The Knowledge Asset Management Solution

The practical application of the theoretical approach described so far was implemented within the Know-Net knowledge management solution that comprises three components:

1. A holistic conceptual framework that can be used by managers as a roadmap for ensuring integrity of the knowledge management effort.

2. A KM methodology that helps organizations define and document their knowledge management strategy, audit and design business processes that enhance and facilitate corporate learning, establish related organizational roles, facilitate knowledge sharing between people in the organization, and explicitly measure and evaluate the quality and business value of the organization's intellectual capital.

The method is designed to be modular so that an organization can choose to start at different levels depending on its readiness, needs, and requirements.

In Stage I of "Strategic Planning for Knowledge Management," an organization determines (1) the vision and readiness for a knowledge management initiative; and (2) the scope and feasibility of the project. The main steps of Stage I are:

1. Provide leadership

2. Link knowledge management strategy with corporate strategy

3. Perform knowledge analysis

4. Assess risk and change readiness

5. Develop the case for KM

6. Obtain top management approval

In Stage II of "Developing the Knowledge Organization," the structure and the design of a holistic solution (that covers processes, people, and technology) are iteratively developed, tested, and reviewed.

Stage III is the company-wide implementation of the KM initiative, while the Measurement part of the method aims to provide consistent support for measuring the creation, sharing, and use of knowledge assets within the company.

3. An intranet-based tool that supports the collection and categorization of internal and external information, the reuse of stored knowledge using flexible and customizable knowledge navigators and advanced search mechanisms that include keyword-based as well as concept-based searching (the latter supported by a graphical visualization of the concepts organizing the information space), and the collaboration via online workspaces that allow people to work together from different locations.

The three components of the Know-Net knowledge asset management solution—i.e., the framework, the method, and the tool—have clear and consistent interdependencies, which exploit the knowledge-asset-centric nature of the solution and facilitate the amalgamation of the process-centric and product-centric perspectives to KM. Figure 3 highlights the overall interdependencies of the framework, method, and tools.

Figure 3: Interdependencies of the Know-Net Framework, Method, and Tool

The Know-Net framework can be used as an awareness tool, as well as for developing a common language among the people of a company. The framework is useful as an enabler for discussing which are the critical knowledge areas, which ones are underdeveloped and should be further enhanced, and which are already valuable and should be protected and cultivated. In addition, the elements of the framework (strategy, structure, processes, systems) help share a first-draft picture of the level of knowledge awareness within the company. Finally, the first discussions about KM should focus on the various levels for leveraging knowledge assets (i.e., individual, team, organizational and inter-organizational levels), in order to help identify possible areas for intervention. These rough analyses can provide useful input for the application of the Know-Net method (especially Stage I: Strategic Planning for Knowledge Management), as well as facilitate the smooth introduction of the concepts and terms used in the Know-Net tool.

The application of the method may be tightly linked to the use, customization, and roll-out of the Know-Net tool. In any case, however, each one of the two (method and tool) is also self-sustained and can be independently applied—actually, the method has already been applied to companies without the use of the tool.

The coupling between the method and the tool is mainly accomplished through the eight modules of Stage II (Developing the Knowledge Organization) of the Know-Net method. Each module of Stage II is a self-contained, value-adding entity, and therefore not all modules are mandatory in a KM implementation. Ideally, however, just as the knowledge assets are the main unifiers of our approach, Module 7 (Develop the Knowledge Asset Schema) acts as the frame of the Know-Net method that is being constructed with input from the 'audit' Modules 1, 3, and 5, while it supports the consistent execution of the 'design/implement' Modules 2, 4, and 6 (see also Figure 4).

Figure 4: Modules of Stage II— Developing the Knowledge Organization

All 'audit' modules among other issues aim to identify in detail the knowledge assets, and corresponding knowledge objects and their attributes. Module 1 (Analyze Business Processes), for instance, produces processes maps that depict key knowledge assets that are being used or created in selected business processes. Module 7 (Develop the Knowledge Asset Schema) collects this information, along with similar information from Modules 3 and 5, arranges possible overlappings, logically groups content, and creates the formal schema (Knowledge Asset Schema) on which the 'design/implement' modules are based. Consider another example: Module 4 (Leverage Knowledge Networks) designs and organizes communities of practice and interest around the core knowledge assets of the organization, and proposes the already specified knowledge objects as units for knowledge representation within these communities.