What I thought about to turn Notion's flexibility into organizational reproducibility
Hello.
Recently, I wrote three articles on Qiita about information architecture when using Notion in an organization.
This article summarizes the key points I wanted to convey and provides a brief introduction to those three articles.
The theme is, “How can we turn Notion's flexibility into organizational reproducibility?”
The meaning of using tools in an organization
I believe the meaning of using tools in an organization is not just about storing information, but about bringing reproducibility to how work is done.
To achieve this, the following points become important.
Standardizing where information is stored
Clarifying the items that need to be entered
Reducing omissions in decision-making and tasks
Making it easier to track the history later
Ensuring work can proceed the same way even if the person in charge changes
In other words, I believe tools are meant to “work that relied on human memory and habit” and incorporate it into a standardized form to some extent.
Notion's flexibility can also be a challenge for organizational use
Notion is a tool with a high degree of flexibility.
When used individually, this flexibility is a major strength. You can flexibly create pages and databases to suit your own way of thinking.
On the other hand, some caution is required when using it in an organization.
If you leave the state where pages and databases can be created freely as is, the systems will diverge by team and by person.
If left unchecked, this will lead to the following chaotic state.
Different people write in different places
An increase in similar databases
Templates are not standardized
The meanings of statuses and properties become inconsistent
When this happens, even though the same tool is being used, the way work is done depends on individual memory and judgment.
No matter how smart Notion AI becomes, it cannot fully utilize its performance in this state.
Guardrails to turn flexibility into reproducibility
To make the most of Notion in an organization, I believe it is important to set guardrails and intentionally impose limitations.
For example, by organizing common databases, templates, the meanings of statuses and properties, edit permissions, and change notifications, it becomes easier to maintain the reproducibility required by the organization.
The more consistent the location and format of information, the easier it is for AI to follow the context of work. When creating AI skills, if it is clear where information is located, you can define search targets and output destinations without hesitation.
The Positioning of the Three Articles
The three articles I wrote this time are positioned as follows.
1. A Practical Report on Reviewing Information Silos
This is a story about setting Notion improvement as a theme for an engineer training activity conducted at the company.It covers how we reviewed a state where similar databases were increasing within Notion, making it difficult to understand where to write what.
2. Design to Prevent Flexibility from Becoming DebtThis article summarizes design policies for handling Notion in an organization by establishing guardrails such as common databases, templates, permission controls, and change notifications.
3. Information Structure to Utilize Notion AIThis article organizes what kind of information structure is necessary to enable Notion AI to follow the context of work.
Halfway There... But I See Hope
In addition to the parts introduced this time, there are still many areas I want to fix (such as isolated databases and pages within pages...).
However, through this activity, I felt that everyone's awareness was gradually changing, with comments like, "This content should be put in the knowledge database."
It might have been good that I didn't just say, "Put this kind of information here!" but insteadrepeatedly communicated the background and purpose of why it is better to do sothat was effective.
Since I could see that everyone's awareness can be changed little by little if proper structural design, templates, and rule maintenance are accompanied by background and purpose, I felt there is hope.
Summary
Notion's flexibility is a great appeal.
However, when used in an organization, if this flexibility is left unchecked, the location of information and how work proceeds will vary from person to person.
What is important is to set rules and guardrails in areas where reproducibility is required.
By doing so, just like with other business tools, you can create an environment in Notion where information management does not become fragmented and usable data is accumulated.
I would be happy if these three articles serve as a trigger for thinking about information design for that purpose.
Thank you for reading until the end.