History of Information Mapping
The history of the Information Mapping method is intimately connected to
- the history and growth of Information Mapping, Inc., the American-based company formed to develop and market his method, and
- Robert E. Horn, the researcher who founded the method and the company.
This page provides
Overview of Information Mapping's history
Information Mapping's history spans four decades as it has grown from an academic think tank to a leading international training and consulting organization. The main events of each decade are summarized in the table below.
| Decade | Major Corporate Focus |
|---|---|
| 1960’s | Initial research and development of the Information Mapping Method and its applications. |
| 1970’s | Development of Information Mapping's core training seminars and consulting services. |
| 1970’s | Commercialization and growth of the Information Mapping business. |
| 1980’s | Extension of Information Mapping's services and seminars to new online and Web applications and computer classroom technologies. |
| 1990’s | Development and growth of a comprehensive Enterprise-wide Knowledge System and consulting solutions. |
Historical timeline
The historical timeline below highlights some of the key milestones in Information Mapping's history.
| Year | Milestones |
|---|---|
1960's — Research and Development |
|
| 1964 | Robert Horn's research first suggested there were six basic types of information that would later become a key component of the Information Mapping Method. |
| 1965 | Robert Horn developed a new method of writing training materials that was aimed at making initial learning faster and easier while enabling rapid, effective retrieval of information that has been forgotten. |
| 1966 | Robert Horn created the first practical application of the method by designing and developing a new information retrieval system to keep organizations informed about available Federal funding in the new Great Society programs. |
| 1967 | Information Resources, Inc. was formed and the first client project was completed for the U.S. Air Force. |
1970's — Seminar Introductions |
|
| 1973 | The first onsite Information Mapping seminar was taught to Rand-Xerox in England. |
| 1975 | Information Mapping's public seminars were offered monthly in the United States. |
| 1976 | Robert Horn received the Outstanding Research Award from the National Society of Performance Improvement for his work on the Information Mapping Method. |
| 1977 | The first Information Mapping seminar focused on writing business communications was introduced. |
1980's — Commercialization and Growth |
|
| 1981 | Information Mapping's size doubled in one year as several major corporations adopted the Information Mapping Method as their preferred writing approach. |
| 1982 | Information Mapping, Inc. was incorporated under the current name. The first application of the Information Mapping Method for online information was successfully completed. |
| 1986 | Douglas W. Gorman became company President and began shifting the company from a research to a commercial focus. |
| 1988 | Formatting Solutions™ software was introduced. |
| 1989 | Robert Horn published a new book called "Mapping Hypertext", which changed the way people thought about hypertext and the online revolution. |
1990's – Online and Technology Focus |
|
| 1990 | Information Mapping established an international network of distributors and partners in response to requests by multi-national clients. |
| 1991 | The company introduced its first seminar dealing with online communications. |
| 1995 | Canadian training company Communicare (later Information Mapping Canada) joined the international network of distributors and partners as the sole Canadian license-holder of Information Mapping. |
| 1996 | Information Mapping's first Web seminar and first technology-based documentation seminars were introduced. |
| 1998 | Information Mapping established regional sales offices including 7 branch sales offices around the United States. |
| 1999 | Information Mapping introduced a suite of Web-related seminars and consulting offerings. |
2000's — Enterprise-wide Knowledge System Focus |
|
| 2000 | Information Mapping introduced an e-learning program for corporate licensing on the fundamentals of the Information Mapping method. |
| 2001 | Formatting Solutions® XML software was introduced. |
| 2001 | Information Mapping receives the Diana Lifetime Achievement Award for Information Mapping. |
| 2002 | Information Mapping text book, Demystifying ISO 9000 rated best ISO book by peers. |
Robert E. Horn Biography
Robert E. Horn is a world renowned researcher, educator, and entrepreneur. He began his career as a TV Producer/Director in the military and a systems analyst at Univac when HPT was in its formative years. As a research associate at Columbia University, where programmed instruction was being invented, Horn created a way of analyzing any complex subject matter. This research became the basis for the Information Mapping® method, his most widely known accomplishment. The method has improved the productivity of managers, consultants, trainers and writers in organizations across the globe.
In 1967 Horn founded the company that is now known as Information Mapping, Inc. He served as CEO of the company for 15 years before moving on to pursue other research interests. In addition to Information Mapping, Inc., Horn's career has incorporated many research and development projects at universities, research centres, corporations, and five start-ups that he founded.
Currently, Horn is a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Center for the Study of Language and Information and continues his research with a special interest in policy communication, social learning, and knowledge management (especially in biotechnology and national security affairs). His recent development of visual argumentation mapping has resulted in the publication of the Mapping Great Debates series, which, in the past year and a half, has received a full-page review in Nature, as well as being hung in a national museum in The Hague as part of an exhibit on information design as a fine art.
For his accomplishments, Horn has been presented with the Thomas F. Gilbert Distinguished Professional Achievement Award from the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Computing Machinery for his work on the Information Mapping method. He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, and recipient of the Outstanding Research Award from the National Society of Performance and Instruction.
Horn is the author of several books including:
- Mapping Great Debates: Consciousness
- Mapping Hypertext: Analysis, Linkage, and Display of Knowledge for the Next Generation of On-Line Text and Graphics
- Visual Language: Global Communication for the 21st Century , and
- How High Can It Fly - Examining the Evidence on Information Mapping's Method of High-Performance Communication. Click here to download the two chapters of this book:
Click here to view the Publications by Robert Horn that we offer.
Click here to leave this site and visit Robert Horn's site.
