Jim McGee: Knowledge Management

Blogs in the classroom

Fri, 11 Oct 2002 03:13:22 GMT

Some requests for comments on my experience mandating blogs as part of TEC924 have been popping up lately. The timing is good since I'm in the midst of reviewing and updating the course for the next time it will be offered come January.

Weblogs as part of a course design

In another course I teach on technology management and electronic commerce, I had already experimented with using a weblog as a one-way communications tool from teacher to students. A course specific weblog turns out to be an excellent tool for supplementing classroom time.

For the design of the knowledge management course, one central perspective was that of the individual knowledge worker. I wanted students to explore knowledge management and knowledge sharing issues not only from the organizaiton's perspective but from their own perspective as knowledge workers with their own knowledge to be managed and shared. I wanted to avoid the notion that knowledge management was some sort of problem that belonged to someone else in the organization.

Given that perspective, it was natural to include the topic of k-logs as an important development in the knowledge management field. If you happen to prefer "learning by doing" it was a straightforward step to build maintaining a weblog into the course design.

It's also possible to take learn-by-doing to extremes and some of that happened during the conduct of the course.

Choosing a blogging tool

I selected Radio as the blogging tool for several reasons. Most importantly, I already used it and knew where its warts were. Beyond that immensely practical reason, I also had some other logic for my choice. Chief among those was that Radio stores weblog entries locally. Other important elements included Radio's news aggregator and subscription mechanism.

Although I could have set up a Radio Community Server, I opted instead to rely on Radio's out of the box setup of providing a hosted account to users. As a first-time experiment, I did not want to involve Kellogg's excellent IT group. It would have introduced additional problems of support and learning curves for a group that already has plenty on its own plate. Moreover, it would have required proposals and permission. With Radio, I could run the experiment within the confines of what I could directly control.

The one significant technical problem I encountered with Radio was that some students in the evening MBA program have limited access to computers that they are free to install software on. Students in the full-time program are expected to invest in a laptop for the duration of the program and campus net access (both wired and wi-fi) is excellent. For the evening students we had to work through a handful of problems with firewalls in work envrionments or the limits of dial-up access. Eventually all but one student succeeded in getting Radio installed and operational.

For the upcoming second run through this course, I expect to stay with Radio. For me the locally maintained database is an advantage. While I can see Seb's point about a central server-based architecture in an educational setting, I also believe that a distributed architecture is more likely to be the case outside the educational environment. Given that MBAs are my audience I prefer an architecture that is more likely to be what they will encounter later, even if it might create support problems.

Yes, I'm an RSS bigot too

Sat, 05 Oct 2002 02:30:05 GMT

I confess. I'm an RSS bigot as well. I've discovered that "Radio"'s news aggregator is at least as important as it's tools for editing and posting. I find that I can more than fill up my reading time with content in the aggregator. The first thing I look for in a new site is whether there is an RSS feed available. Second choice is to figure out how to use RssDistiller (or equivalent) to generate a feed I can route into my news aggregator.

As John Robb , Phil Wolff , and others have pointed out, the combination of klogs and feeds is what makes these such compelling tools for knowledge sharing.

Join The RSS News Aggregator Cult!.

The RSS conversion

"John Gruber is going through the RSS conversion. First, you start using a news aggregator that you like, then you feel dumb for not providing an RSS feed for your Web site, and then you kind of stop reading all those sites that don't have RSS feeds. There are some sites that don't support RSS that I still follow, but the truth is that I read them sporadically at best, regardless of how good they are. That's still a better situation than when I didn't use a news aggregator at all and I simply stopped reading all personal sites for weeks at a time because I didn't make time to stroll through my bookmark list to see who was writing what." [rc3.org]

If you haven't tried an aggregator, pass go and collect $200 now. It's amazing to watch others go through the same light bulb moments I did!

Side note to libraries: note the shift in how these on the bleeding edge folks are reading web sites. It's time to start thinking about how to get YOUR news into THEIR aggregators.

Side note to John: Perceive Designs is syndicating Zeldman for us.
[The Shifted Librarian]

Case study of Microsoft's intranet

Thu, 03 Oct 2002 22:21:21 GMT

A substantial and excellent case study of Microsoft's intranet and the information architecture challenges that had to be addressed. Worth the time.

Boxes and Arrows: MSWeb: An Enterprise Intranet #1. Fascinating look at Microsoft's Intranet Information Architecture [Roland Tanglao's Weblog]

It’s nearly impossible to develop a successful information architecture against a backdrop of explosive content growth, content ROT, and the political twists and turns common in any organization. And, we’re sorry to say, we don’t have the Holy Grail. But we’ve had the privilege of getting up close to a large number of corporate intranets. And the best approach we’ve seen so far is that taken by Microsoft’s intranet portal (MSWeb) team....

