adding meaning and value to information

howtosavetheworld.ca© 2006 [email protected]

Meeting of Minds

Presentation to KM World & Intranets 2006A203

Innovative Methods & Tools forAdding Meaning & Value to Information

Meeting of Minds howtosavetheworld.ca© 2006 [email protected]

How We Come to ‘Understand’

What it means to understand• Comprehend (grasp)• Appreciate (be able to assess)• Sufficient to pass on instructions• or entendre (stretch toward, come

together)


Ways We Add Meaning to Information

Processes that Add Meaning to Information: Valuable 'End-Products' of these Processes: Some Tools Supporting these Processes:

Paying attention; awareness; mindfulness Works of art Meditation; Training: attention skills

Reflecting/considering; Interpreting;Drawing on examples from personal experience; Combining/integrating with other personal knowledge

Context; Insights Training: critical/analytical thinking;Desktop search tools (for combining)

Synthesizing/distilling;Simplifying (without over-simplifying)

Synopses Blogs/diaries; Storyboards; Cartoons;Mindmaps/concept maps; FAQs

Imagining; Applying Applications (real and potential);Tests of learning/understanding;Practice

Training: creative thinking;Self-tests & exercises

Illustrating; Modeling; Systems thinking;Mapping

Models; Representations; Systems diagrams; Maps

Visualizations & graphics; Tables; Eco- language (animated visualizations); Single frames; Mapping/systems thinking tools

Reading/hearing/internalizing stories;Narrating/memorizing/retelling stories

Lessons/learnings; Vicarious experience; Experience-lesson connections; Strong memories; Story personalization

Storytelling templates/models (myths, fables etc.); Storyboards; Blogs; Storybooks/periodicals (e.g. New Yorker); Cartoons; Training: listening/storytelling

Analyzing; Inferring significance; Inferring consequences; Deciding on resultant actions

Implications; Action plans Analytical report templates; Structured thinking methodologies

Reorganizing; Analogizing; Restating ("in other words"); Re-enacting/re-framing

Metaphors/analogies/allegories; Alternate perspectives; Shoe-on-the-other-foot POV

Recording/photographing;Observing first-hand

Reviewable detailed recordings; transcripts; Observations (objective and subjective); Interviews

Recording tools; Cameras/SVP tools;Cultural anthropology tools; Mindmaps

Conversing/consulting; Canvassing/surveying; Collaborating

Others' experiences/additional info;Others' interpretations/ perspectives/ ideas/POV; Collective wisdom

P2P communication tools (phone); Conver- sation tools (talking stick); Collaboration tools (wikis, whiteboards, Open Space); Coll. Wisdom/surveying tools; Directories/people-finders/soc. net. maps


Weblogs & Diaries

Synthesizing Tools Cartoons

Storyboards


Synthesizing Tools

Concept Maps

Mind Maps


Visualizations

Eco-Language

Modeling Tools


Single Frame Presentations

Modeling Tools


Modeling Tools

Social Network Maps

Systems Thinking Charts

Market Maps


Storytelling Tools Narrative Templates

Storyboards

Weblogs & Diaries


Analyzing Tools

Structured Thinking

Analytical ReportTemplates


Virtual Presence Tools

Recording Tools

Mind Maps

Cultural AnthropologyTools


Surveying ToolsCanvassing Tools

Prediction Market Tools


People Finders

Conversing / Collaborating Tools

Whiteboard/ Virtual Presence Tools


Wikis

Open SpaceTechnology

Conversing / Collaborating Tools


Dysfunctional Knowledge Behaviours thatImpede the Creation and Conveying of Meaning

Information Politics Shoot the Messenger Peer-to-Peer Preference Help Friends / Hurt Foes Cult of Leadership Louder Voices Anti-Stories Like-Mind Groupthink Cult of Expertise

Sense-Making Frame Dependency Info Overload Can’t Tell All We Know Preference for Images & Stories Different Ways of Learning JIT vs. JIC (Half-Life of Learning)

Information Unawareness Cost of Not Knowing Unawareness Unawareness of What Others We Meet

Know

Reward Systems From-Scratch Satisfaction Better Safe than Sorry Tragedy of the Commons Competing on the Curve Reward-Driven Behaviours Don’t Last No Reward for Sharing Fun vs Effectiveness Work-Arounds


The Six Hurdles to Effective Communication

Inability to explain or convey information due to limitations of language

Inability to articulate events or ideas clearly Unreadiness of the audience Inattention of the audience incompatibility of our mental frames and filters with those of

others inability to recognize others’ different learning styles


The Role of Information Professionals

http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2006/09/27.html


The New Role of Information Professionals

Spend less time in centralized content management: time acquiring, storing, compiling, organizing, and disseminating information

Spend more time as ‘cultural anthropologists’ studying how front-line people use information, helping them use it more effectively, and understanding how they learn, which information processes they use and which information ‘end-products’ they find most meaningful

New ‘re-intermediary’ role: adding meaning and value to information (using these tools more effectively, and developing new tools)


For more information on these tools and methods…• Expertise Finders – http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2004/08/06.html#a831• Simple Virtual Presence tools - http://www.masternewmedia.org/• Social Network Maps - http://www.orgnet.com/• Concept Maps - http://www.graphic.org/concept.html• MindMaps - http://www.innovationtools.com/resources/mindmapping.asp• EcoLanguage - http://ecolanguage.net/• Stories & Narrative, and Tools Dealing With Complexity -

http://www.cynefin.net/kbase.php• The US Energy Visualization - http://eed.llnl.gov/flow/• The Wisdom of Crowds - http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2004/11/15.html• Open Space Technology - http://www.openspaceworld.org/wiki/wiki/wiki.cgi?

AboutOpenSpace• Wikis - http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2005/11/16.html#a1341• Systems Thinking Charts -

http://www.thinking.net/Systems_Thinking/systems_thinking.html• Market Maps - http://www.breakthroo.com/index.php/weblog/market_demo/

…or contact me at

howtosavetheworld.ca© 2006 [email protected]

Meeting of Minds

The Future of KM

Overview of Thoughts for KM 2.0 Ask the ExpertsPresentation to KM World & Intranets 2006

B304


Personal Knowledge Management

acquire

store

disseminateaddvalue

synthe-size

connect canvass

apply

Traditional Centralized KM

• Personal content management (organizing and finding information on your own hard drive and in your own personal networks)

• Just-in-time knowledge canvassing (requesting needed knowledge from appropriate experts and communities)

• Automated knowledge harvesting (pulling content from hard drives and shared community spaces, instead of waiting for it to be 'submitted')

• Personal productivity improvement (one-on-one observation and coaching of employees to improve their use of knowledge, technology and learning resources in the context of their unique jobs)

• Social networking 2.0 (evolving tools that improve connection, communication, conversation and collaboration)

• Sense-making (complex-adaptive tools and processes that draw on collective wisdom and add meaning to information in context)

The Six Components of PKM


Measuring KM Success

Traditional Measures: Revenue per person Proposal success rate Customer satisfaction Employee satisfaction Use of knowledge resources Rating of knowledge resources

PKM Measures: Personal Productivity

Improvement Cost of Not Knowing

adding meaning and value to information

Education

km world amp

add meaning

tools

information

time

stories

role

training