Obsolescence
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Contents
Definition
Obsolescence is The end result of a new product or technology superseding the old but still functional one and the use of the new technology in place of the old becoming the preferred option Source: [[]]
Summary
One paragraph.
Description
Obsolescence of information technology systems
Risks connected to obsolescence of information technology systems and media formats with potential loss of codified knowledge over time should be taken seriously in long-term projects. New and different digital formats are continuously invented and most of them – like their hardware and software environments – have a short life before they are superseded: access to data and documents stored in an obsolete format can quickly become problematic or impossible.
Risks such as obsolescence can be mitigated through the adoption of open IT architecture policies, usage of universally recognized standards and overall through a clear implementation of a strategy for digital preservation. This means that proprietary formats and closed technologies should be avoided whenever possible: dependence on commercial vendor proprietary technologies for projects that have an expected life-span of up to a hundred years is an unacceptable risk. On the contrary, storing project documents and data with a few indispensable technologies and formats - fully open, available for free public use or at least documented and standardized - ensures that the project will be able to access its codified knowledge across all phases, avoiding as much as possible costly data migration processes which are never risk-free from data information loss.
Nowadays many ISO standards exist in all domains related to the long-term preservation of digital data, which can help to retain and reuse efficiently codified knowledge. Many of the existing nuclear projects worldwide started in an era where knowledge was codified using hardcopies and paper documents (which require special handling and care for long-term preservation), whereby now they are mostly operating using IT computer based systems. Migration from one media to another can be an expensive and sometime problematic process, with significant risks – however in the digital age migration often becomes inevitable due to the media obsolescence (media failure over time, lack of hardware to access media, lack of software to interpret the data on media, and so on).
Long-term preservation of information along with the evolution of organizational structures of a nuclear project are therefore key aspects to be considered at an early stage when planning knowledge management for all phases of a nuclear project. As it is not possible to foresee the entire technological evolution of information management, the knowledge assets of the project should be captured and codified using open, extensible and standardized technologies and media formats which will ensure that knowledge will be available across all phases.
Source: Practical Approaches to Risk Management of Knowledge Loss in Nuclear Organizations
References
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