Twenty-five concepts used daily in this field, explained in plain Dutch. For each term you'll find not only what it is, but also where it typically goes wrong in practice — because that's usually the part where you need help.
Free to use with attribution. Missing a term or spotted something wrong? Let us know — a glossary gets better with use.
The body of knowledge, agreements, and rationale recorded in a place the organization can access, rather than in people's heads or inboxes.
Where things go wrong It's confused with a system. It's a quality of an organization that systems can support.
Recording knowledge so it remains available when the person who has it isn't there.
Where things go wrong There’s a catch-up effort, and then it fizzles out. Maintaining it is a habit, not a project.
An employee without whom part of the work comes to a standstill.
Where things go wrong Almost every company has them, and almost none have mapped them. You only notice them when someone takes their first long vacation.
A description of how to perform a task step by step, usable by someone who has never done it before.
Where things go wrong The component what to do if something goes wrong is almost always missing. Without it, someone will still call the colleague who always did the job.
Everything a new colleague needs to know to get started independently.
Where things go wrong It usually consists of scattered documents someone once created, with no owner and no date.
Knowledge that exists only in what people tell each other, never written down.
Where things go wrong It feels efficient because it works. It's the most expensive form of knowledge, because it disappears with the people who hold it.
A connection between two systems that transfers data automatically instead of manually.
Where things go wrong The price is negotiated, but not ownership of the code and documentation. You only notice that when switching suppliers.
The system where a data point is created and that serves as its source of truth.
Where things go wrong Without agreement on which system is authoritative, the same data exists in two places and nobody knows which is correct.
Manually entering the same data more than once in different systems.
Where things go wrong It's seen as a time problem. It's mainly a reliability problem: two versions of the truth.
A situation in which switching to another supplier becomes disproportionately expensive or impossible.
Where things go wrong Rarely caused by a contract and almost always by knowledge, code, or documentation being held by the supplier.
The extent to which data is complete, up to date and consistent with other data.
Where things go wrong Only becomes an issue when something is built on top of it, such as a dashboard or AI. That’s when it turns out to be the real ceiling.
Software that employees start using on their own without the organization knowing.
Where things go wrong It's almost never unwillingness. It's a sign that the official system doesn't support the work.
The extent to which an AI application is actually used in day-to-day work.
Where things go wrong Treated as a training question. It’s a question of trust: people need to know what it does and how they can stay in control.
Employees using AI tools without disclosing it, usually outside the policy.
Where things go wrong Research shows that almost every company has an AI policy and about half of employees circumvent it. That means you don’t know where data ends up.
A clearly scoped trial with an agreed hypothesis, measurement, and decision point.
Where things go wrong Without a decision point at the end, it's not a trial but a project that slowly dies out.
The extent to which you decide where your data is stored, who can access it and what happens to it.
Where things go wrong The question is about the vendor, not the use. The risk usually lies in what employees paste into a chat window themselves.
Agreements on who may use which AI, who decides, and how you can check afterwards what happened.
Where things go wrong Often just a document without a register. Without an overview of which applications are running, there is nothing to oversee.
The European regulation that classifies AI applications by risk category, with corresponding obligations.
Where things go wrong The €35 million fine is linked to everything. That amount applies only to prohibited practices; the amounts are lower for most obligations.
An AI application in an area that is AI ActEuropean law that sets requirements for those who develop or use AI. Determines which risk category your application falls into and what you must document for it. classified as high risk, such as recruitment, credit assessment or biometrics.
Where things go wrong SMEs think this doesn't apply to them. If you use AI to screen job applicants, you're right in the middle of it.
A measure of the extent to which an initiative that was started is still being used twelve months later, has been documented and measured, and has an owner. Scale of 0 to 100.
Where things go wrong Existing metrics ask whether you’ve started something. This one asks whether anything is still in place.
The rationale behind what an investment will deliver, what it costs and what risks it involves.
Where things go wrong Released hours count as savings. They only count if those hours are put toward other work or support growth without hiring.
Recording the situation before a change so you can determine afterward whether it worked.
Where things go wrong Skipped because it slows things down. Without a baseline, all that’s left afterward is a feeling—and feelings drop off the agenda.
The named person responsible for keeping something up to date, not the person who came up with it.
Where things go wrong A department as owner is the same as no owner. Without a name and a review date, it fades away.
The research a buyer does on a company before acquiring it.
Where things go wrong It's about figures and contracts, but a buyer pays less for knowledge in people's heads than for knowledge that's documented.
The transfer of a company to a new owner, within or outside the family.
Where things go wrong Preparation starts with the figures. The greatest destruction of value comes from knowledge that leaves with the outgoing owner.
In this field, much English is used for things that are perfectly fine to say in Dutch, and much jargon for things that are simple. That makes the conversation harder than it needs to be — and sometimes that's the intention.
This list records the terms as we use them, including the practical side. Not as a dictionary, but as a working agreement: when we talk about an integration or adoption, this is what we mean.
Type over this order number. Once is doable. Forty times a day, every day, is a job.
Also good to know: frequently asked questions · security and data · terms and conditions · partners · research and figures · templates · what's changing · where you start
Bedrijfsgeheugen gebruikt noodzakelijke cookies voor een goede werking van de site. Met jouw toestemming gebruiken we ook analytische cookies (Google Analytics) om te meten hoe de site wordt gebruikt en die te verbeteren. Je keuze wordt onthouden en je kunt 'm altijd wijzigen. Meer weten? Zie onze privacyverklaring.Met jouw toestemming meten we met Google Analytics hoe de site wordt gebruikt. Zonder toestemming meten we niets. Privacy