What KM means for companies

Presented by Sanjit Pal for STC, Mumbai Chapter

What KM means for companies


KM – Nuts and Bolts

- 2 types of knowledge – Tacit and Explicit– Tacit – in people’s heads– Explicit – Codified and expressed as information in databases

and documents etc.Definition may include – Systematic – Leaving things to serendipity, which will not achieve the benefits.

Vital Knowledge – You need to focus, you don’t have unlimited resources Processes – is a set of activities with its own tools and techniques.


Two Thrusts

- Processes of Innovation – creation and conversion of new knowledge

- Sharing best practices


Seven Strategic Levers

- Customer Knowledge – the most vital knowledge in most organizations- Knowledge in Processes – know-how when needed (applying the best know-how while performing core tasks)- Knowledge in Products (and services) – ‘smarts’ add value (smarter solutions, customized to users’ needs)- Knowledge in People – but people ‘walk’ (nurturing and harnessing brain power, your most precious asset)- Organizational Memory – do we know what we know (drawing on lessons from the past or elsewhere in the organization)- Knowledge in Relationships – richness and depth (deep personal knowledge that underpins successful collaboration)- Knowledge Assets – intellectual capital (measuring and managing your intellectual capital)


Tools and Techniques

Infrastructure – groupware, intranets, document management, KM suitesThinking – concept mapping, creativity toolsGathering, discovering – search engines, alerting, push, data mining, intelligent assetsOrganizing, storing – data warehousing, OLAP, metadata, XMLKnowledge Worker Support – Case based reasoning, decision support, workflow, and community supportApplication Specific – CRM, Expertise Profiling, Competitive Intelligence


Critical Success Factors

Knowledge LeadershipClear Business BenefitsSystematic ProcessesA Knowledge Sharing CultureContinuous Learning An effective information and communications infrastructure


Some Examples

Create/Discover – 3M, Glaxo WellcomeCodify – BHA, Standard Life, PwCDiffuse – H-P, Thos. Miller, Rover, BPUse – Buckman, Steelcase, PwC, AndersonProcess/ Culture – Cigna, AnalogConversion – MonsantoMeasure / Exploit – Skandia, Dow


Enterprise KM Initiative – A Case Study

Technology

- LiveLink – Open Text Corporation- Database – Oracle 9i- Web Server – IIS- Front End – Live Link Customised – ASP Pages- Reports – SQL Query


Why LiveLink?

- Close competitors were MS-Sharepoint Portal & Broadvision- Broadvision – A pure content management software, lacking the

collaborative capabilities- MS-Sharepoint Portal – Scalability Issues & Proprietary Database

Usage, User-interface customization, Limited look-and-feel customization

- Live Link – Combination of Content Management + Document Management + Knowledge Management

- Striking Features – Workflow Process, Real time Collaboration through chats, net sessions, Threaded Discussion Forums, Polls & Surveys, Off-the-shelf Reports and customized reports


Team

- 1 Project Manager- 1 Associate Project Manager- 1 Project Leader – Technical- 1 Project Leader – Document & Content Management- 4 Programmers- 1 Document Uploader


Initial Focus

Sales & Marketing – Global TeamsContinued Focus

Technical Documents related to Projects


Strategy (for Sales & Marketing

Division) - Identification & Centralized Collection of

Documents- Document Filtering, Fine-tuning &

Categorizing- Document Accessibility & Mapping to

Technology Matrix- Search Criteria Optimization


On the Technical Implementation –

- Application Hosting on US servers- User & Password Creation- Rights & Privileges Assignment according

to roles- Email and Helpdesk support


Second Phase

- KM Portal rolled out to all Patni employees- Roll-out of Threaded Discussion Forums- Launch of Re-usable Codes Section- Launch of Document Contribution Schemes based on personal experience – Technical & Non-Technical- Newsletters, Email Support


Issues

Technical - LiveLink Support from Vendors – Dubai based – No

Indian Operations- Time spent in self-discovery and exploration of

customizable features- Lack of immediate availability IT infrastructure


Non-Technical

- Co-ordination with SBUs and Project Teams- Teams for document collection- Conduction of Interviews for assessing

requirements


Promotions

- Portal Name Winner- Teaser Campaigns- Quizzes- Notice Board Campaigns- Best Contributor Award- Point Accumulation Through Document Contribution


What’s on Priority

- Speedy support on Technical queries- Extending access to specific documents on

request and subsequent approval


How Patni benefited

- Turnaround time for responding to RFPs reduced by 40-45%

- Proposal Building accelerated by 50%- One common space for resolution of

Technical queries on Discussion Board Forums

- Instant result generation through Surveys and Polls


Continuing Endeavors

- Amalgamation of Intranet applications on KM Portal

- More Document Accessibility- On-going quizzes and teaser campaigns- Thrust on Information hunting from KM Portal


Horizon – A Case Study

Technology– Sharepoint Portal – Microsoft Corporation– Database – Explorer-based storage– Web Server – IIS– Front End – Customised – ASP Pages


Why Sharepoint Portal?

- Limited Users, where scalability is not aissue

- Content Management Explored Largely - TCO suited for small to mid-sized

organizations


Team

1 Project Manager 2 Project Leader 1 Web Designer 1 Content Manager 6 Programmers


Target Departments

ProjectsHuman Resources


Issues

Lack of technical support from vendorsIntegration with legacy applications built on Oracle platformSupport departments reluctance to accept the new technology like HR, Admin and AccountsHigh attrition among technical staff leading to intermittent halt of content capture from Projects division


KM – Why It May Fail

KM is not a panacea of all your organization’s information accessibility and retrieval issues….so expectations should be subduedKM often lacks the Top Management inspiration (not talking about financial and technical support)KM portal or Intranet once implemented does not undergo enhancement…….so people lose interest in seeing the same interface and look-and-feel

….contd


KM – Why It May Fail

Department-wise KM is a better strategic decision than Organization-wide KMOrganizations fail to add the zing to the KM Portal to hook onto the users….i.e., promotional activities


KM – Formula for Success

Nothing as suchDon’t think elimination of all such problems as mentioned in the previous slide will lead to overwhelming successDon’t assume that factors which mattered in the success of KM in one organization will work for anotherKM – is about a culture change, mindset changeKM – Journey from transforming your working habits that requires finding and utilizing information from manual sources on the KM portalKM – is a never-ending journey…………a dedicated department helps its continuous evolution