Knowledge Sharing The real work of knowledge work [وضع ......But design can involve much more...

Knowledge sharingKnowledge sharingKnowledge sharingKnowledge sharingThe real work of knowledge work

Jack WhalenPrincipal ScientistPrincipal ScientistComputing Science LaboratoryLaboratory

My backgroundMy backgroundMy backgroundMy background

On technology designOn technology design…

Truly useful technologies support and enhance natural humanand enhance natural human capacities and practices Observation of human behavior in

its natural habitat provides criticalits natural habitat provides critical data on these capacities and practicespractices

Capitalizing on natural human skills and abilities

The Xerox Alto and StarA visual interface; the mouse as an extension of th h dthe hand

An architecture for sharing and collaborating with information

But design can involve much more But design can involve much more than just new technology!than just new technology!

T h l i j t l t f Technology is just one element of any workscape (or lifescape)

Workscapes also include…– People and their work practices

(and how people learn and strive to master their work tasks)

– The habitat– The habitat (the spaces and places where the work gets done)

Distinct configurations of people practices tools and habitat

The scope for design: the entire workscapeDistinct configurations of people, practices, tools, and habitat

How can we study workscapes How can we study workscapes i tifi ll ?i tifi ll ?scientifically?scientifically?

The analytic frameworkCommunity Knowledge Sharing

The analytic framework…

Who?• Boundaries

What?• Valued knowledge

How?• Routines

• Membership• Subgroups• Neighbors

• Kinds or forms• Natural categories

• Stories, requests• Tech mediation• Tech integration

Where?• LocationP i it

Why?• SharingKi d h d

When?• ConditionsTi• Proximity

• Role of comm tech• Kinds shared• Motivations

• Times• Events

How can we study workscapes How can we study workscapes i tifi ll ?i tifi ll ?scientifically?scientifically?

The research and design methodology Immerse yourself in the community

The research and design methodology…

– Observe behavior naturalistically and in detail– Learn to see the world just as members of the community do

L th i ti– Learn their practices(it often takes an ‘outsider’ to see these — “the fish does not see water”))

Confirm your understanding of things with community members

Co-design knowledge-sharing tools and processes to support and enhance those practices with the

icommunity

Workscapes we have studiedWorkscapes we have studiedWorkscapes we have studiedWorkscapes we have studied

ExampleExampleThe Reprographics Shop workscapeThe Reprographics Shop workscapeThe Reprographics Shop workscapeThe Reprographics Shop workscape

Over the counter… Over the internet…Over the counter… Over the internet…

Copy self-serve… Computer self-serve…


Color production… B&W production…p B&W production…

Digital production… Finishing…


Job Entry and Tracking…

Order envelope…

Even when design focuses on Even when design focuses on technology…technology… the best technology for a particular kind of …the best technology for a particular kind of

work or setting may not be the coolest, and/or the most technically advancedthe most technically advanced

Of course, ‘best’ can then be a complicated matter

How to demonstrate this?

Through design stories…Through design stories…

Knowledge sharingKnowledge sharingKnowledge sharingKnowledge sharingCreating and converting local community knowledge into organizational action

Jack WhalenPrincipal ScientistPrincipal ScientistComputing Science LaboratoryLaboratory

‘Knowledge Management’ in America ‘Knowledge Management’ in America (private + public organizations)(private + public organizations) Much $ invested but little ROI Much $ invested, but little ROI

– Some researchers judge the failure rate of knowledge management projects at 50%; othersknowledge management projects at 50%; others say rate closer to 70%

– ‘Disaster stories’ are common (e g FBIDisaster stories are common (e.g., FBI experience)

Worse the cost of not ‘managing knowledge’ – Worse, the cost of not managing knowledge making full use of knowledge assets (including sharing knowledge both amongst and betweensharing knowledge both amongst and between members of different groups) – has been very highhigh

‘Knowledge Management’ in the U.K. ‘Knowledge Management’ in the U.K. (The ongoing e(The ongoing e--science initiative)science initiative) Much £ invested but as of yet little ROI Much £ invested, but as of yet little ROI

