Fleet management and maintenance software tools
Develop Your Domain Names
Knowledge Management - Capturing And Structuring Knowledge Into Reusable Assets
Many organizations have an approach for identifying and recording lessons learned, perhaps as part of a post-project review or similar process. Unfortunately, lessons learned reports have a tendency to end up on a shelf gathering dust, or lost in the un-chartered corner of a fileserver somewhere. Let's get real. How many people will really trawl diligently through a number of lessons learned documents in order to glean some key point? The reality is, if you can motivate employees to initiate any kind of "learning before doing" activity, then you?re doing pretty well.
Remember the last time you packed your bag in preparation for a business trip?
All those things you need to remember? tickets, passport, currency, itinerary, contact, driving license, power adaptor, Ipod?
We manage to remember the things we need for our business trips without going through each past suitcase-packing experience in our minds, one by one. Somehow, we maintain a meta-level list in our memories. And yet, when it comes to lessons learned, we expect people in our organizations to work thought a pile of lessons learned reports in the hope that a key insight will leap out at them?
We need to find ways to package knowledge into easily accessible "knowledge assets" - structured with a customer in mind.
The steps below are taken from the best-selling fieldbook "Learning to Fly - Practical knowledge management from leading and learning organisations", written by Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell. They don't require sophisticated, bespoke technology just a wilingness to think-through and structure what has been learned.
1. Identify a customer for this knowledge. Have a clear customer - current or future - in mind when considering the creation of a knowledge asset.
2. Get clear what your knowledge asset is really about. What is the scope of your knowledge asset? A knowledge asset needs to cover a specific area of business activity.
3. Identify a community of practice relating to this subject. The community will be the source of the knowledge initially, the users of the knowledge in immediate term, and the people who have an on-going responsibility for validating the future contents of in the knowledge asset. This is key ? or there is a real risk that you will end up with an electronic time capsule - a snapshot in time of the way things used to be done - rather than the current, prized know-how in your organisation.
4. Collate any existing material upon which you can base your knowledge asset and look for general guidelines. Provide some context so that people can understand the purpose and relevance of the knowledge asset. Are there general guidelines that you can distil out of this material?
5. Build a checklist illustrated with examples and stories. The checklist should tell the user of the knowledge asset:
"What are the questions I need to ask myself?"
"What are the steps that I need to take?"
Illustrate it with examples, stories, pictures, digital photographs, models, quotes, video and audio clips if possible.
6. Include links to people. Create a hyperlink to the person's personal home page or e-mail address wherever you mention them in the text. Include a list of all the people with any relationship with the content. Use thumbnail photographs if you have them available.
7.Validate the Guidelines Circulate the guidelines around the community again, and ask "Do the guidelines accurately reflect your knowledge and experience?" "Do you have anything to add?"
8. Publish the knowledge asset. Store the knowledge in a space where it can be accessed by its community. Often this will mean the company intranet.
9. Initiate a feedback and ownership process. Encourage feedback from users, so that they pick up and eliminate any invalid recommendations. Instil a sense of obligation that "if you use it, then you should add to it".
Over time, you'll build up a series of knowledge assets which relate to the key practices in your organisation ? the areas which can bring competitive advantage. The creation of these tangible knowledge assets provides a focus for the communities of practice associated with each one, and ultimately will give credibility to your knowledge management efforts.
--------------------
Chris Collison is a renowned expert in knowledge management and an experienced practitioner in the leadership and implementation of organisational change from a people perspective.
As a best-selling author, he has presented to audiences at business schools and at conferences around the world, and is a regular contributor to specialist knowledge management publications. Chris has worked with leaders at the highest levels of many public and private-sector organizations, sharing the practical experiences he gained whilst working in BP's knowledge management team, and his deep understanding of the human dynamics of major change programmes.
Visit the "learning to fly" website at http://www.learning-to-fly.org
MORE ARTICLES:
Meditation in Motion: Tai Chi and Stress Management
To the uninformed, the mere mention of the term ?martial arts? evokes images of rigorous fighting and violence. However, in China and other parts of the world, thousands are recognizing the health benefits of a Chinese form of martial arts called Tai Chi. Many of its practitioners have adopted Tai Chi not only as a martial art but as a technique to manage stress and anxiety. While its roots are to be found in China, the martial arts has gained wide following in the United States where stress and anxiety are now considered very common ailments.
