What is Knowledge Management?and why we should care

Mr. Art Schlussel, CKM, CDIA, ECMs

November 18, 2009

By: Octium International

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Observation

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“The only irreplaceable capital an organization possesses is the knowledge and ability of its people. The productivity of that capital depends on how effectively people share their competence with those who can use it.”

Andrew Carnegie

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KM: Frequent Questions1. Why should we care about this topic?2. What is “knowledge management?”3. What is “knowledge” and how does it differ

from information (or does it)?4. Where does knowledge come from?5. How can knowledge be “managed” (or can it

be)?– How can we get more knowledge?– How can we make it more useful?

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Why Knowledge Management?Some good reasons:• We spend 20-30% of our time searching for information• High turnover of personnel

– 50% of civilian workforce can retire within 5 years– OPM estimates 61% federal workforce can retire by 2016

• Leverage wisdom of the entire organization– Connect those who know with those that need to know– Leverage intangible assets of an organization

• Prevent re-inventing the wheel• Make organizations learning organizations – create, acquire, transfer and

retain knowledge• Improve efficiency and enhance organizational performance while

reducing costs• Create and foster Communities of Practice

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Typical Information – Age Issues

1. Poor Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Info-Glut “We Don’t Know What We Know,” Much Less What We Need to Know”

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Typical Information – Age Issues1. Poor Signal-to-Noise Ratio

2.“Getting the Right Information to the Right People at the Right Time” “We Can’t Get

People on the Same Page”

“We Spend Too Much Time Making Sure Everybody Knows What the Latest Info Is”

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Typical Information – Age Issues1. Poor Signal-to-Noise Ratio2. “Getting the Right Information to the Right People at

the Right Time”

3.“Too Much Stuff Gets Lost in the System”

“Nothing Gets Followed-Up!”

It’s Too Hard to Connect the Dots!

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Typical Information – Age Issues1. Poor Signal-to-Noise Ratio2. “Getting the Right Information to the Right People at

the Right Time”3. Too Much Stuff Gets Lost in the System

4.“The Urgent Drives Out the Important”“We Spend All Our Time

Fighting Fires; It’s Too Hard to Keep Track of the Long-Range and Important Issues”

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What IS Knowledge Management?

ActionsActions & & ProgramsPrograms Designed toDesigned to

MobilizeMobilize the the Organization’s Organization’s

Intellectual Intellectual Capital in order Capital in order

toto

Improve Improve Organizational Organizational EffectivenessEffectiveness

KM is about ACTION

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Defining Knowledge

• “Knowledge is understanding gained from experience, analysis & sharing.” “Knowledge gives us power to do something with data and information.” Douglas Weidner, KM Institute

• Knowledge is “Information Combined with Experience, Context, interpretation, and reflection.” Tom Davenport

• Knowledge is information analyzed to provide meaning and value or evaluated as to implications for the operation. It is also comprehension gained through study, experience, practice, and human interaction that provides the basis for expertise and skilled judgment.

Army FM 6-01.1

“Understanding gained from experience.” Webster’s Standard Dictionary Definition

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Data Becoming Knowledge

•Data - are unprocessed signals communicated between any nodes in an information system or sensings

•Information - is data that has been processed to provide further meaning

•Knowledge - is information that has been analyzed to provide meaning or value

11FM 6-01.1, Knowledge Management Section, Aug 08

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A Real Life Example of Data Becoming Knowledge

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Data: Six IEDs exploded

Information: “In the last eight hours, six IEDs have been discovered around Samarra”.

Knowledge: “The last time there was increased enemy activity like this, enemy forces were consolidating for a possible attack to recapture key towns.”

