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IRP Information Requirements Planning

Information planning: your processes and your information, linked.

Information planning means knowing, for each step of your process, which information is needed, who provides it and when it must be there. IRP in Lean ERP links that information to the steps of your own processes.

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A close link between your processes and your information

Your own processesYou define your processes the way your company works, as a sequence of steps.
Information per stepFor each process step you decide which information is needed, and who may view or add to it.
Information gets a timingThe steps are in the file's planning. So you also know when a piece of information is needed.
What is missing stands outPer step you see what has come in and what has not. Unknown is not in order.

Defining your processes

With IRP you define your own business processes, the way your organisation works: from request to handover, from sale to after-sales service. Each process is a sequence of steps, with the steps they depend on.

For each step you record which information it needs: a customer choice, a plan, a confirmation, a check or a document. Instead of loose documents or systems that do not talk to each other, the information belongs to the step where it is used.

**Real screen from the demo environment**, with fictitious data. A process model with, per step, the information that belongs to it. Click to enlarge.
Real screen from the demo environment, with fictitious data. A process model with, per step, the information that belongs to it. Click to enlarge.

Who sees what, and at which step?

For each process step you decide which information is visible and who may add to it. Information from the preparation does not need to be visible to those who only join later in the process, unless it matters to them.

That keeps the information manageable. Everyone sees what they need for their step, without searching a folder that holds everything. Customers and partners follow along through a portal, only for their own file.

Which information a step shows and who may view or add to it is set up with you at the start, per process. Read more about permissions under Permissions and security.

Through the planning, information gets a timing

That is the difference with an ordinary document folder. The steps of the process are in the file's planning. Because the information is attached to the step, you also know when it is needed: before the step starts.

That is how MRP works for materials: the planning shows when a material must be there. IRP does the same for information. A plan that is missing for a step starting next week stands out, not just on the day itself.

**Real screen from the demo environment**, with fictitious data. The planning of a file, with the steps and their dependencies. Click to enlarge.
Real screen from the demo environment, with fictitious data. The planning of a file, with the steps and their dependencies. Click to enlarge.

An example from construction

In a construction project, purchasing materials follows the approval of the drawings. The step "Approval of drawings" holds the drawings and the approval. The step "Purchasing" holds the order list and the delivery dates.

The staff handling the approval see the drawings at their step. The buyer finds what he needs at his step, and sees in the planning when his step is due. If something is missing, it is shown as missing at the step, visible to whoever follows up the file.

**Real screen from the demo environment**, with fictitious data. At one step, one of the three documents has come in; the others are shown as missing. Click to enlarge.
Real screen from the demo environment, with fictitious data. At one step, one of the three documents has come in; the others are shown as missing. Click to enlarge.

Frequently asked questions about information planning

What does information planning mean?

Recording for each step of your process which information is needed and who provides it. Because the steps are in the file's planning, you also know when that information must be there.

Can I define my own processes?

Yes. You define your processes as a sequence of steps, with per step the information that belongs to it. This is set up with you at the start.

Who sees the information of a step?

You decide that per step: who may view it and who may add to it. Customers and partners only see their own file through a portal.

More about IRP

Read on about how IRP works, or look at other practical situations.

What is IRP? ›No more double work ›Knowledge loss ›IRP as process management software ›Planning in Lean ERP ›
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