How to build a documentary fund? What a strange question! Especially at a time when chat and generative AI would have us believe that it has never been easier to find useful information to manage your innovation strategy. And yet, the risk of missing out on key information has never been higher.
And magically generative AIs don't work miracles. Without even mentioning hallucinations, we at TKM find that a search on any of the major models (we test them all, even if we have a preference for Mistral... and that will be the subject of a future article!) only brings back a small portion of the useful information.
Skeptical? Cécile is a construction engineer working for a large group with which she has already filed six patents. During a recent research project on her favorite topic (adhesive and cement additives), and despite several attempts, only two of her patents have been "resurfaced"...
As part of another watch, the "cat" brought us into its clutches a scientific article that appeared extremely relevant (with the university, the authors... and even the DOI!). We checked immediately and this article did not exist...
Generative AI produces many useful services, and it is integrated into our software platform , but it cannot reasonably be sufficient to power a robust and methodical monitoring system.
In this context, conducting a state-of-the-art review , competitive analysis, or monitoring your technological and industrial environment depends first and foremost on your ability (or that of your team in charge of monitoring) to collect all the information potentially useful to your decisions.
In other words: to constitute an exhaustive and relevant documentary fund , based on one (or more often several) research strategy.
Furthermore, thanks to this fund, once the monitoring team has conducted the analyses, R&D or IP (industrial property) analysts will be able to export, comment on, and share a particularly interesting and inspiring patent, thesis, or collaborative project. But for this, it must first be collected.
The purpose of this article is to share with you some tips and tricks inherited from more than 20 years of experience of TKM in monitoring companies of all sizes (SMEs, ETIs, startups or GG).
Read also → Which technology monitoring tool should you choose in the face of the explosion in the number of patents?
Build up a complete and relevant documentary fund
Building a useful and effective documentary fund is one of the first steps of monitoring, of which it constitutes the cornerstone. Not only will it be necessary to be:
- exhaustive (collect everything that is likely to be relevant),
- while limiting noise (which we ultimately accept as irrelevant documents but impossible to extract at the search strategy stage),
- and above all by spending the necessary time and no more , the most important effort having to be reserved for analysis, exploitation, dissemination and collective and strategic enrichment.
The TKM platform offers a fluid and integrated process that will facilitate collection ( the “Data Lake” module ), enrich raw data ( the “Projects” module ), and provide maximum space and functionality for analysis ( the “Analysis” module ), sharing, and knowledge management ( the “Watches” module ). But let's start at the beginning.
What is a documentary fund? ?
A documentary fund brings together all the documents, data and sources of information collected on a topic of interest (a technological field or an industrial sector).
This organized collection provides businesses and analyst teams with a reliable and relevant knowledge base to support the strategic management of their organization.
More than just a collection of documents, a well-structured documentary fund allows rapid access to verified, enriched, organized information ready to be analyzed by knowledgeable teams (IP, R&D, Innovation or strategic marketing).
The importance of the documentary fund
In the current context of infobesity , where information is abundant but not always of good quality, having a complete and structured documentary fund becomes a strategic asset .
It allows you to:
- Centralize knowledge from various sources.
- Filter and enrich raw information.
- Capitalize on this information.
Building a documentary collection : a major challenge
Creating and managing a documentary fund represents a major challenge, particularly due to the diversity of information sources (specialized databases, websites, scientific publications, patents, etc.) and the need to constantly update the data collected.
Moreover, the process of collecting, organizing, and analyzing information requires a considerable investment of time , not to mention the specific skills needed to distinguish relevant information from superfluous data.
Read also → Prior art search: a strategic step for all companies, essential for SMEs
The steps to follow to build a documentary fund
The creation of a documentary fund involves the development of a clear and formalized research and collection strategy, directly linked to the strategic question(s) to which the monitoring is supposed to respond.
This is a process that involves several key steps , each requiring attention and methodology. Here is a guide to navigate these steps and develop a structured and relevant documentary collection.
1. Determine the search scope
The first step is to clearly define the topic of your monitoring. This involves specifying the area to be investigated, the specific questions you wish to answer, and the objectives of your research. This essential step allows you to more effectively target subsequent research and avoid collecting unnecessary information .
2. Select relevant sources
Not all information sources are created equal. And a single source of information is rarely sufficient. This is why, since its creation in 2004, TKM has always prioritized the ability to collect and analyze a wide variety of information sources in the development of its software platform : patents, scientific publications, the web, theses, conferences, collaborative projects, startups, etc.
It is therefore essential to identify those that will be the most relevant before embarking on the creation of a state of the art or the configuration of a periodic monitoring. Some databases are free, others are paid. The costs can quickly become a limit. This is why TKM also offers privileged access to its own Data Lake , a global database of patents, scientific articles, projects and startups.
3. Implement a collection strategy
Once the search scope is known and the sources identified, it is time to list the keywords that will enable this exhaustive and relevant collection. Each database has its own " grammar ," and it is useful to know it.
However, most often Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), truncation operators or even proximity operators (NEAR, W..) will help you to fine-tune sets of keywords that will allow you to combine efficiency and exhaustiveness. Ideally, we will tend to keep a little noise (10 to 15%) rather than risk missing useful information.
But if this exercise becomes complicated, at TKM the team of analysts, composed exclusively of high-level scientists, has developed real expertise on the subject over the years.
4. Organize and index documents
Nowadays, and whatever the subject, collection most often results in a significant volume of documents (several hundred to several thousand or even tens of thousands). To begin with and before the analysis phase, a phase of curation, enrichment and careful organization is required .
This can involve adding useful metadata, extracting named entities useful for your research, or normalizing affiliations (names of organizations) and semantic indexing of documents.