– xxxyyy– yyy

Here too, the cost of not ‘managing k l d ’ h i k l d b thknowledge’ – sharing knowledge both amongst and between members of different

i tifi d iti ill bscientific groups and communities – will be very high

Why such a high failure rate?Why such a high failure rate?Why such a high failure rate?Why such a high failure rate?Many reasons given, but there can be no doubt that...o creation of repositories (some form of ‘capture’ +

storage) without addressing the need to understand and manage the ‘what’ – the contentf il t d t d d t k l do failure to understand and connect knowledge management into individuals’ daily work activities and cultural practicesand cultural practices

o overemphasis on formal learning efforts as a mechanism for sharing knowledgemechanism for sharing knowledge

o overemphasis on technology as the key factorare among the most importantare among the most important

Many reasons given, but there can be no doubt that...o creation of repositories (some form of ‘capture’ +

O h l i l thstorage) without addressing the need to understand and manage the ‘what’ – the contentf il t d t d d t k l d

Overwhelmingly, these are socio technicalo failure to understand and connect knowledge management into individuals’ daily work activities and cultural practices

are socio-technical problemsand cultural practices

o overemphasis on formal learning efforts as a mechanism for sharing knowledge

problemsmechanism for sharing knowledge

o overemphasis on technology as the key factorare among the most importantare among the most important

A story about a KM projectA story about a KM projectA story about a KM project A story about a KM project (that actually succeeded)(that actually succeeded)( y )( y )

In the beginning…g g

…there was ‘smart’ t h ltechnology

Developing an expert systemDeveloping an expert systemDeveloping an expert system Developing an expert system to help field service engineersto help field service engineersp gp g

Our design assumptions for knowledge about Our design assumptions for knowledge about machines: We can model the machine accurately We can model the machine accurately We can predict what the problems could be

W h i th ti l th f We can show engineers the optimal path for identifying the cause of any problem

Our solution: ‘Knowledge in a box’

Reaction to our Expert SystemReaction to our Expert System

“Very impressive – but not that useful”

Source Xerox, J Whalen

Why we were wrongWhy we were wrongWhy we were wrongWhy we were wrong The machine in the real world is not the The machine in the real world is not the

same as the machine in the lab

C tl bl t Consequently, many problems are not anticipated by our model

The optimal path for identifying the cause of a problem, and reasoning about a p , gsolution, can’t be determined apart from the local context

The answers keep changing

The need for innovationThe need for innovationThe need for innovationThe need for innovationNo solutionin the book

No one aroundto help

Differentenvironment

Networkinteractionenvironment

Aging machine

Intermittent

New machine

fault

Technology alone can’t do it!Technology alone can’t do it!Technology alone can t do it!Technology alone can t do it!

TechnicalTechnical

SocialSocial•Trust

•Context•Relationships

•Laptops•Browsers

•Search engines•Relationships•Sharing practices

•Intrinsic motivation•Reciprocal nature of

Search engines•Web connection

•Reciprocal nature of knowledge

•Co development, design & d l tdeployment

Observing work practice: The role of Observing work practice: The role of knowledge in organizational lifeknowledge in organizational life Necessity is the mother of invention Engineers frequently invent new solutions They keep cheat sheets of solutions to jog their

memoriesTh h t i ithi th i l l k They share war stories within their local work groups…

…but migration of solutions between groups in a widely distributed workforce is slow and incompletedistributed workforce is slow and incomplete

In designing a system to help these knowledge workers, we realized we could build on their own practices

The Eureka knowledge-sharing processThe community becomes the expert systemThe community becomes the expert system

What’s in an engineering tip? Diagnosing unusual, costly failures

Bimetallic corrosion builds up on A and causes intermittent failures that seem to be B. Replacing Bmakes the problem seem to go away because A is moved in installation. First clean A, and later replace by new gold‐plated AA, available as Part #Part #.

WorkaroundsPaper curl in a dry environment causes excessive jams on baffle Q. Putting mylar tape from tool kit on edge will ease problem.

