Presentation on

Knowledge Audit

ByB.Girish, Sr. Deputy Director

NATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY COUNCIL, RPMG, CHENNAI.

Map

ping

Enablers

Building

Operationalising

THE MAP-BUILD-OPERATIONALISE CYCLE

THE MAP-BUILD-OPERATIONALISE CYCLE

Mapping – The mapping phase of the cycle focuses on charting the context for knowledge management. This phase encourages you to investigate and analyse the knowledge eco system.

Building – The building phase is to experiment with new ideas and pilot knowledge interventions. This phase focusses on

building experiences and linkages between people, process, technology and content.

Operationalising – The operationalising phase is for moving discrete pilots into the wider operational environment. The focus is on effective and efficient implementation.

THE MAPPING PHASE

The mapping phase should answer the following questions;

What is the current state of the organisation, the organisational context and starategic intent?

What is the current state of the knowledge ecosystem?

What is the desired state of the organisation and its knowledge ecosystem?

What is the gap between the existing and desired states?

What is the best way to move forward?

THE MAPPING PHASE

The gap between your desired state and the existing state of the

knowledge ecosystem allows you to set priorities for

knowledge and identify critical actions for building and

operationalising knowledge management.

THE BUILDING PHASE

The building phase examines how you can encourage your

organisation to be increasingly innovative, work with new

ideas and pilot knowledge interventions. It is a pivotal phase

for:

Taking action on the knowledge priorities identified in

the Mapping Phase.

Encouraging an organisation to explore and

experiment.

Identifying the boundaries between what knowledge

interventions work and those that do not;

Creating knowledge champions and advocates; and

Using pilots and prototypes.

THE OPERATIONALISING PHASE

The operationalising phase is for:

o Rolling out interventions already proven in the building phase

across the wider knowledge ecosystem.

o Strengthening and modifying existing Enablers;

o Working collaboratively with related areas of practice

o Coordinating knowledge interventions;

o Commercialising knowledge products; and

o Extending acceptance of knowledge management.

THE OPERATIONALISING PHASE

Key decisions to be made in the operationalising phase are:

Whether the scale of interventions need to be reviewed?

Phasing the interventions to ensure that they build

cohesively and complement each other.

Effective and appropriate enabler selection

THE OPERATIONALISING PHASE

Success indicators for an operating environment typically take three

forms:

Artefact-centered indicators can indicate success by the

increased creation and use of documents, video/sound files,

images, web pages etc;

Activity-centered indicators can indicate improvements in

consulting, coaching, mentoring, facilitating, training; and

Cultural or behavioural change indicators can indicate results

from implementing the knowledge initiative and / or its

accompanying change interventions.

To understand the knowledge ecosystem

To evaluate knowledge structure, use, flow, assets and resources

To determine knowledge gaps in the system.

Investigate the flow of tacit and explicit information

Provides an analysis of knowledge use and practice in the organisation

Covers people, process, technology and content.

KNOWLEDGE AUDITS AUDIT OBJECTIVES

Helps develop an effective KM system

Assists in optimum allocation of resources

Helps avoid potential problems

Allows timely corrective actions

Improves management decision-making process

Can be used in both the mapping phase and the operationalising phase

Used in the operationalising phase for maintaining the KM system

KNOWLEDGE AUDITS

BENEFITS OF AUDITS

KNOWLEDGE AUDITS METHODS

Horizontal Examining each functional area of an organisation

to verify adequacy and implementation of the system requirements

E.G. Production dept, purchase dept. Etc.

Examining across functional areas the work done with respect to a specific work package, work order or contractual requirement

E.G. Work order no.

Vertical

Examining aspects of an organisation’s operations at random as determined by the auditor

KNOWLEDGE AUDITS

METHODS

Random

KNOWLEDGE AUDITSBANBURY

DIP UNIT

CURING

WASTE HEAT PLANT

ATMOSPHERIC EMISSION

B

C

A

A

A

A

A

A = HORIZONTAL AUDIT

B = VERTICAL AUDIT

C = RANDOM AUDIT

The auditor follows a logical sequence of process steps from input end to output end (forward) or output end to input end (backward)

KNOWLEDGE AUDITS

METHODS

Forward and Backward Tracing

KNOWLEDGE AUDITS

METHODS

FORWARD TRACE

BACKWARD TRACE

BANBURY CALENDERING CURINGDIP UNIT

During the course of an audit, if the auditor uncovers something worthy of further investigation, he should investigate further even if it is a deviation from the initial plan.

KNOWLEDGE AUDITS

METHODS

Trail Following

KNOWLEDGE AUDITS

• Knowledge Audits during the Mapping Phase need to be conduted specifically for that purpose

• However Knowledge Audits during the Operationalisation Phase can be part of any other system audit like QMS audit, EMS audit, etc., as a part of that system.