The Hauptbahnhof Concept

I recently read a Knowledge Management implementation plan which introduced me to the “Hauptbahnhof” concept. In essence, the Hauptbahnhof concept uses the model of a mass transportation station which helps users get from point A to point X as quickly as possible. The intention of the plan’s author is to apply this concept in an IT environment by creating a set of quick navigational aids which get a user to relevant information expediently. When using high-level mathematical equations and complex algorithms, the Hauptbahnhof concept becomes a genius solution, but only in a physical environment.

Physical environments have many absolutes. For example:

• The shortest route from San Francisco to Reno is through Sacramento.
• The fastest land route from Sydney to Perth is via train.
• The cheapest route from the Leeward Cost to downtown Honolulu is the bus.

Additionally, the more facts you add to a statement, the more valuable the statement is. For example, the fastest route from San Diego to San Francisco is through Los Angeles, except during weekday rush-hour when it becomes faster to go around the city of LA. These statements can become infinitely complex and therefore require computers to run simultaneous calculations to find the most efficient route. Nevertheless, the physical environment is almost always absolute regardless of it’s complexity.

The virtual environment is never so predictable. In other words, there is no right or wrong way to get to a piece of information in a virtual environment… unless a person intentionally controls that environment. For example, compare the process of using folders vs. using tags. Folders say, “There is only one place to save and retrieve this information,” while tags say, “There are indefinite ways to save and retrieve this information.” Let’s break this down a bit…

If I draft an acquisition document following a technology demonstration from the 2008 Uber-Geek Tech Demo, I could save it in the Acquisition Documents folder, OR Technology Demonstrations folder, OR 2008 Uber-Geek Tech Demo folder, OR a folder using the authors name, etc. I can choose only one, and others have to think like me in order to find the document. I have essentially said that there is only one correct way to get to this information.

In the same scenario, metadata tags allow me to save the document in all the previously mentioned ways and more. I can tag the document as Acquisition, AND Tech Demo, AND 2008 Uber-Geek Tech Demo, AND Mr. Author Dude, etc. This ultimately allows a user to navigate to the information by his or her own understanding and point of view. There is no longer a right or wrong way and I have essentially said that user can find the information however they like.

Look at the way you use the web compared to people around you. Some prefer folders (favorites) and can operate effectively in that environment while others rely on search aids like Google. Some use tags and some use data feeds (RSS, etc.). None of these methods are wrong as long as the user is getting the needed information, and they will get that information faster because they don’t have to mold their way of thinking into the authors way of thiniking.

The Hauptbahnhof concept essentially creates an absolute construct in a free environment. Ultimately, it will lead to more difficulty finding information, stifled creativity, additional training, and in some cases a requirement to feed people instead of allowing them to feed themselves (push vice pull). In other words, Hauptbahnhof allows organization to progress from information vacuums to information stove pipes – from organizations that don’t share to organizations that only share by their rules. In the meantime, the free and creative crowd grows smarter, faster.