Information scraps: How and why information eludes our personal information management tools

ABSTRACT

In this article we investigate information scraps—personal information where content has been scribbled on Post-it notes, scrawled on the corners of sheets of paper, stuck in our pockets, sent in email messages to ourselves, and stashed in miscellaneous digital text files. Information scraps encode information ranging from ideas and sketches to notes, reminders, shipment tracking numbers, driving directions, and even poetry. Although information scraps are ubiquitous, we have much still to learn about these loose forms of information practice. Why do we keep information scraps outside of our traditional PIM applications? What role do information scraps play in our overall information practice? How might PIM applications be better designed to accommodate and support information scraps' creation, manipulation and retrieval?

We pursued these questions by studying the information scrap practices of 27 knowledge workers at five organizations. Our observations shed light on information scraps' content, form, media, and location. From this data, we elaborate on the typical information scrap lifecycle, and identify common roles that information scraps play: temporary storage, archiving, work-in-progress, reminding, and management of unusual data. These roles suggest a set of unmet design needs in current PIM tools: lightweight entry, unconstrained content, flexible use and adaptability, visibility, and mobility.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI)

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
Personal information management, information scraps, note taking