E i h j b Easing the jobTo make it easier to adjust M, paint Whiteout on the back wall near M.

Comments on documentationBefore replacing the sensor P as the manual says in RAP R, inspect reflector Ybecause it might be out of alignment, causing this symptom.

When and why do engineers use When and why do engineers use E k ?E k ?Eureka?Eureka? In the field as the first resource they consult In the field, as the first resource they consult

when ‘scoping out’ the problem In the field when they encounter a particularly vexing In the field, when they encounter a particularly vexing

problem Before going into the field to better understand the Before going into the field, to better understand the

problems they might encounter and review tips that might be relevantg

Whenever they are notified that new tips are available, to learn from the experiences of their peers

Periodically, to browse many databases and review the state of the ‘community mind’

Knowledge sharing as organizational Knowledge sharing as organizational g g gg g glearninglearning

Hours/call

10% lower

3x initial learning slope

time

• 10%+ reduction in service time and parts usedFewer long/broken calls• Fewer long/broken calls

Worldwide use and valueWorldwide use and value 18,000 Xerox field service engineers

worldwide are now using Eurekag

~800,000 problems solved using Eureka annually…y

…with annual productivity savings of $15-20M20M

Why did we succeed?Why did we succeed?Was our solution different?Was our solution different?

F i thi bi h From one view, nothing big here... Building a database of the latest technical information

is hardly a new ideais hardly a new idea Lots of organizations are using systems for capturing

and sharing information

But this completely misses the point!

Eureka supports a community ‘space’ whereEureka supports a community space where knowledge is created, shared and exploited through documents

Value created through a distinct way of marrying the technical with the social

But to be completely frank, Xerox But to be completely frank, Xerox has failed to fully capitalize on has failed to fully capitalize on Eureka’s successEureka’s successEureka s successEureka s success

Whatever the $ amount saved by theWhatever the $ amount saved by the field engineering organization…

the company as a whole could make use of this knowledge in many otheruse of this knowledge in many other ways, with great value

Our transformational visionOur transformational visionOur transformational vision…Our transformational vision…

• What could be wrong

DocumentationGroup

• What’s missing• What’s wrong• What to focus on• What to train forWhat could be wrong

• New ways to fix things• How to get around problems

• Quicker TTM• More frequent• More relevant• Increasing quality

Fieldlearningvia K-S system

Field Engineering Validation

Group CO f fsystemGroup

• Validated Tips• Conversations

about Tip writing

• ECO’s for quick fix• New replacement parts• Next generation features• Increasing reliability,

reparability

Design Engineering

• What breaks (surprisingly)• How a field fix can be made• What is hard to repair

p y

g g• What are hard-to-use features

Knowledge Sharing / Learning Loops: Knowledge Sharing / Learning Loops: Field Engineering DocumentationField Engineering DocumentationField Engineering, Documentation, Field Engineering, Documentation, and Design Engineeringand Design Engineering


DocumentationGroup



• Quicker TTM• More frequent• More relevant• Increasing quality



Group CO f fsystemGroup


about Tip writing


reparability

Design Engineering


p y


Knowledge Sharing / Learning Loops: Knowledge Sharing / Learning Loops: Field Engineering DocumentationField Engineering DocumentationField Engineering, Documentation, Field Engineering, Documentation, and Design Engineeringand Design Engineering


DocumentationGroup



• Quicker TTM• More frequent• More relevant• Increasing qualitySo what happened



Group CO f f

ppto our vision?systemGroup


about Tip writing


reparability

Design Engineering


p y


Diffi lti i h iDiffi lti i h iDifficulties in sharing across Difficulties in sharing across different work communitiesdifferent work communitiesdifferent work communitiesdifferent work communities

Moving knowledge between communities “has more to do with accommodating gand aligning different practices than moving some substance labeledmoving some substance labeled ‘knowledge’ between heads.”(John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid)

Knowledge flow…Knowledge flow…b t ithib t ithibetween versus withinbetween versus within

(A view of the firm: ensemble of work communities with weak ties

Flow between communities (weak ties)

(between communities and strong ties within communities)

( )BOUNDARY OBJECT KNOWLEDGE BROKER

(or TRANSLATOR)

Work community

Work community

Work community

Work community

ENABLING BUSINESS

KEY: REACH & RECIPROCITYBUSINESS

PROCESS STEPRECIPROCITY(or TRI-LINGUAL)

At the end of the day…At the end of the day…What can be generalized from theWhat can be generalized from theWhat can be generalized from the What can be generalized from the Eureka experience?Eureka experience?

