Building a KM system

Mukund Prasad

KM Development Life Cycle

Infrastructure evaluation & leverage
Analysis & Design of the KM System

Analyse & Design Infrastructural Foundations

Audit existing Knowledge Assets and systems
Identify the KM organisation
Create A KM Blueprint
Develop the KM System

Deploy the system

Maintain the system - Manage change
Evaluate Performance & Refine KM

The 10-Step KM Road Map

The 10 steps are grouped into four phases
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4

Infrastructural Evaluation
KM System Analysis
System Deployment
Evaluation

Phase 1
Infrastructural Evaluation
Step 1 Analysing existing infrastructure
Identify the critical gaps in the existing
infrastructure
Step 2 Aligning Knowledge Management and
Business Strategies
Knowledge drives Strategy and Strategy drives
Knowledge Management. A clearly articulated
link between KM & Business Strategy is essential.

Phase 2
KM system Analysis, Design & Development
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7

Designing the KM Archtecture & integrating

existing infrastructure
Auditing and analysing existing knowledge
Designing the KM team
Creating the Knowledge Management Blueprint
Developing the Knowledge Management system

Phase 3
Deployment
Step 8 Deploying with RDI methodology
Deployment of the system with a Results-Driven
Incremental technique which involves the
selection and implementation of a pilot project
before introduction of the total KM system

Step 9 Change Management, culture, reward

structure design and choice of the CKO

Phase 4
Performance Evaluation
Step 10 Measuring results of KM, devising
ROI metrics and evaluating system
performance
Measure return on knowledge investment
and must account for both, financial and
competitive impacts of KM on the business

Knowledge Management Audit

Knowledge of knowledge assets is critical
to the planning of a KM system.
Look for intangible assets and knowledge
assets
Document its existence, current status, the
processes involved, in what structure is it
available, who owns it, etc.
Audit should be a continuos process.

Knowledge Audit Team

Company Visionary
Corporate Strategist
Finance Chief
Human Resources Chief
Marketing Chief
IT Expert
CKO or knowledge analyst

Selection of Audit Method

Audit method must account for
- Employee know-how
- Reputation
- Organisational culture
- Availability of explicit knowledge & its usage

Methods could be interviews, document

reviews, questionnaires, Focused discussion
forums

Steps in a Knowledge Audit

Define the goals

Determine the ideal state- a benchmark
Select the Audit Method
Perform the knowledge Audit and document
existing knowledge assets
Track knowledge growth over time
Determine companys strategic position
within the technology framework

Where does the company stand?

Use the framework to map , evaluate and
compare the levels of knowledge existing in
your company.
Identify the

Work Model
Knowledge Characteristic
Location of Knowledge
Work Processes
Learning Methods

Work models

Source: Accenture

Knowledge spots (K-Spots)?

The knowledge aspects on which a
company must focus its knowledge
management efforts
Identifying the areas of focus provides the
best view of the technology investment
needed to drive potent KM in the company

Strategic positioning within the

Technology framework
Determine the strategic k-spot using the
results of the knowledge audit
Map each k-assets on a frame work of tacit
knowledge to explicit knowledge
Identify the strategic position and
competitive advantage possessed by the
company in terms of the explicit and tacit
knowledge

Strategic k-spot using k-audit results

Low

High

Strategic Position A

Strategic Position B

Externally assailable ,
Internally safe. More
security required

Externally safe, Internally

Assailable. KM is most needed

High

High competitive Advantage

High competitive Advantage

Strategic Position C

Strategic Position D

No competitive advantage

Temporary competitive
advantage

A lot more issues to be

addressed
No competitive Advantage

KM is most needed
Low competitive Advantage

Tacit knowledge content as a % of the total knowledge that we have

Low

Knowledge Management Process

Framework
Defines how organisations generate, maintain
and deploy a strategically correct stock of
knowledge-based assets to create value.
All elements within the tactical & strategic
processes must be managed in relation to one
another to achieve
- right mix & amount of knowledge-based assets
- capability to deploy them

Infrastructural Foundations
Focus of Technology should primarily be
on enhancing two areas
Storage and retrieval
Communications

Select technology components with the

actual need in focus.
Link the Technology Enablers to
Knowledge Objective
Focus on Resources that add value

Knowledge Processes & Technology

Enablers
The KM processes that a KM system should
support through Technology are
Find knowledge
Create new knowledge
Package & assemble knowledge
Use knowledge
Reuse and revalidate knowledge

Incremental development cycle of

Knowledge Management
Knowledge improves as a company transforms
information inputs into new products, services and
decisions over time.
Knowledge comprises of two dimensions
- Object
- Process
Companies to work around their ability to learn
how to learn and unlearn

Essential technology
Components
for integration

PC and Client software

Server hardware
Server software
Company-wide Gateway to the Internet
Collaborative tools- Web Client Interface
Web Portal

Infrastructural elements of Collaborative

Intelligence

Decision Support Systems

Artificial Intelligence
Data Warehouses
Genetic Algorithm Tools Application of Darwins
Theory of Survival of the fittest to programs and
data.
Neural Networks Useful when you have the data
but lack the experts to make judgements
Rule-based systems
Case based Reasoning
Video conferencing

Selection Criteria for Collaborative

Platform

Efficient protocols
Portable operation
Consistent & easy-to-use client interfaces
Scalability
Legacy integration
Security
Integration with existing systems
Flexibility
Structuring capabilities

The Technological Fit

Critical differentiators
The level of knowledge needed to
successfully use and apply a particular
technology / tool

Time needed to find a solution in the

specific business application domain.