Promega Plexor(R) HY Most Sensitive Tool for DNA Quantitation
In response to DNA analyst's requests for more sensitive quantitation, Promega announces the release of the Plexor HY System. Plexor HY provides ultra-sensitive quantitation results down to 6.4pg of autosomal or Y-chromosomal DNA. The degree of sensitivity, along with the inclusion of an internal positive control and unique melt curve analysis - guards against false negative and false positive results. These features allow analysts to be confident and productive knowing the first result is accurate.
Watch Satellite TV ? Pros and Cons
Watch satellite TV? People may wonder if it is still a good choice in today?s climate. We have so many choices, analog TV, broadcast TV, cable TV, and we can even watch satellite TV on PC so it?s no question why it can be confusing and difficult for us to decide. Why don?t we scrutinize the whole idea of watching satellite TV, dig into the pros and cons of satellite TV before deciding whether to go for it?
Travelers Expands Commercial Auto Coverage Market
Travelers (www.travelers.com) today announced the availability of commercial auto coverage for small to mid-sized businesses on a monoline basis through its Select Accounts, Commercial Accounts and Construction divisions.
HyPerformix Announces Speakers for Annual IT Performance and Capacity Summit HP, EDS, McKesson, Royal Bank of Canada and IBM-Tivoli Scheduled to Disc
HyPerformix, Inc., the leader in Predictive IT Management?, today announced that IT leaders from HP, EDS, IBM-Tivoli, McKesson, Royal Bank of Canada and other industry giants will meet at the 2007 HyPerformix Summit to share insights and experiences in managing the performance of their critical applications and on aligning IT initiatives to the needs of the business. The summit will be held Oct. 15th - 16th at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Texas.
Computer Software Engineer Jobs In The UK
The field of Computer Software Engineering has become more popular among UK university graduates in recent years. Students are entering university with a more sophisticated knowledge of information technology than undergraduates from a generation ago. This knowledge is coupled with a realisation that many of the best jobs available in the UK involve computer technology, creating a desire within university students for success in the IT world. However, as graduates leave the university setting for the professional world, they begin to realise that their dream of working as a computer software engineer may be difficult to achieve.
Cardiovascular Imaging and Analysis Software Provider Shina Systems to Launch AngioCt at TCT 2007
AngioCt - integration of Cardiac CT with Angiography in the cathlab, to be showcased at TCT 2007, Washington DC, October 22-24, 2007.
Desktop Software Will Soon be a Thing From the Past
With Google and Microsoft making new application that you can access via the internet the only thing you will need to store on your own computer will be pictures, videos, and articles. Everybody will soon be able to do everything from designing sites, creating graphics to things as simple as writing papers via web based applications. This is because of the language AJAX and the web surpassing Web 2.0 technology and going to the new Web 3.0.
GlobalSat GPS Receivers Free to Mac Users As Part of Software Promotion
A free USB GPS is included with purchase of the "Hawkeye" bundle.
4 Vehicle Exhaust System Safety Tips
A properly functioning car exhaust system is critical toward keeping the environment clean, reducing noise, as well as preventing a deadly build up of carbon monoxide [CO] inside of your car. You can stop problems from occurring if you keep in mind the following four safety tips.
Aviation Companies Team to Provide First-Ever Complete Flight Data Monitoring System for General Aviation Aircraft
Modeled on FAA's Flight Operational Quality Assurance Program
Perst Open Source, All-Java Embedded Database Deployed in GigaSpaces Technologies' Enterprise Infrastructure Software
GigaSpaces Technologies has integrated McObject®'s Perst™ open source, object-oriented all-Java® embedded database for real-time data management in its massively scaleable distributed enterprise application technology. GigaSpaces embeds Perst in version 5.1 of its software, where Perst provides persistence for applications that are deployed and optimized using GigaSpaces' highly scalable, self-managing distributed solution.
Righteous Software Introduces New 'Live Boot' Disaster Recovery Method, Announces Release Date for Microsoft Windows Backup Support
Righteous Software, a developer of disk-based backup solutions, introduced today a new method for booting servers into disaster recovery mode, allowing administrators to execute a Bare-Metal data restoration.
Verifications, Inc. Names George Ellis Executive Vice President of Substance Abuse Services
Ellis to lead Verifications? Substance Abuse Services team.
Holistic Management International COO Reacts to Recent Guardian Article, ?Eat Your Greens?
Holistic Management International?s COO Peter Holter reacted today to a recent article in The Guardian, ?Eat Your Greens,? which suggested that people should seriously consider shifting to a vegan diet because the global livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transport. ?While I would never want to discourage anyone from switching to a vegan diet, the problem with livestock is not so much their emissions per se, but how the animals are managed under our industrialized feeding system,? Holter said.
