Km Tools

KM Tools IKM Workshop - China 23-25 May, 2005 Deependra b. Tandukar, ICIMOD

KM Tools What are KM Tools? Knowledge management tools are technologies and methods which enhance and enable knowledge generation/capture , codification , and transfer Not all knowledge management tools are ICT based, as paper and pen can certainly be utilized to generate, codify, and transfer knowledge

KM Tools Data, Information KM Tools There are no sharp boundaries to distinguish among data, information and knowledge management tools, and often one is overlapped with the other However, for effective knowledge management, tools and supporting process are needed at all the levels – level of data, information, and knowledge itself. Only a knowledge management tool has a direct role in the process of linking knowledge to action, i.e. usage of knowledge.

KM Tools Some KM Tools Here we will talk about some of the KM Tools: After action reviews Best practices Communities of practice Extranet Exit interviews GIS Knowledge centres Knowledge fair Knowledge harvesting Knowledge map Mentoring Peer assists Social network analysis Storytelling White pages

KM Tools After action reviews - generally done after completion of the project - enables to find out what happened, why it happened, what went well, what needs improvement and what lessons can be learned from the experience Note - focuses on whole the process, not individual performance - learning opportunity, and depends of willingness of participants to be open

KM Tools Best practices - sharing of practices, specially the methodology that represent the best effective way of achieving the goal - most of the best practice knowledge are tacit ie held in people’s head so it combines two elements – explicit knowledge such as best practice database (connecting people with information) and methods for sharing tacit knowledge such as communities of practice (connecting people with people) Benefits - avoid reinventing the wheel - identify and replace poor practices; saving costs and improving efficiency Note - promote actively best practices - evolving process

KM Tools Communities of practice - network of people who share a common interest in a specific area of knowledge and are willing to work and learn together to develop and share that knowledge - CoPs are different from workgroup or team Benefits - avoid reinventing the wheel - cut across departmental boundaries and formal reporting lines Note - generally topics discussed must be linked to the members’ daily work - life cycle depends on what its members want and need

KM Tools Extranet - common spaces in which one can give access to external subscribers through a password and user id - allows subscribers to follow various discussion threads on a topic or a document - virtual space Benefits - let people work together, even at a distance - let people share, create and apply knowledge - all participants can post documents and comment Note - must keep documents up to date and archive documents that are obsolete

KM Tools Exit interviews - conducted with employees leaving an organisation Benefits - vital knowledge is not lost to the organisation when people leave Note - the purpose of the interview is not to gather knowledge itself, but to gather useful knowledge that will actually be used - The less you capture knowledge on a regular basis, the more you need to capture it at exit

KM Tools GIS - Geographic Information System - acquisition, processing, transformation, extraction, storage, presentation Benefits - can find what exists at a particular location - improved map service - improved analysis eg. of areas, distances, patterns - track and monitor growth and development over time - improved policy formulation and decision making Examples - Kirtipur Municipality Development - Kathmandu planning

KM Tools Knowledge centre - typically provides a focus for collecting, organising and disseminating both knowledge and information - enhanced version of a library Benefits - bring core knowledge management responsibilities and activities under a single umbrella rather than leaving it to dispersed individuals and teams - avoiding duplication of effort and resources - pooling expertise Note - concerned with 'active' not 'archive' knowledge - fully up-to-date with what is happening in the organisation including current priorities and work in progress - 'who is doing what now' - more concerned with connecting people with people

KM Tools Knowledge fair - seminars, workshops, and exhibitions arranged to make people aware of technologies and information that are applicable and useful across different sectors Benefits - people focus on what interest them - immediate interaction with the presenter - excellent tool for networking Note - support of senior management - costs for room, equipment, resources - Location is crucial to the success of the event

KM Tools Knowledge harvesting - to make some of the tacit knowledge: know-how of experts and top performers in an organisation more explicit - training, manuals, best practices Benefits - individuals can access experts’ knowledge when and where they need it, without being dependent on the availability of that expert - vital knowledge is not lost to the organisation when people leave - learning curve of new people joining the organisation is shortened Note - not all tacit knowledge can be made explicit - knowledge gathering and sharing is unlikely to happen if people feel they would be at a disadvantage by sharing their knowledge, eg, experts may feel that their status or job security depends on keeping their knowledge to themselves Goal - to capture an expert’s decision-making processes with enough clarity that someone else could repeat the same processes and get the same results

KM Tools Knowledge map - visual representation with details such as location, quality, accessibility, relation Approaches - knowledge resources and assets, showing what knowledge exists in the organisation and where it can be found - knowledge flows, showing how that knowledge moves around the organisation from where it is to where it is needed Benefits - highlights islands of expertise - Improves decision making and problem solving by providing applicable information

KM Tools Peer assists - team of people working on one project or activity call a meeting or workshop to seek knowledge and insights from people in other team(s) Benefits - allows to gain input and insights from people outside the team - reusing the existing knowledge/experience rather than reinventing the wheel - do not require any special resources or any new, unfamiliar processes

KM Tools Social network analysis - mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organisations - in contrast to an organisation chart which shows formal relationships, a social network analysis chart shows informal relationships - who knows who and who shares information and knowledge with whom Benefits - to visualise and understand the many relationships that can either facilitate or impede knowledge creation and sharing - raise awareness of the importance of informal networks

KM Tools Storytelling - use of stories in organisations as a communication tool to share knowledge Benefits - communicates ideas conveying a rich yet clear message - allow people to convey tacit knowledge - memorable so their messages tend to ‘stick’ and they get passed on - help to close the ‘knowing-doing gap’ Note - doesn’t always work - avoid telling a story for the first time at a high-profile, high-risk occasion

KM Tools White pages - a tool to help people to find others with the knowledge and expertise they need for a particular task or project - a staff directory, but with details about their knowledge, skills, experience and interests Benefits - simple to create - effective in helping organisations to ‘know what they know’ - allow people to find the tacit knowledge they need Note - formal communities of practice, project teams can be included - IT outsourcing, consultancy services, etc can be included

KM Tools Effective knowledge management can take place only when people are effortlessly able to share their individual ideas with others Thank you

Km Tools

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