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Information & Knowledge

• “Information” is NOT the same as “Knowledge” • “Information Management” is NOT the same as

“Knowledge Management”

Information = Stocks Of Things

Knowledge = Flow Of Ideas

• Difference between knowing How To Do something and knowing What To Do

Know How

“Street Smarts”

Know What

“Stuff”

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Explicit & Tacit Knowledge• Explicit – Knowledge that is codified,

documented, articulated in a formal way– Comparatively easy to transfer = Intellectual Property

• Tacit – Knowledge embedded in individual experience and involving intangible factors such as personal beliefs, perspectives and values– Difficult to codify and document– Difficult to transfer– Walks out the door each evening, and doesn’t

automatically come back in the morning

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KM Definitions

Knowledge Management is the art of creating, organizing, applying, and transferring knowledge to facilitate situational understanding and decision making. Knowledge management supports improving organizational learning, innovation, and performance. Knowledge management processes ensure that knowledge products and services are relevant, accurate, timely, and useable to commanders and decision makers. FM 3-0, Operations, Section 7-53, 27 February 2008 = FM 6-01.1 Knowledge Management Section, 1-3. Aug 08

First Army

KM Doctrine

Knowledge management is a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, retrieving, evaluating, and sharing an enter prise’s tacit and explicit knowledge assets to meet mission objectives. The objective of the principles is to connect those who know with those who need to know (know-why, know-what, know-who, and know-how) by leveraging knowledge transfers from one-to-many across the Global Army Enterprise.Army Knowledge Management Principles, by Dr. Robert Neilson, signed by Army Secretary Pete Geren and Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, Jul 2008

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KM Definitions (continued)

Conscious strategy of getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time and helping people share and put information into action in ways that strive to improve organizational performance.”Carla O’Dell and C. Jackson Grayson, If Only We Knew What We Know, 1998, p.6

Conscious strategy of putting both tacit and explicit knowledge into action by creating context, infrastructure, and learning cycles that enable people to find and use the collective knowledge of the enterprise.” Carla O’Dell, Susan Elliott, and Cindy Hubert, Knowledge Management: A Guide for Your Journey to Best-Practice Processes , APQC, 2000, p.1)  Knowledge Management (KM) is the systematic processes by which knowledge needed for an organization to succeed is created, captured, shared and leveraged.Melissie Rumizen,The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Knowledge Management, 2002

KM is a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, retrieving, evaluating, and sharing an enterprise’s tacit and explicit knowledge assets to meet mission objectives.Art’s current favorite definition

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Who Coined the Term Knowledge Management?

• Karl-Erik Sveiby – Described as the one of the “founding

fathers” of KM pioneered many fundamental concepts.

– In 1986 he published his 1st book, “Knowledge Companies” in Sweden

• Karl Wiig– Also described as a “founding father”– Used KM in a 1986 article

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Both Karl-Erik Sveiby and Karl Wiig used the term Knowledge Management in 1986

• Learned and Shared Experience

• Learned and Shared Expertise

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Where Does KM Come From?

“Know- How”

“Know- What”

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Cartoon by Danny Shanahan, the New Yorker, Sept. 2002

“I’ve never really stormed a castle, but I’ve taken a bunch of siege management courses.”

Experience & Expertise

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Expertise & Experience

• Expertise– Goal: knowing things– Deals in explicit knowledge– Focus on analysis– Success = “turning chaos

into options”– Emphasizes information/

facts– Can be learned– Objective (mostly)– Danger: losing sight of the

big picture

• Experience– Goal: understanding things– Deals in tacit knowledge– Focus on synthesis– Success = getting things

done– Emphasizes judgment/

insight– Must be earned– Subjective– Danger: losing sight of field

realities

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A Typical “Knowledge Manager” Who Uses Both Expertise and

Experience

Corporal “Radar” O'Reilly - M*A*S*H TV Series

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A Key KM Objective

Dr. Robert Neilson, KM Advisor to the Army CIO/G6

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“KM is connecting those who know with those who need to know”

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KM Components

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Army FM 6-01.1

• Effective KM depends on People and Processes as well as Technology

• In today’s world Technology is an essential enabler• Effective KM:

•80% “People” •10% “Processes” •10% “Technology”

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4 Typical KM Challenges

Know Don’t Know

Know

Don’t Know

Knowledge That You Know You Have Somewhere, But Can’t Find(Explicit Knowledge)

Knowledge that You Don’t Know You Have

(Tacit Knowledge)

Knowledge that You Know You Don’t Have

(Known Gaps)

Knowledge That You Don’t Know You Don’t Have(SURPRISES!)

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So What is KM?

