to improve should join forces. For example:
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
Corporations
Industry
Vendors
Consultants
Other
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
Agencies
Intel
Mtg
Records
Email
Source
Code
Plans
Rationale
Joining Forces
âCâ Level
Collaboration
Govt
Institutions
Legislation
DoD
Other
⢠Address common challenges and issues
⢠Extensive dialog, intell, rich knowledge base
⢠Share advice, support for member pilots
⢠Share strategies, lessons learned
⢠Create proto environment for Alliance use
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Benefits
⢠Boosting Collective IQ could yield quantum
leap improvement in effectiveness,
productivity, and competetiveness nationwide
⢠Boosting Collective IQ ~ Grand Challenge
⢠The potential ROI in cost savings and value-
creation is in $Billions
~