The product in a mechanics shop is labor and parts. These get tracked via inventory. In knowledge work, the knowledge is the commodity. If you keep nothing bey

The product in a mechanics shop is labor and parts. These get tracked via inventory. In knowledge work, the knowledge is the commodity. If you keep nothing beyond formal deliverables, you best have a system to capture the knowledge. Most organizations are very bad at that. It requires a lot of rules, policies and people to enforce those policies. Google for a government retention schedule. It’s probably a 100 page document for a state or large city.