Like Microsoft itself, MSWeb is insanely huge and distributed. Let’s use some numbers to paint a picture of the situation. MSWeb contains:

3,100,000+ pages
Content created by and for over 50,000 employees who work in 74 countries
8,000+ separate intranet sitesIt’s nearly impossible to develop a successful information architecture against a backdrop of explosive content growth, content ROT, and the political twists and turns common in any organization. And, we’re sorry to say, we don’t have the Holy Grail. But we’ve had the privilege of getting up close to a large number of corporate intranets. And the best approach we’ve seen so far is that taken by Microsoft’s intranet portal (MSWeb) team

...Microsoft estimates that a typical employee spends 2.31 hours per day engaging with information, and 50 percent of that time is used looking for that information.

Knowledge management at the personal level - data point

Fri, 27 Sep 2002 19:36:03 GMT

Another data point in the personal knowledge management space

Synchronicity.

This morning while taking a walk, I had the bright idea of writing a piece on "Household Knowledge Management", starting off with the pieces of paper that we stick to the fridge to argue that KM is far from an esoteric topic and boils down to very practical, everyday concerns.

Well, Stephen has beat me to it by a few hours. Digital Dashboards, Dirty Dishes, Messy Desk, Workspaces and Web Logs is a splendid essay on how we interface with the world's knowledge. Breadth, depth, and lots to relate to; Stephen again shows he's an astute (self-)observer. Which we all should strive to become.

[Seb's Open Research]

Tapping customer knowledge

Fri, 27 Sep 2002 19:17:39 GMT

Yet another example of organizations refusing to take advantage of knowledge sitting around available for them just for the effort to reach down and pick it up.

How To Ignore Loyal Customers [Line56: B2B News]

While we are spending endless hours and resources trolling the often unwilling and uninformed public for "the next big idea" relevant to our business, something very interesting is happening. Our own customers are contacting us through our Interaction Centers (via Web, phone, VoIP, email, etc.). And these customers are more eager than ever to offer us as much feedback as we want. All that our agents need to do is listen. We must capture it, analyze it and use it for business intelligence. But almost none of us do. We continue to view our Interaction Centers as a must-have expense designed to handle customer

Why knowledge management now

Thu, 26 Sep 2002 22:31:17 GMT

Very thoughtful reflection.

Why has knowledge management come to prominece now. I was asked the other day why has knowledge management come to prominence now. There is a short answer that is summed up in that one word called "Internet". Connectivity, capacity and access for all make it possible to share knowledge. But the point is - we always have and we always will. The Internet is change in means and mode, not a root cause. I think knowledge management's prominence has deeper roots in an individual's need to learn at this point in history. People are finding they need to become more reliant and old ways don't serve them any more. We are no longer content to take what the boss gives us and seek greater choice. We are starting to see the need to learn again and that is best done in a community. Knowledge sharing/management is a community based activity. The change we are facing is nothing new. Changes of this magnitude have happened before and will happen again (Industrial revolution anyone?). It's just this time around we have a name.

Posted by David C. Buchan
[thought?horizon :: non inferiora secutus]

Weblog bibliography

Thu, 26 Sep 2002 21:15:03 GMT

Nice resource - Thanks Rick

Annotated Blog Bibliography.

An annotated bibliography on weblogs & blogging, BlogBib CARL 2002 [LLRX Newstand]

Hadn't seen anyone else pick this up. Caught it at Sabrina Pacifici's LLRX site. The Newstand is a great collection of daily links to tech news around the web.
[tins ::: Rick Klau's weblog]

Tools in my toolkit

Thu, 26 Sep 2002 20:08:22 GMT

Ray's comments help me understand why the digital dashboard mock ups haven't caught my interest. I don't see any reason to believe that one single tool on my desktop is any more desirable than one single tool in my workshop.

A few comments about John Robb's liking of digital dashboards. [Ray Ozzie's Weblog]

In an era where we do more and more and more of our communications and work with others online, we need tools that help us to get that work done faster and more effectively. That means creative, innovative software, hardware, and systems. That means leveraging the power of technology with effective human and inter-human interface as the #1 goal. Different interfaces for different activities on the PC, different devices as appropriate if not. Best-of-breed, and highly-tuned.

