Asset Structure Overview
3.1 The AssetDocumentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good; and when its bad, it is better than nothing
What is an asset structure?
Definition
The organisation and structure of documents within a system, where documents are arranged in a hierarchical order based on their relationships and levels of importance or specificity
Purpose
To provide a systematic and logical framework for organising, maintaining and improving documents, making it easier for users to navigate, locate, and understand the content.
The Asset Structure is often referred to as document hierarchy or document structure and in practice are the same things. The reason for calling it Asset Structure is to clarify the connection that it is Assets that are documented into a system.
There are several levels of specificity that goes into describing how something should be performed, in this case a practice. It can range from the purpose, intention and accountability for the Asset to detailed templates and instructions how to perform a single task within a large and complex process.
Documenting all these different levels of specificity in the same document creates several problems:
- Difficult to read and find relevant information
- Ownership and decision making cannot be distributed
- Making changes and improvements becomes a collaborative nightmare
- Some parts might need to change on weekly bases and some parts should be consistent for years (but everything needs to be reviewed and approved by owner for every new version)
It is good practice to separate the documents into a clear and predefined structure with clear ownership, responsibilities and levels of specificity. There are multiple ways to do this and the one that fits the organisations needs is the best one. But as a foundation to start from, the CUBE® Framework defines a core structure that the asset is structured according to.
Not all assets are suitable to be organised into the asset structure, so deviations exist and are perfectly fine as it is a conscious and purposeful decision. Remember, a framework should not force reality into submission, it should be used as a stating point together with common sense.
The Asset Structure
The CUBE® Framework Asset Structure defines the following five levels of document types:
Policy
Contains high level ambitions, goals or requirements, the accountable organisation and roles as well as high level responsibilities
Standard
Contains the next level of detail such as responsible roles, structures, definitions and sets the overall frames of how something shall be performed
Process
Contains further detail into how something should be performed by defining what activities should be performed, by whom and in what order
Work Documents
Contains all information that is needed and used in daily operations. Typically templates, instructions, manuals, lists, etc.
Records
Contains a snapshot of a specific point in time to be used as reference for example traceability, audits or other reasons where historic information is needed
The document types are in a strict hierarchy and have specific purposes and formats. For example, a Policy always has authority over lower level documents. No document in the lower levels can define something that is not aligned with or contradicts a higher level document.
To read more about how to work each document type, please see the respective document type page.
Responsibility vs. Accountability
Throughout the asset structure, the terms Responsibility and Accountability are used consistently. Both terms are related, but have distinct meanings:
Responsibility
Responsibility refers to the duties or tasks that an individual or entity is expected to carry out as part of their role or position.
Responsibility can be delegated by someone with accountability or voluntarily taken on.
Accountability
Accountability extends beyond performing the assigned tasks. It involves taking ownership of the positive and negative outcomes and consequence of those actions (or lack of action).
Accountability cannot be delegated, only assigned by someone with a higher accountability
Best Practices
An important best practice is not to write the same information in multiple places, both within and in other documents. This makes it difficult to understand which text is the master one and makes maintaining and updating the documents troublesome.
Instead, make sure to write good and solid statements in one place, then refer to it from other documents. If the core text is not sufficient and needs to be complemented, updated the master text instead of extending it in a new place. In the long term, this will save a lot of time and unnecessary frustration.
Quantity does not imply quality. And when working with assets, quality is important to ensure easy understanding, easy management and accessibility. The goal should be to make the documents as short, clear and to the point as possible (no one will make any practical sense of a 150+ page document).
Remember the CUBE® organisation layers. There will be no outcome value if the information is unclear, and even more importantly, does not help and individual to take any form of operation action (execution).
As most things, nothing lasts forever and one does not produce a perfect solution the first, second or third time. Assets are no different. A first version is just a first version and will not be a perfect fit. And even if you would find the perfect fit, the world changes, stakeholders change, the organisation change.
Therefore, make sure to have resources with responsibilities allocated to ensure that the asset is maintained and updated at suitable intervals.
Next Step
Read more about the first document type: Policy…