KMSLC Approaches

• Primarily due to lack of standardization, a number of approaches have been proposed for KMSLC.

• Refer to Table 3.2 in page 65 of your textbook for a list of representative approaches, and refer to Figure 3.3 in page 66 of your textbook for a proposed hybrid life cycle.

• The conventional systems development approach can still be used for developing KM systems, but it is usually being replaced by iterative design, prototyping etc.

Evaluating the Existing Infrastructure

KM systems are developed in order to satisfy the need for improving productivity and potential of employees and the company as a whole. The existing knowledge infrastructure is evaluated so that it can give the perception that the present ways of doing things are not just abandoned in preference for a new system.

System Justification: It involves answers to the following questions:

• Is existing knowledge going to be lost through retirement, , transfer, or departure to other organizations?

• Is the proposed KM system needed in multiple locations?

• Are experts available and willing to support the building of the proposed KM system?

• Does the concerned problem needs years of proper experience and cognitive reasoning to solve?

• While undergoing knowledge capture, would it be possible for the expert to articulate how the problem will be solved?

• How critical is the knowledge that is to be captured?

• Are the involved tasks nonalgorithmic in nature?

• Would it possible to find a champion within the organization?

Scoping: According to the textbook, the term scoping means limiting the breadth and depth of the project within the financial, human resource, and operational constraints.

Feasibility: Feasibility study involves addressing the following questions:

• Is it possible to complete the project within the expected timeframe?

• Is the project affordable?

• Is the project appropriate?

• How frequently the system would be consulted at what will be associated cost?

The traditional approach used to conduct a feasibility study can be used for building a KM system. This involves the following tasks:

• Forming a knowledge management team.

• Preparing a master plan.

• Performing cost/benefit analysis of the proposed system.

• Quantifying system criteria and costs.

User Support

• Is the proposed user aware of the fact that the new KM system is being developed? How it is perceived?

• How much involvement can be expected from the user while the building process continues?

• What type of users training will needed when the proposed system is up and running?

• What kind of operational support should be provided?

Role of Strategic Planning

• As a consequence of evaluating the existing infrastructure, the concerned organization should develop a strategic plan which should aim at advancing the objectives of the organization with the proposed KM system in mind.

• Areas to be considered:
  • Vision

  • Resources

  • Culture

Figure 2.3: Matching business strategies with KM strategies

Forming a KM team

Forming a KM team usually means

• Identifying the key units, branches, divisions etc. as the key stakeholders in the prospective KM system.

• Strategically, technically, and organizationally balancing the team size and competency.

Factors impacting team success:

• Quality and capability of team members (in terms of personality, experience, and communication skill).

• Size of the team.

• Complexity of the project.

• Team motivation and leadership

• Promising only what that can be actually delivered.

Capturing Knowledge

• Capturing Knowledge involves extracting, analyzing and interpreting the concerned knowledge that a human expert uses to solve a specific problem.

• Explicit knowledge is usually captured in repositories from appropriate documentation, files etc.

• Tacit knowledge is usually captured from experts, and from organization's stored database(s).

• Interviewing is one of the most popular methods used to capture knowledge.

• Data mining is also useful in terms of using intelligent agents that may analyze the data warehouse and come up with new findings.

• In KM systems development, the knowledge developer acquires the necessary heuristic knowledge from the experts for building the appropriate knowledge base.

• Knowledge capture and knowledge transfer are often carried out through teams (refer to Figure 2.4).

• Knowledge capture includes determining feasibility, choosing the appropriate expert, tapping the experts knowledge, retapping knowledge to plug the gaps in the system, and verify/validate the knowledge base (refer to Table 3.4 in page 76 of your textbook).

Figure 2.4: Matching business strategies with KM strategies

The Role of Rapid Prototyping

• In most of the cases, knowledge developers use iterative approach for capturing knowledge.

• Foe example, the knowledge developer may start with a prototype (based on the somehow limited knowledge captured from the expert during the first few sessions).

• The following can turn the approach into rapid prototyping:
  • Knowledge developer explains the preliminary/fundamental procedure based on rudimentary knowledge extracted from the expert during the few past sessions.

  • The expert reacts by saying certain remarks.

  • While the expert watches, the knowledge developer enters the additional knowledge into the computer-based system (that represents the prototype).

  • The knowledge developer again runs the modified prototype and continues adding additional knowledge as suggested by the expert till the expert is satisfied.