Work practices and work communities… A specific type of work?

repairing electro-mechanical devices,repairing electro mechanical devices, technical service, case-based work of any kind (including collaborative scientific work)( g )

Any work community?a socio technical methodology for buildinga socio-technical methodology for building community knowledge-sharing systems

A general methodology forg gyunderstanding knowledge ecosystems

Community Knowledge Sharing

Who?• Boundaries• Membership

What?• Valued knowledge• Kinds or forms

How?• Routines• Stories, requests

• Subgroups• Neighbors

Wh ?

• Natural categories

Wh ?

• Tech mediation• Tech integration

Wh ?Where?• Location• ProximityRole of comm tech

Why?• Sharing• Kinds shared• Motivations

When?• Conditions• Times• Events• Role of comm tech • Motivations • Events

A general methodology forIn our syndicate groups, we will try to use this f k t t lk b t YOUR k

g gyunderstanding knowledge ecosystemsframework to talk about YOUR work communities and their practices






Wh ?


Wh ?





Another story about a Another story about a yysuccessful KM project successful KM project

Manufacturing @ General Manufacturing @ General g @g @MotorsMotors GM’s focus for a KM system was dimensional

management (DM) especially variationmanagement (DM), especially variation reduction, in truck body assembly — ensuring a good ‘build’a good build

‘Build’ and ‘fit’ problems significantly affect quality, and contribute to waste and downtime

Work community for this effort was body shop Work community for this effort was body shop DM engineers

