This was a very interesting discussion. An organisation had just set up their KMS and were wondering about information structure.
The project manager asked a very intelligent question - How do I ensure that my KMS does not become a document repository, and remains a knowledge warehouse?
Here is, in brief, the answer:
What goes into a KMS?
To understand what goes into a KMS, we have to understand what a KMS is. The best way to understand what a KMS is, is to know what a KMS is NOT. KMS is not:
MIS
It is not meant to give you timely information on your operations and help you monitor business as usual.
DMS
It is not a Document Management System. It is not where you dump all your reports, proposals, policy documents, etc.
DSS
It is not a Decision Support System. All information in the KMS repository is, by and large, time agnostic. Like the Vedas and Amar Chitra Katha, the wisdom in it is for a long time, of course, updated with the times. But not time sensitive. That is the crucial aspect.
A Knowledge Management System is just that - a system to manage the knowledge in the organisation.
So, to be counted as knowledge, an artifact / document must be:
A. Time agnostic
B. Be applicable in a wide variety of domains. If it is specific to that one project, that one report, and that one employee, its not KMS worthy.
C. Be clear about the knowledge it imparts.
D. Ideally, help a person connect the dots and lead to some business value.
E. Must not include any confidential information / company identifiable information.
Some examples of good KMS usage
Katy is looking for ways to quickly do effort estimate on her bids. Obviously, the information is incomplete, and she has to do her best. She finds out, over a period of time, that if she has some key data elements, she is able to give a bid that is very close to the actual costing + margin of the organisation.
So, she prepares a questionnaire that has all these data elements.
Now, whenever the bid team receives a RFP (request for proposal) , it sends this questionnaire as its standard list to the client. The bid team then has the info it needs to create a clear bid in a short amount of time.
*******************
Raghu, the Finance head, is sick of asking departmental heads for TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) before approving their capital procurements against Budget Line Items.
Exasperated, he creates a TCO Calculation template that he just uploaded into the KMS. Now, before sending the proposal, everyone looks at the TCO calculation template. This has also helped other department heads identify the hidden costs in their procurements, which were earlier blind spots.
*************
How to ensure the success of your KMS
- Keep a tight gate on what gets in.
- Incentivise reuse of artifacts as much as possible.
- Monitor usage at all times. Even plants atrophy without fresh air and anything left untouched starts to decay. KMS is not a dead system. It is a living, breathing system that supplies vital nutrients to your organisation.
- Guard against plagiarism. It is unfortunate, but not rare, for employees to copy stellar documents written by someone else and submit them as their own KMS submissions.
- Incentivise participation. If people are hesitant to create documents, give them sample documents and offer surprise prizes for lucky submissions. Hold a contest once a month every 6 months - for both submitting and using artifacts. The contest for using artifacts will also give you the case studies that you need to create emails about KMS use.
How long does it take?
6 months. This number is usually independent of the organisation size. It will take people about 6 months of consistent, persistent reminders to make a habit of using KMS as a regular part of their work. Plan your Change Management for 6 months, and keep plenty of budget.
And Finally:
What makes a good Knowledge Management System
