Albert SimardKnowledge ManagerDefence R&D Canada
Conference Board of CanadaPublic Sector Social Media 2011March 29-30, 2011; Ottawa, ON
Capturing Knowledge:
Adding Value to an Organization
2
A Definition…
• Knowledge Capture: Using social technology to find, access, and validate existing knowledge.*
* As used here, knowledge includes all forms of content: objects, data, information, knowledge, and wisdom.
3
The Big Picture
Knowledge Assets
Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge Work
Knowledge Transfer
Knowledge Infrastructure
Create Discover Experiment Analysis Synthesis Write Draw
Create Discover Experiment Analysis Synthesis Write Draw
new knowledge
new knowledge
Acquire Purchase License Exchange Reengineer Collect Capture
Acquire Purchase License Exchange Reengineer Collect Capture
External sourcesExternal sources
existing knowledge
existing knowledge
4
Social Technology
• Telephony• Video conferencing• E-mail• Chat rooms• Bulletin boards• On-line forums• Web portal• Sharing sites• Collaboration sites• Expertise locator• Blogs, microblogs• Wikis
5
Outline
• Eliciting from individuals
• Harvesting from Communities
• Gathering from Networks
• Exploring Cyberspace
6
Eliciting from IndividualsAttributes:
• In the minds of individuals
• Must be volunteered
Process:
• Identify experts
• Engage them
• Make their knowledge explicit
• Validate knowledgeIndividualsIndividuals
7
Tacit Knowledge• Intangible personal knowledge
gained through experience and self-learning; influenced by beliefs, perspectives, and values.
– Awareness
– Skills
– Experience
– Mental models
– Wisdom
– Corporate memory The Thinker - Rodin
IndividualsIndividuals
8
Sharing Barriers
• Trust and safety• Organizational culture• Incentives and motivation• Difficulty of explaining • Different expertise
• Security and privacy• Control and hoarding• Large distances• Different languages• Inadequate technology
IndividualsIndividuals
9
Incentives• Compliance (you will)
– Pay, job security, duty, penalties– Military, manufacturing, law, policies– Meet quotas, minimum standards, no change
• Motivation (you’ll be rewarded)– Ambition, challenges, bonuses, rewards– Efficiency, productivity, quality– Improvements, increases, evolutionary changes
• Engagement (would you like to?)– Autonomy, mastery, purpose– Design, innovation, discovery– Commitment, involvement, revolutionary changes
IndividualsIndividuals
10
Motivating Sharing
• Communicate sharing goals regularly
• Train employees on using sharing tools
• Demonstrate the benefits of sharing
• Highlight sharing success stories
• Practice good sharing behavior
• Reward good sharing behavior
• Discourage poor sharing behavior
• Encourage community developmentStan Garfield (2010)Stan Garfield (2010)
IndividualsIndividuals
11
What is Engagement?• Autonomy: What to do, when to do it, where to do it,
how to do it, and who to work with
• Mastery: Want to excel, increase ability, practice, perseverance, obstacles, approach but not attain
• Purpose: quality of life, meaning, social responsibility, stewardship, attitude and behavior, soul-stirring, ethics
Daniel Pink (2009)Daniel Pink (2009)
IndividualsIndividuals
12
Why Engage Knowledge Workers?
• Knowledge cannot be conscripted; it must be volunteered.
• Knowledge workers need to commit to and become truly involved in their work.
• Ideally, they work:– Not because they are told to,– Not because they expect
something in return,– Because they want to; they enjoy
doing it.IndividualsIndividuals
13
Engagement Techniques
• Hire “engageable” employees
• Match projects, passions, proficiency
• Stress employee ownership
• Earn trust continuously
• Clarify mutual goals and expectations
• Provide frequent feedback
• Talk and listen often
Wendy Fenci (2008)Wendy Fenci (2008)IndividualsIndividuals
14
Eliciting Methods
• Conversations, discussions, dialogue (colleagues, peers)
• Questions & answers, problems & solutions (novice/expert)
• After-action reviews, lessons learned (event/group)
• Capture, document, interview, record (expert/facilitator)
• Extraction, identify, codify, organize (expert/know engineer)
• Advising, briefing, recommending (subordinate/superior)
• Teaching, educating, training (teacher/student)
• Storytelling, narratives, anecdotes (teller/listener)
• Explaining, demonstrating, describing (technician/user)
• Presentations, lectures, speeches (speaker/audience)IndividualsIndividuals
15
Eliciting Example
NRCAN - Canadian Forest Service
IndividualsIndividuals
16
Harvesting from Communities
Attributes:
• In-house knowledge
• Already validated
Process:
• Identify Communities
• Collect knowledge
CommunitiesCommunities
17
Community of Practice
• Government, department
• Sector, branch, division staff
• Scientists, engineers, lawyers
• Policy analysts, regulators
• Finance, purchasing officers
• Information, communication specialistsCommunitiesCommunities
People who share common expertise, skill, or profession (position, work, colleagues)
People who share common expertise, skill, or profession (position, work, colleagues)
18
Communities and Knowledge
• Knowledge exists in the minds of people. Experience is as important as formal knowledge.