Smart assembly of truck bodiesy Hundreds of

robots

S th t Sensors that see and feel

Sensor data closely monitoredclosely monitored by engineers, used to identify

JSN#032846756 Measured 20-Oct-2002 18:43:57

FLINT ASSEMBLY880 R-Zone MCE - CMM ROUTINE

Generated 12:48:15,21-Oct-02

I/O (-,+) CHECKSF/A (-,+) CHECKS

U/D (+,-) CHECKS

Page 5 of 6

Dash U/D Locator

Dash F/ADash F/A

Windshield Opening Windshield Opening

Dash 4-w ay Locator

XY

Z

XY

Z

01LBSDP003 X= +0.0301LBSDP003 Z= +1.12

05LBSRF0V3 Z= -1.4505LBSRF0V3 X= +2.50

06LBSRF0V3 X= +1.7706LBSRF0V3 Z= -1.38

16LHSSK010 Z= -0.81

17LISSK010 Y= -0.24

01RBSDP003 X= -0.7201RBSDP003 Z= +0.32

05RBSRF0V3 Z= -0.7405RBSRF0V3 X= +1.37

16RHSSK010 Z= -0.78

17RISSK010 Y= -0.33

15LFRRF001 X= +0.9515LHRRF003 Z= +1.31Ditch Width L = +20.76

Ditch Width L = +22.14



06LISSK001 Y= +0.86

06LISSK003 Y= +1.54

06RISSK001 Y= -0.36

06RISSK003 Y= +0.39

11LXXDA001 Y= -0.28 11LXXDA001 Z= -0.34 41RXYDA001 Z= +0.57

41RXYDA001 Y= -0.52

03RFSDA005 X= +1.16 03LFSDA005 X= +0.70

15RFRDA005 X= +0.55 11LXXDA001 X= +0.62

used to identify and diagnose problems

Backglass Opening

Feature Line

Back Panel F/A

Backglass Opening

X Y

Z

X Y

Z

01LBSIJWV6 X= -0.3001LBSIJWV6 Z= +0.89

01LBSRF0V6 Z= +1.3001LBSRF0V6 X= -0.25

02LFSIJW10 X= -1.06

05LASCO0V6 Y= -1.3505LASCO0V6 X= -0.66

16LFRCO010 X= -0.8117LIRCO006 Y= +0.16

01RBSIJWV6 Z= +1.0501RBSIJWV6 X= -2.38

01RBSRF0V6 X= -0.1901RBSRF0V6 Z= +1.16

05RASCO0V6 X= -0.84 05RASCO0V6 Y= -0.03

17RIRCO006 Y= +1.1916RFRCO010 X= -0.48

03LFRCO010 X= +1.69 03RFRCO010 X= -1.49

LBDYSIDE843 Z= +0.30 RBDYSIDE843 Z= -0.04

Back Panel F/A

Feature Line

problems

But human senseBut human sense--making also making also l iti l ll iti l lplays a critical roleplays a critical role

In the body shop…

…and down-stream

“Our work is a lot like forensics”Our work is a lot like forensics

Knowledge for smart actionKnowledge for smart actionKnowledge for smart actionKnowledge for smart action

How can knowledge learned in diagnosing How can knowledge learned in diagnosing and solving assembly problems, like reducing variation in the build be captured and revariation in the build, be captured and re-used?

First try: Case-Based Reasoning system (‘Variation-Reduction Adviser’)– Lessons captured through templates– Templates stored as casesp– Diagnostic form of re-use

The engineers’ responseThe engineers’ responsethe daily log

Jack Whalen PARC confidential 46

The magnetism of the dail logThe magnetism of the dail logThe magnetism of the daily logThe magnetism of the daily logA h l d h h i lifi i

“Can you make one of those for us?”

A technology advance through simplification

Can you make one of those for us?

“Can you have it also do …?” Can you have it also do …?

“Can we get something like that for the whole plant to use?”

What did we learn?What did we learn? About ‘smart factories’…

– Manufacturing operations like GM’s truck assembly plants may– Manufacturing operations like GM s truck assembly plants may be very good at collecting information with smart devices…

– …but they are often ineffective at supporting knowledge creation and sharing among workerscreation and sharing among workers…

– …in ways that are artfully integrated with community practice

About the strengths and limitations of daily logs/diaries in manufacturing (and other kinds of technical work?)…– Great for communicating, but hard to re-use as a ‘lessons

learned’ repository (e.g., compared to Eureka tips)– Each log is closely tied to the group that authored it and theirEach log is closely tied to the group that authored it and their

environment (it’s their log)» Local context of action and background knowledge» Ownership and how information will be used» Ownership and how information will be used

About ‘smart factories’…– Manufacturing operations like GM’s truck assembly plants may– Manufacturing operations like GM s truck assembly plants may

be very good at collecting information with smart devices…– …but they are often ineffective at supporting knowledge

creation and sharing among workersThese are problems where smart creation and sharing among workers…– …in ways that are artfully integrated with community

practice

ptechnology — AI in the service of community needs — is very much

About the strengths and limitations of daily logs/diaries in manufacturing (and other kinds of technical work?)…

community needs — is very much needed

– Great for communicating, but hard to re-use as a ‘lessons learned’ repository (e.g., compared to Eureka tips)

– Each log is closely tied to the group that authored it and theirEach log is closely tied to the group that authored it and their environment (it’s their log)

» Local context of action and background knowledge» Ownership and how information will be used» Ownership and how information will be used

ThankThankThank Thank you!you!you!you!

A general methodology forIn our syndicate groups, we will try to use this framework to talk about YOUR work communities and their practicesg gyunderstanding knowledge ecosystems






Wh ?


Wh ?





•Describe some of the key work communities you are part of.•What are the strengths of how well knowledge is shared?•How could it be improved?•What are the consequences if Knowledge is not shared effectively?•What are the benefits a knowledge eco-system could provide?

Knowledge Sharing The real work of knowledge work [وضع ......But design can involve much more...

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