My Organization Wants to Implement Knowledge Management Fast. Where Do I Start?
Quite often, after months or even years of skepticism, senior management wants an instantaneous knowledge managmet solution. Knowledge management is so pervasive and involves so many things that it takes many years to embed into an organization's practices and culture. However, I have yet to find an organization that is not already carrying out some good knowledge management practices, even though they may be called something different. A useful starting point - as well as the assessment mentioned above - is to find those pockets of excellence and bring the experts together into a supportive knowledge network. Its first task is to promote good practice, articulate the knowledge agenda, identify potential 'quick-wins' and find senior business sponsors to support your pilot initiatives.
What Tools and Techniques Really Work?
Information and communications technologies play an important role in managing knowledge. We have analyzed the main software tools into Trend and Categories, ranging from mind mapping to groupware. Equally or even more important are people-focused knowledge sharing practices, such as knowledge networking, information resources management (IRM) and knowledge centres. . You will find more information on these in Creating the Knowledge-based Business and in the paper Knowledge Management: Solutions: The Role of Technology (Word document). More in depth coverage of trends, specific practices and tools are covered in the Knowledge Trends service.
What are the Critical Success Factors in Implementing Knowledge Management?
Generally a holistic approach is required that aligns business, organizational factors (such as culture), technology and knowledge. You will find a summary in Guidelines for Success. Other practical guidance can be found in the article Knowledge Management: Making It Work.
How Do I Keep abreast of the Latest Developments?
For insights in themes of topical interest, subscribe to I3 UPDATE/ENTOVATION International News, our free monthly email briefing service. For general awareness keep checking one of the KM resource sites (we use one as our home page) or subscribe to a KM magazine. For specific interests you might like to attend a conference or one of workshops. We can also carry out specific Trend Analyses for you.