• Knowledge is tacit as well as explicit. Transferring tacit knowledge is more effective through human interaction.
• Knowledge is social as well as individual. Today’s knowledge is the result of centuries of collective research.
• Knowledge is changing at an accelerating rate. It takes a community of people to keep up with new concepts, practices, and technology.
CommunitiesCommunities
19
Community Characteristics
• Self-governed: norms and guidelines govern practices.
• Self-organized: purpose, direction, and management.
• Productive enquiry: answer questions based on practice.
• Collaborate: synchronous and asynchronous channels.
• Generate knowledge: new knowledge is created.
• Support members: provides a forum for mutual support.
Saint-Onge & Wallace (2003)Saint-Onge & Wallace (2003)CommunitiesCommunities
20
Community Behaviors
Positive• Dialogue• Trust• Safety• Meritocracy• Equality• Outliers
Negative• Discussion• Debating• Arguing• Agenda• Authority• Assuming• Majority• Consensus• Groupthink
CommunitiesCommunities
21
Harvesting Methods
• Service Center: repository for community outputs; interface with communities, minimize duplication, inform communities
• Leader: transfer community outputs; Identify emerging trends, prioritize issues
• Sponsor: endorse community outputs; bridge between the community and the organization, provide support, minimize organizational barriers
• Champion: ensure adoption of community outputs; communicate purpose, promote the community
CommunitiesCommunities
22
DRDC - Centre for Security Science
Harvesting Example
CommunitiesCommunities
23
Gathering from Networks
Attributes:
• Members know about knowledge
• Quality is variable
Process:
• Identify networks and members
• Bring knowledge into the organization
• Validate knowledge
NetworksNetworks
24
Social Networks
Large numbers of people who share a common interest or passion (enjoyment, hobbies, friends)
NetworksNetworks
25
Network Attributes
• Networks are much bigger than communities (100s to 1,000,000s of members).
• Participants don’t know most other participants, limiting trust and security.
• Large numbers of nodes leads to complex behavior.
NetworksNetworks
26
Network Behavior
• Positive feedback - The bigger the network, the bigger it gets.
• Biological growth - Crossing a “threshold” yields self-sustaining, exponential growth.
• Synergy & emergence – Networks can yield more than any individual can accomplish.
• Winner take most – There is a tendency for one member to dominate.
• Extreme leveraging – A small effort can trigger market domination.
Kevin Kelly (1998)
NetworksNetworks
27
Network Value• Value is proportional to the number of participants
squared.
• Value is created by all; not by an individual or organization.
• Value is external to member organizations.
• Value is shared by all; capturing value is often uneven.
• Those who own network standards have an advantage.
Kevin Kelly (1998)
NetworksNetworks
28
Gathering Methods
Network members bring it into the organization
Communities validate itNetworksNetworks
29
Gathering Example
NetworksNetworks
30
Exploring Cyberspace
Attributes:
• Masses of unknown content
• Unknown locations
Process: • Discover content
• Filter relevant content
• Analyze content
• Validate knowledge CyberspaceCyberspace
31
Why Explore Cyberspace?
• Anticipate emerging issue
• Anticipate stakeholder actions
• Discover new stakeholders
• Discover potential partners
• Learn from others
• Learn about new technology
• Monitor institutional changes
• Monitor public opinion
• Find useful information
• Detect new risks
Only way to keep up with accelerating changeOnly way to keep up with accelerating change CyberspaceCyberspace
32
Exploration Methods
• Planning & direction
• Assign tasks & teams
• Search must be Automated
• Use artificial intelligence filters
• Commercial search services
• Analysis is essential
• Interpretation is necessary
• Validate knowledge
CyberspaceCyberspace
33
Exploration Example
CyberspaceCyberspace
34
Capturing Knowledge Conclusion
• Eliciting individual knowledge
• Harvesting community knowledge
• Gathering network knowledge
• Exploring cyberspace
Adding value to an organization
Adding value to an organization