Then the implementation of a classification system, or even tags or selection will be useful to facilitate subsequent searches : yours but also those of the client teams in the end: management, R&D, IP, innovation, corporate venture, etc.
5. Extract useful information
Simply collecting information isn't enough. But if your collection of documents includes several hundred documents, you probably won't want to read everything... and in fact, it's not desirable.
Tools for semantic segmentation, research, weak signal detection and even “outliers” will be extremely useful for:
- reinforce your vision of the field (what you already knew),
- but also to detect weak signals (emerging technology, start-up, new patent, strategic pivot of a competitor…).
By segmenting your documentary collection , and without having to read everything, you will be able to build strategic intelligence on the subject , initiate an internal collective intelligence process and thus support the strategic management of your organization.
And finally, some particularly inspiring or strategic documents (opportunity or threat) will require in-depth reading.
The purpose of the document collection is to give you the opportunity to approach your strategic issues at a global level, while allowing for back-and-forth at the level of individual documents.
The strategic intelligence you build then takes on another dimension, and never leaves your internal customers or your management indifferent. The goal is to transform raw data into useful knowledge for decision-making.
6. Feed and update your fund
A documentary collection is a living tool that may require constant updating and enrichment to remain relevant. Even in the case of one-off monitoring (mapping, state of the art, landscaping, etc.), it is quite common for the decision to upgrade it to periodic monitoring.
The pace of this update will depend on the strategic intensity of the issue, but also on the technological movement in the field. Thus, monitoring AI or cosmetics requires a monthly update at a minimum, given the volume of knowledge produced by research and industry players.
For this reason, among others, it is essential to keep a precise formal record of the search strategies used .
Then apply them regularly to the different sources, unless you have access to a global document repository like TKM's "Data Lake", through which updates can be easily automated.
You'll also need to run the new data through the various steps outlined in this article. This process can be tedious and can quickly turn into a nightmare for the monitoring analyst. But certain tools can save you valuable time.
The TKM platform : the ideal tool for building your complete, comprehensive, and regularly updated document collections
Thanks to its integrated approach, TKM Platform transforms the complexity of competitive intelligence into a structured and efficient process. Let's see why and how!
Complete processing of standby kinematics
From data collection and research to dissemination and analysis, the TKM Platform covers all the necessary steps for effective strategic intelligence . First and foremost, it allows analysts to centralize all the sources useful for resolving the strategic question that prompted the intelligence gathering in a single knowledge base.
This means that more than 250 types of sources or databases can be grouped within a project in the “Projects” module.
Data import and integration
TKM Platform offers flexible solutions for adding new data to the document repository, whether it be external documents, connections to databases via API, or the integration of websites by entering URLs . This flexibility ensures comprehensive and up-to-date monitoring.
Creation of relevant documentary funds
With the TKM platform, users can build document repositories on specific topics by integrating data from multiple sources. The ability to create organized, thematic document collections then facilitates analysis and the development of strategic intelligence on the subject.
Designed for collaborative monitoring
The collaborative aspect of our monitoring and analysis platform is a major asset. By enabling the sharing of comments, analyses, documents, and insights within the team, it fosters the emergence of collective intelligence, with monitoring then acting as the catalyst. This group dynamic not only enriches the quality of the monitoring but, more importantly, places it at the heart of the company's strategic management.
Advanced alert management
Customizable alerts ensure continuous monitoring, notifying users of any relevant new developments based on their areas of interest. Extending the “Watches” module into a simplified interface, the “Front View,” expands the monitoring and innovation community to all employees within the company.
Powerful analysis tools
The tool stands out for its data analysis and , allowing it to detect trends, compare information, and synthesize complex insights. These features transform the document collection into a strategic resource that can be directly used for decision-making.
Focus on the use cases of TKM and IPMetrix
TKM and its IPMetrix offer versatile intelligence and decision support solutions that can be adapted to a variety of use cases in the field of R&D and innovation . Whether companies are looking to conduct a 360° study on a specific area, identify emerging trends or monitor the competition, TKM offers a personalized approach that meets the specific needs of each client.
Here's how TKM and IPMetrix position themselves as invaluable resources in different usage contexts.
For businesses seeking a comprehensive understanding of a field
When a company wants to obtain a complete overview or a state of the art on a specific sector but lacks internal expertise or time, TKM intervenes by creating a detailed documentary fund in IPMetrix . This service provides the client with a solid basis for conducting their analysis, based on an exhaustive and relevant collection of information.
Autonomy or personalized support
With the acquisition of IPMetrix , customers have the choice between operating the tool completely independently or benefiting from personalized support via TKM's integrated services. For customers who prefer a turnkey approach, TKM offers customized monitoring services , including the regular collection and cleaning of documents, as well as their integration into the client's document collection on IPMetrix.
Hybrid delivery : a flexible model
This hybrid delivery model underscores the flexibility of TKM's offering. It adapts to each client's internal structure and capabilities. For companies without dedicated intelligence staff, or for those that prefer to focus their resources on strategically analyzing information rather than collecting it, TKM handles the entire process.
This frees companies from the operational burden of monitoring, allowing them to focus on leveraging insights to support their strategic decisions.
Personalized data collection
IPMetrix is designed to facilitate the collection of targeted data based on the specific needs of its clients. Whether through databases you already have access to, or through targeted web searches, IPMetrix allows you to gather a rich and relevant documentary collection. You can import documents, connect databases via API, or simply add URLs to enrich your monitoring.
By offering a complete monitoring platform, from data collection to analysis, IPMetrix transforms information overload into a competitive advantage. Whether companies opt to use the tool independently or prefer to benefit from tailored support, TKM adapts its services to each specific need.
By making business intelligence more accessible, IPMetrix empowers decision-makers to confidently navigate a complex information landscape and make informed decisions for the future of their business. Want to learn more? Contact us.
