capturing knowledge: adding value to an organization

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

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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.

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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

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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

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Outline

• Eliciting from individuals

• Harvesting from Communities

• Gathering from Networks

• Exploring Cyberspace

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Eliciting from IndividualsAttributes:

• In the minds of individuals

• Must be volunteered

Process:

• Identify experts

• Engage them

• Make their knowledge explicit

• Validate knowledgeIndividualsIndividuals

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Eliciting Example

NRCAN - Canadian Forest Service

IndividualsIndividuals

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Harvesting from Communities

Attributes:

• In-house knowledge

• Already validated

Process:

• Identify Communities

• Collect knowledge

CommunitiesCommunities

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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)

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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

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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

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Community Behaviors

Positive• Dialogue• Trust• Safety• Meritocracy• Equality• Outliers

Negative• Discussion• Debating• Arguing• Agenda• Authority• Assuming• Majority• Consensus• Groupthink

CommunitiesCommunities

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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

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DRDC - Centre for Security Science

Harvesting Example

CommunitiesCommunities

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Gathering from Networks

Attributes:

• Members know about knowledge

• Quality is variable

Process:

• Identify networks and members

• Bring knowledge into the organization

• Validate knowledge

NetworksNetworks

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Social Networks

Large numbers of people who share a common interest or passion (enjoyment, hobbies, friends)

NetworksNetworks

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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

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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

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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

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Gathering Methods

Network members bring it into the organization

Communities validate itNetworksNetworks

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Gathering Example

NetworksNetworks

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Exploring Cyberspace

Attributes:

• Masses of unknown content

• Unknown locations

Process: • Discover content

• Filter relevant content

• Analyze content

• Validate knowledge CyberspaceCyberspace

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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

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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

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Exploration Example

CyberspaceCyberspace

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Capturing Knowledge Conclusion

• Eliciting individual knowledge

• Harvesting community knowledge

• Gathering network knowledge

• Exploring cyberspace

Adding value to an organization

Adding value to an organization