Elements for Retrieval

Knowledge Granularity (Domain, Region, Section,
Segment, Element, Fragment, Atom)

Types of Navigational Strategies (Meta,

Hierarchical, Attribute, Content Searching)

Tagging knowledge elements with attributes

(Activities, Domain, Form, Type, Products and
services, Time, Location )

Pull based Mechanism

Questions in a problem-solving process
- Have we faced this problem before?
- What was done? Did it work?
- What solutions were considered but rejected?
- What criteria / assumption formed the basis of the previous
decision?
- Who has worked on related projects?
- Where are they now?

KM Architecture
KM Architecture should be seen as an
enabler for knowledge management and not
as a complete solution
It is only a means and not an end in itself
IT can effectively support explicit
knowledge
The challenge is in determining how much
of tacit knowledge can be explicated and
which architecture will facilitate transfer of
tacit knowledge

KM System Architecture
U1 U2

U3.Um

Interface Layer (Browser)

Access & authentication Layer

(security)

Collaborative Intelligence & Filtering (Search,

indexing, Video clip)
Application Layer (Skills Directory, capture
tools)
Transport Layer ( Web, TCP/IP)
Integration Layer
Repositories ( Legacy IS, Data warehouse,
Document Bases)

Building a KM Architecture
Understand the seven layers specifically in
the context of the company
Identification of critical components of KM
system
Design considerations to future-proof the
KM system
Focus on scalability and performance
Well-informed decision of build or buy

The Interface Layer

Connects to the people who use the IT
infrastructure to create, explicate, use,
retrieve and share knowledge.
It is the primary point of contact between
users and the KM system content.
This layer must provide a channel for
transfer of tacit as well as explicit
knowledge.

User Interface Design

considerations
Functionality: Facilitate users to accomplish the tasks
quickly, effectively and without frustration

Consistency: Consistent inteface across the KM system

Visual clarity: Present all information for a task on one
screen, using hyperlinks for additional information. Use
proper font & case

Effective Navigation
Relevancy
Feedback

Access & Authentication Layer

Intranets & Extranets are used to connect workers
both within and beyond organisational boundaries.
Use of Internet protocols such as HTTP and TCP/IP
and related Web technologies.
Access privileges, Firewalls, Backups
Virtual Private Networks Use of PPTP ( Point to
point tunneling protocol)
Secure e-mail messages - use of S/MIME (Secure
Mime), a standard that secures the e-mail messages by using
certificate based encryption and authentication.

Other forms of Authentication- Biometrics, swipe cards

Application Layer
Skill Directories, Yellow pages, backend of
web-based collaborative tools, integration
of video conferencing software and
hardware with the entire system
Tools at this level might have a common
Web front end integrated with them

Can knowledge be encapsulated

in a repository?
The efforts of AI research community failed
to create an intelligent machine
These efforts brought about a realisation
that human intelligence & knowledge
cannot be fully codified.
KM systems should not seek to eliminate
the need for direct human interaction.

The Knowledge Repository

Elements of knowledge content
Declarative knowledge: concepts, categories,
definitions and assumptions

Procedural knowledge: Processes, sequences of

events and actions

Causal knowledge: Rationale for decisions,

outcome of events, root-cause analysis associated
with problems

Context of the decisions, assumptions and

informal knowledge as part of notes & video clips

Managing explicated Repository

Life Cycle
Content to be added and revalidated by
users and not by a central knowledge
administrator
Should not be limited to adding new
content, should also delete obsolete content
Connect the existing repositories through a
common front-end to begin with

Content Centres

Production department
Customer services
Market intelligence
Human Resources department
Administrative department
Sales & marketing
Finance
Business partners & suppliers

Collection of competitive
knowledge
Checklist to ensure available resources for
competitive knowledge are tapped
1. What are others saying about your competition?
Case studies, articles, consultants, industry news, customers,
vendors, suppliers, government agencies, etc.

2. What is your competition saying about themselves?

Advertising, articles, press releases, employment Ads.,trade
shows, manuals,b Annual reports, annual meetings

Integrating Technology
A large set of technology components
around which a KM system is built is often
already in place
Key driver is the proper leverage and tight
integration of existing technology, tools and
information resources.
A Knowledge server provides an extensible
architecture for unifying and organising
access to disparate corporate repositories

Concept of a Knowledge Server

Knowledge Server
Input from the K-team
Security, Organising, Indexing,

Common search gateway

Operational

File Server

Mail

databases
Notes

Exchange

Web

Information Servers of various types and sizes through out the enterprise

KM Architecture
Knowledge
Worker's
View

Knowledge
Presentation
Layer

Communication,
Collaboration, and Sharing
Knowledge
Portal

Knowledge
Management
Layer

Knowledge
Worker's
View

Knowledge
Facilitators and
Knowledge Engineers

Knowledge
Repository

Knowledge
Curators

Knowledge Management
Processes
Acquisition

Refinement

Storage/
Retrieval

Distribution

Presentation

Data
Sources
Layer

Enterprise
Model

FTP

External
Sources

Web
E-mail
Text
Repository Repository Repository

Relational and
OO Databases

Media
Repository

Domain
Repository