What to change
A directory and a sitemap serve different purposes, but unexplained route differences can expose publication mistakes. Ask for the specific addresses present in only one set, not just two totals. Review each mismatch with the content owner and classify it as an intended exclusion, a missing reference or an obsolete entry. Equal counts are not sufficient evidence because one missing article can be concealed by one unintended extra.
A worked example
Illustrative example
Illustrative test: Choose one article present only in the directory and trace its publication status. A visible resource directory may contain one guide absent from the sitemap, while the sitemap retains a different withdrawn article. The totals happen to match. Comparing addresses rather than counts reveals both issues. The content owner classifies each difference and the supplier corrects their sources. The next review can then distinguish approved exclusions from publication faults without relying on two reassuring but incomplete headline numbers.
What this means for your practice
The visible library and the search inventory serve different purposes, so their totals may differ for good reasons. The useful question is which specific guides appear in only one list and why. Ask your supplier for those differences by address, then review them with the content owner. An item may be intentionally excluded from search, missing from navigation or left over after withdrawal. Equal totals alone are not reassuring: one missing guide and one unwanted extra can cancel each other numerically. Keep the reasons with the source records and correct any generating rule that produced an error. This makes later comparisons meaningful rather than a recurring argument about two numbers.
How to check the result
Every difference has a documented explanation or a corrected source rule.
A mistake to avoid
Equal totals can still hide different missing and extra pages.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
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