Remember those days of wrestling with clunky databases, where finding a single piece of information felt like searching for a needle in a haystack the size of a continent? I certainly do. It’s a frustration many of us have encountered, especially in professional settings where efficiency is king and every minute counts.
I recall a situation at a large insurance company, specifically within their managed health care division. The task was to manage a central database of proposals – essentially, answering a barrage of questions from insurance brokers trying to find the best carrier for their clients. In theory, it sounded straightforward: access the database, pull an answer, customize it, and send it off. But the reality? Far from it. This database, like many corporate behemoths, was a tangled mess. Despite regular updates, it was a graveyard of outdated responses, and the general search functions were practically useless. Proposal writers would type in a keyword, only to be bombarded with thousands of irrelevant hits. The only way to survive was to develop an almost photographic memory, memorizing the exact location of specific answers. As the database grew, so did the inefficiency, and job satisfaction plummeted.
This is where the concept of hypertext, and specifically a tool called Storyspace, entered the picture. Imagine a 'hyperspace jump' – a way to instantly warp from an index directly to the precise information you need. That was the vision pitched to management, and thankfully, it was given a trial run.
The transformation began by dissecting the monolithic database. The first step was categorization. Each category got its own index. Then, a Storyspace document was created, and within it, a dedicated 'writing space' for each category. So, what was once a single, unwieldy database became a collection of interconnected spaces.
But Storyspace’s magic lies in its ability to create hierarchies within these spaces. Take, for instance, the Dental Maintenance Organization (DMO) category. Within the main 'DMO' writing space, an 'index' sub-space was created. This index then linked to several other sub-spaces, each holding a chunk of the actual DMO data. The crucial step was linking the index entries directly to their corresponding data. Suddenly, a click on an index item didn't just show you a list; it took you straight to the answer.
There’s a real advantage to breaking down information into smaller, manageable chunks. Storyspace, I discovered, performs better when navigating shorter texts. More importantly, this segmentation allowed for much better organization and the addition of thoughtful touches. Links could be woven back to the index from every data chunk, and crucially, text from one database could be linked to related information in another. This was achieved by adding brief descriptions and messages indicating related data after each response, creating a web of interconnected knowledge rather than a siloed collection.
It’s this ability to create a navigable, interconnected web of information that makes Storyspace so powerful. It moves beyond the limitations of traditional databases, transforming complex, sprawling data into something accessible, understandable, and even, dare I say, enjoyable to work with. It’s about making information work for you, not against you.