Overview of high-end document management

Tue, 24 Sep 2002 00:04:43 GMT

Yes, it's a pretty good overview article. But it ignores the simpler end of the market (e.g. "Userland"'s "Manila") where there is a lot of value for the dollar. It also is a bit short on fitting document management into a broader set of business and strategy objectives, which is what ought to be driving the investment decision

New Architect: Demystifying Document Management. Quote: "The answer is obvious, but that doesn't damn the functionality of content management systems. The technology plays a vital role in most Web-based initiatives. Rather, Jupiter's findings indicate that IT managers should weigh their options carefully before implementing any CMS."

Comment: Nice overview article for decision makers [Serious Instructional Technology]

Case study advice

Fri, 20 Sep 2002 20:25:32 GMT

Helpful advice on generating case studies. Always a useful tool to make the abstractions more accesible

A marketing look at case studies. Debbie Weil has written a brief article on top tips to write a pursuasive case study. While this looks at... [Column Two]

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 22:09:07 GMT

Knowledge Management in a Spanish Law Firm. Knowledge Management at Uria & Menendez, one of Spain's largest law firms.

(Spotted on Peter West's SynapShots, a blog of "citings for knowledge workers")

[excited utterances]

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 22:05:08 GMT

Starting With the Basics: KM for Lawyers. The September, 2000 issue of KMWorld features Judith Lamont's article, Starting with the Basics: KM for Lawyers.

Lamont, a research analyst at Zentek Corporation, previously authored, KM and the Law: the Verdict is In. [excited utterances]

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 22:04:52 GMT

Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison Launch KM Legal Portal. Jonathan K. Wong, Brobeck's new CIO, comments on the firm's new KM legal portal. [excited utterances]

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 21:56:55 GMT

Infpormation Overload and Scholarly activity. Quote: "A vendor to a large pharmaceutical company says that the firm wasted almost two years trying to isolate a compound, not realizing that fellow colleagues had already obtained a patent for it. University of Minnesota researchers, as many others do, discovered after three years of research that results they were writing up had already been published." [Serious Instructional Technology]

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 21:56:35 GMT

Avoiding the same mistakes. On the KM-Framework list, Jackie Green asked the following excellent questions in response to the release of my Sixteen steps... [Column Two]

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 21:55:48 GMT

The Value of Knowledge on Projects. One of the most challenging aspects of knowledge management is making visible the value in the activity. To explain where the value lies we have created a story that shows how engaging in KM activities can shorten the time expected for a project or process. You can access the article directly here or at any time via our Articles list. [thought?horizon :: non inferiora secutus]

Writing and knowledge sharing

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 01:24:27 GMT

There's been some good discussion recently on the interplay between knowledge sharing via weblogs and comfort with writing in most business organizations. (Phil Wolff, David Gammel, Pete Harbeson, Al Macintyre, Alison Fish, Sébastien Paquet, Ron Lusk) The consensus appears to be that fear of writing is one relevant barrier to tapping knowledge in organizations.

Lowering or eliminating those barriers is certainly a worthy effort. I want to explore a deeper issue that this raises. Writing is not simply a mode of expression; it is also a tool for thinking. What's the relationship between facility with writing and the quality of thinking in organizations? Has this discussion of knowledge sharing revealed more important needs in the organization?

These questions started rattling around with some other ideas hanging out in my head and the result grew into "Writing comfort and thinking styles," which I've posted as a longer story using Marc Barrot's activeRenderer.

Bottoms-up information architecture

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 15:57:41 GMT

Boxes and Arrows: Building the Beast: Talking with Peter Morville. Our biggest area of learning was bottom-up information architecture. The first edition was grounded in the type of top-down processes that come with building a new site from scratch. In the second edition, we were able to draw upon an understanding of how to redesign sites that already contain huge amounts of content and applications. [Tomalak's Realm]

Mon, 16 Sep 2002 02:07:59 GMT

Knowledge Sharing Hostility, Communist Style. Snejina Michailova and Kenneth Husted, professors at the Copenhagen Business School, identify knowledge sharing hostility in six post-Communist Russian companies (no law firms, unfortunately) where there is a "high respect for hierarchy and formal power":

Inequality in status among organizational participants can be a strong inhibitor for sharing knowledge, especially from lower levels to higher levels. Russian managers have difficulties accepting that they can learn from employees from lower levels. This is well expressed in their resistance and dissatisfaction when they have to work in a group with people from hierarchically lower levels, for example, in the context of management education and training programs. (From Dealing With Knowledge Sharing Hostility: Insights from Six Case Studies)

Husted and Michailova offer hope, though, in Diagnosing and Fighting Knowledge-Sharing Hostility. [excited utterances]

Definitions of knowledge management

Mon, 16 Sep 2002 02:07:28 GMT

What's Your Definition of KM?. Here are some definitions of KM from leading KM theorists and practitioners. [excited utterances]