KM overview from Susan Camarena

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Reproduced from here, with permission, a very nice overview of KM from Susan Camarena, CKO at the Federal Transit Authority

I reproduce it on this blog, as it's clear, succint, and very helpful.

Thanks, Susan

Knowledge Management- an Overview

What is Knowledge Management?
• The systematic means of capturing, organizing, retrieving, sharing and generating organizational knowledge.
• The focus is on the PEOPLE who do our work…
o and the PROCESSES by which we do that work.
• It is not about technology!
o technology is a (very helpful) tool- but only a tool.

Why Knowledge Management?
• Simple goal- stop “Reinventing the Wheel”
o Allows us to “Know Who” and “Know How”

How do we implement KM?
• We already are doing it!
o Everyone has their own KM program! Like:
 Saving numbers of the “right” person to call on an old, wrinkled and well used piece of paper.
 Reusing a memo that was approved as your template for the next memo to ensure it gets through.”
 Getting a movie recommendation- you trust their opinion and ensure you don’t waste your time!
• However, an ad-hoc approach is not efficient
o You don’t learn from what I (and others) know!!!

Tools in the KM Tool Kit- Examples
• Templates
• After Action Reviews
• Communities of Practice
• SOPs
• Websites
• Databases (well organized, user-friendly)
And more…

Determining the Knowledge Landscape: KM and our….
• Culture
• Business Processes
• Decision Making and Strategic Planning