• The spontaneous, and iterative process of building a knowledge base is referred to as rapid prototyping.

Expert Selection

The expert must have excellent communication skill to be able to communicate information understandably and in sufficient detail.

Some common questions that may arise in case of expert selection:

• How to know that the so-called expert is in fact an expert?

• Will he/she stay with the project till its completion?

• What backup would be available in case the expert loses interest or quits?

• How is the knowledge developer going to know what does and what does not lie within the expert's area of expertise?

The Role of the Knowledge Developer

• The knowledge developer can be considered as the architect of the system.

• He/she identifies the problem domain, captures knowledge, writes/tests the heuristics that represent knowledge, and co-ordinates the entire project.

• Some necessary attributes of knowledge developer:
  • Communication skills.

  • Knowledge of knowledge capture tools/technology.

  • Ability to work in a team with professional/experts.

  • Tolerance for ambiguity.

  • To be able ti think conceptually.

  • Ability to frequently interact with the champion, knowledge workers and knowers in the organization.

Figure 2.5: Knowledge Developer's Role

Designing the KM Blueprint

This phase indicates the beginning of designing the IT infrastructure/ Knowledge Management infrastructure. The KM Blueprint (KM system design) addresses a number of issues.

• Aiming for system interoperability/scalability with existing IT infrastructure of the organization.

• Finalizing the scope of the proposed KM system.

• Deciding about the necessary system components.

• Developing the key layers of the KM architecture to meet organization's requirements. These layers are:
  • User interface

  • Authentication/security layer

  • Collaborative agents and filtering

  • Application layer

  • Transport internet layer

  • Physical layer

  • Repositories

Testing the KM System

This phase involves the following two steps:

• Verification Procedure: Ensures that the system is right, i.e., the programs do the task that they are designed to do.

• Validation Procedure: Ensures that the system is the right system - it meets the user's expectations, and will be usable on demand.

Implementing the KM System

• After capturing the appropriate knowledge, encoding in the knowledge base, verifying and validating; the next task of the knowledge developer is to implement the proposed system on a server.

• Implementation means converting the new KM system into actual operation.

• Conversion is a major step in case of implementation.

• Some other steps are postimplementation review and system maintenance.

Quality Assurance

It indicates the development of controls to ensure a quality KM system. The types of errors to look for:

• Reasoning errors

• Ambiguity

• Incompleteness

• False representation

Training Users

• The level/duration of training depends on the user's knowledge level and the system's attributes.

• Users can range from novices (casual users with very limited knowledge) to experts (users with prior IT experience and knowledge of latest technology).

• Users can also be classified as tutors (who acquires a working knowledge in order to keep the system current), pupils (unskilled worker who tries to gain some understanding of the captured knowledge), or customers (who is interested to know how to use the KM system).

• Training should be geared to the specific user based on capabilities, experience and system complexity.

• Training can be supported by user manuals, explanatory facilities, and job aids.

Managing Change

Implementation means change, and organizational members usually resist change. The resistors may include:

• Experts

• Regular employees (users)

• Troublemakers

• Narrow minded people

Resistance can be seen in the form of following personal reactions:

• Projection, i.e., hostility towards peers.

• Avoidance, i.e., withdrawal from the scene.

• Aggression.

Postsystem Evaluation

Key questions to be asked in the postimplementation stage:

• How the new system improved the accuracy/timeliness of concerned decision making tasks?

• Has the new system caused organizational changes? If so, how constructive are the changes?

• Has the new system affected the attitudes of the end users? If so, in what way?

• How the new system changed the cost of business operation? How significant has it been?

• In what ways the new system affected the relationships between end users in the organization?

• Do the benefit obtained from the new system justify the cost of investment?

Implications for KM

The managerial factors to be considered:

• The organization must make a commitment to user training/education prior to building the system.

• Top Management should be informed with cost/benefit analysis of the proposed system.

• The knowledge developers and the people with potential to do knowledge engineering should be properly trained.

• Domain experts must be recognized and rewarded.

• The organization needs to do long-range strategic planning.

Some questions to be addressed by the management regarding systems maintenance:

• Who will be the in charge of maintenance?

• What skills the maintenance specialist needs to have?

• What would be the best way to train the maintenance specialist?

• What incentives should be provided to ensure quality maintenance?

• What types of support/funding will be required?

• What relationship should be established between the maintenance of the KM system and the IT staff of the organization?