• Connecting people to people/ Connecting people to info/knowledge• Fostering collaboration -Connecting those who know with those who

don’t– Using Portals/Intranets/Web Meetings

• Establishing corporate libraries/ databases• Expert location system• Sharing best practices• Leading cultural change• Improving business practices• Fostering communities of practice• Creating virtual organizations• Measuring intellectual capital• Etc.

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KM: Core Concepts

• knowledge is a useable asset…– That can be (and should be) managed– That can drive decisions and add business value– Emphasis on active use, not shelfware

• Includes both Explicit and Tacit, unstructured knowledge

• Emphasis on people (internal & external) as well as tools

• Knowledge grows with use and soars when shared

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KM Myths

• Software is the solution– 70% of the solution is good business processes

• KM technologies deliver the right info to the right person at the right time– It is impossible to build a system that predicts this

• Information technologies can distribute human intelligence

• If you build it they will come– Not necessarily

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What Screws Up KM

• Focus on technology to the exclusion of the people and culture factor– KM is about adoption and use

• Turning it into yet another project– KM needs to be inculcated into the organization

• Failing to handle the rewards/incentives issues– You must address the WIIFM factor

(what’s in it for me?)

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For KM to be Successful

• KM must create value (make the user’s life easier/more efficient/save time)

• Collect useful knowledge - not all knowledge is useful

• Must be integrated into key business processes• Focuses on people• Must have leadership buy-in• Needs Community of Practice facilitators with a

passion for their community (if doing CoP)

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Summary of Possible KM ActionsProblem Area Examples of Solutions & Actions

Info-Glut •Action Tracking Tools•Multi-Source Displays, T&V Tracking•Push Technology & “Information Provider” Slots•Stories & Scenarios

Lack of Contextual Awareness

•Data Mining & “Business Intelligence” Tools•Desk Officers’ Collaborative Space•Groupware & Collaboration ToolsLack of Situational

AwarenessNeed for Outside-the-Box Insights

•Communities of Practice, AARs,•Policy Hotwashes, Lessons Learned Projects

Dilbert on Knowledge Management

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Knowledge Shared is Power• “ Knowledge is Power” Francis Bacon, 1597

• KM says – “Knowledge Shared is Power.” FM 6-01.1

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Costs of Failure to Share Knowledge

• Dangerous Knowledge Gaps– Historically, failure to share knowledge has resulted in

disasters• Which could have been averted with a “word to

the wise?”– The sinking of the Titanic? – 9/11 attacks? – Space Shuttle Challenger crash? – Hurricane Katrina response?– Air Force B2 stealth bomber crash?

Sinking of the Titanic• Titanic received seven different iceberg warnings on the day of her sinking• Six of which were disregarded by the captain (Cpt. E. J. Smith)• The seventh warning never made it to the bridge

Operatio

nal

Failures

Management Failures

• The FBI was already investigating foreign students learning to fly, but not land, large jet planes

• Not sharing info linking Cole attack…

• Not expanding no-fly list to terrorist list…

• Management should have ensured information was shared between agencies with clear duties….

• Government did not find a way of pooling intelligence…

9/11

The Space Shuttle Challenger

• NASA engineers already knew the dangers of freezing the O-ring that failed, leading to the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger• Resulted in a tragic loss of life

Cost: $5.5 Billion

Hurricane Katrina

• The Federal response to Hurricane Katrina was marked by now infamous failures to communicate

Air Force B2 Stealth Bomber Crash

Sharing experiences leads to lessons that may save lives and lead to more effective operations.

Cost: $1.4 Billion

Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force

• Investigators laid the cause of the crash on moisture in sensors• Learned by some crews two years earlier, the technique essentially heats the sensors and evaporates any moisture before data calibrations. • "This technique was never formalized in a technical order change or captured in 'lessons learned' reports. • Only some pilots and some maintenance technicians knew of the suggestion.

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Sharing Best Practices via CAVNET• 2004 - Insurgents started placing explosives behind pictures of Saddam Hussein• New TTP post on CAVNET• CPT Wilson reads post• Explosive behind poster• Saves lives of soldiers about to take down poster

KM Saves Lives