Starting a KM Initiative

Background: Dave Simmons

Director of KM for Global Operations- LEGO Systems A/S

Director of Prospect Research & Mgmt.- Children’s Memorial Hospital Foundation

Knowledge Management Specialist- US General Services Administration

Public Buildings Services (Region 5)

KM Business Propositions

Operational Effectiveness

Market Leadership & Innovation

Customer Intimacy

KM Business Propositions

• Operational Excellence – efficiency of operations, doing things better, faster, cheaper

• Customer Intimacy – knowing our customers and anticipating their needs, CRM

• Market Leadership and Innovation – doing things differently to change the industry

KM Learning Points

• Learn Organization’s Business Proposition as early as possible and either incorporate projects or identify opportunities within that proposition.

• Focus on primary business proposition and build stealth KM around the secondary and tertiary propositions.

All 3 Business Propositions involve the same elements

People

InformationProcesses

Business Propositions Applied

LEGO Systems A/S

* Market Leadership & Innovation

Children’s Memorial Hospital Foundation

* Customer Intimacy

US General Services Administration

Public Buildings Services (Region 5)

* Operational Effectiveness

Steps for new KM workGather information• Learn the language of success• Familiarize yourself with the success metrics• Gather “information pain” stories• Review all reports and understand the headers

(definitions, formulas, meanings)• Collect stories at all levels

Write it down as an Environmental Assessment

Sources for Gathering Information

• Mission statements• Strategic plans • annual reports • CEO “cheerleading” comments• Departmental goals and plans• Metrics in place• What the top boss say to their boss(es)• Sister/parent agency reports• Market/industry measures/standards

Build your toolbox

• Lexicon – words, meaning, source, acronyms• Staff List – people, positions, expertise• Organizational Outline – departmental expertise,

accomplishment• Types of knowledge that has the highest value • Manuals for every process• Report formats that are important• Journal – to keep track of yourself• Advisor Network – such as KM Chicago• Graphic collection of KM concepts

Deg

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in

Explicit Knowledge Tacit Knowledge

§ Books§ Articles§ Websites§ Resource People

§ Opinions§ Mentoring Advice to

newer people§ Rationales for decisions§ Meeting decision points§ Learning points

Easy

Hard

Types of Knowledge

Internally-produced materials

Outside LEGO Access(Phase II)

Other Stakeholders

Marketing/ Branding

Concept Development

Quality Assurance Issue:

Quality Assurance Issue:

Quality Assurance Issue:

Knowledge Management

System

World Wide Web(outside LEGO)

Matching Commercial SubjectTree to LEGO Subject Tree

Assuring documents areeasily accessible by everybody

Commercial(subscription) Databases

Assuring remote websitesare still available

US

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INT

ER

FA

CE

PU

BL

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ER

INP

UT

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Feedback based on Usage

TaxonomicStructure

(Subject Tree)

I.II. III.V.

Tacit Knowledge

Quality Assurance Issue:Capturing and keepingTK relevant and current

Explicit Knowledge

LEGO’s KM Strategy (2003)

…okay, so the Dane’s like complicated diagrams…

IV. Knowledge Management System

Knowledge Management

System

TaxonomicStructure

(Subject Tree)

•Allows knowledge and data from different sources and formats to co-exist

•Uses a hybrid of both automatic indexing and manual subject naming

•Works with IBM and MAC systems

•Adapts to LEGO Security system

•Low cost for setup and ongoing maintenance.

Implementation Design AnalysisPreparation

§ Creation of KM Brief(17-2-03)

§ Kickoff Meeting (17-2-03)

§ Inhouse BRSPresentation (24-2-03)

§ Vendors Identified(20-2-03)

§ 1st Draft Blueprintfor KMT review(27-2-03)

§ Review Vendors(10-3, 12-3, 13-3)

§ Identify data entryfields for variousmaterial formats(12-03-03)

§ Questionnaire toend users (28-3)

§ Identify Vendors forfollowup process.

§ 2nd meeting withSteering Committee

§ Secure response toblueprint

§ Review results of userquestionnaire

§ RFP submitted totargeted vendors (29-04-03)

§ Vendor Presentations(4/8-5-03)

§ Compete DraftBusiness Case forSteering Committee (9-5-03)

§ Select Vendor to use(9-5-03)

§ Business Case to PMTfor approval (22-5-03)

§ Add folders to KM Grove§ Create records for physical

objects (books and articles)to be added to the KM Grove

§ Convert existing knowledgeinto KM Grove

§ Work with vendor to buildtaxonomy from existingdocuments

§ Pilot test objects placed inKM Grove

§ Finalize input processes§ Test Run with Users§ Seek Feedback from

stakeholders

Feb. March April May

Knowledge Management Plan

Identify Projects & Build Case

• Short-term/Long-term projects• Public vs. Stealth• Build plans around desired improvements• Collect baseline measurements (what you’ll

measure your improvements against)• Get buy-in from your boss

– No plan will go unused, so don’t throw away any plan…it’s time will come sooner or later.

• Learn business process mapping and knowledge artifacts derived from those maps

Work the Plan• Prioritize daily• Be an “information plummer”• Report monthly broadly• Be inclusive, start small, and grow your folks

slowly. Make them the experts and teachers• Don’t sell it as a “fad” but a complementary skill

to other initiatives (avoid KM ribbon-cuttings)• Keep your promises, negotiate your deadlines

More Learning Points

• In a verbal environment, be the chronicler

• In a social networking environment, be the node (the go-to person)

• If handed pre-constructed projects, deconstruct quickly to business proposition and build case

• Not all problems require “IT solutions”

And yet more Learning Points…

• Value order and consistency

• Keep a daily journal

• Keep track of all meetings and decisions made

• You are learning the business as quickly as you are solving KM problems (don’t separate the two)

OK (sigh.)

• Definition of Knowledge Management

A way to connect people to relevant and useful information that creates business and personal success.

(keep it simple, keep it easy, keep it ready).“I’m here to help solve your info-pain.”

“Information Plummer” Approach

• Watch for patterns of information flow• Look for info blockages and disconnects• Find the pools that folks want to access and

democratize the information• Look for primary, secondary, and tertiary

info• Don’t get hung up on the content or the

devices…track the flow of information

Dave’s KM Rules of Thumb!

1.   Write Once - Use Many Times and Ways!

2.   Learn & use your institution's language of success

    a.  Identify what top brass think is important/ valuable knowledge and how they

measure it

      b.  Build KM metrics on business goals

      c.  Prioritize on mission-critical info-flow problems

3.   Seek feedback from all quarters

Of Rules Thumbed

4.   No Time to "Do Over"

5.   Connect KM to daily work

6.   Eat an Elephant One Bite at a Time

7.   Plan Convergences Carefully

8.   Personalize the Experience of Each Knowledge Worker

Of Thumbed Rules9. Protect the Body of Information - change

clothing regularly.

10. Don't Set the Interface in Stone - Throw it out there and modify constantly

11. Rollouts are Overrated.  Virally promote the projects and grow support one user at a time

12. Build Lexicons, Taxonomies, and Dictionaries: They are the glue that knowledge sticks to

Thumb of Rules

13.  Circle Back Continuously on Usability

14.  The Most Successful Adoption is Done Quietly Without Force

15.   The Seemingly Simplest Project May Have the Largest Impact.

16.   Consider Sustainability Issues When Viewing a Project

Thanks!Dave Simmons

Knowledge Management Specialist

US General Services Administration/Public Building Service – Region 5

230 S. Dearborn Avenue

Chicago, IL 60604

312.353.5253

david.simmons@gsa.gov