Knowledge management is in transition.
Long the domain of knowledge bases and knowledge articles the way we are collecting, storing, maintaining, and using knowledge has been changing steadily for the past decade. Current systems are unlikely to support the needs today – and even less at the end of this paradigm shift.
Changes brought about by the explosions of adoption for social networks, communities, mobile, and even big data are making it almost impossible for current systems to support the growing needs of any organization. Add to that the impending needs from more than just customer service functions (the habitual users of knowledge) across the organization and – something has to give.
That something is a new emerging model for knowledge management.
Not since the mid 1960s when we first set out to accumulate knowledge and (hopefully) use it later has the model evolved as quickly as it has over the last decade. It is not only new needs and demands for knowledge, but also where the knowledge resides, whom users trust for generation, and how consistently growing costs of maintenance can be brought under control before they become a significant issue (they are already an issue, even if you don’t notice right now).
How to address the complexities of managing knowledge generated and maintained in communities is not an easy task. If you add the need to identify subject matter experts for single-topic expertise, quickly decaying knowledge value due to agile systems deployments, and the growing demand for knowledge in deploying customer engagement initiatives across the organization very quickly we grow a need that is far beyond what a knowledge-in-storage solution like knowledge-bases can deliver on.
Can we change what we are doing, while retaining what we have done and learned, and successfully create and deploy a new model? This has become the knowledge imperative of today’s organizations.
In research I conducted the past few years (and continue today) I have come up with new models, new solutions, and even new ways to justify the deployment, management, and extensibility of knowledge management systems. I am going to summarize and share that with you in a series of blog posts as well as a presentation.
I am presenting during Convergence the summary of these findings, but I want to give you a little taste of what we will cover. If you find it interesting, do join us then.
The questions I will be addressing are:
- Is this really a new era for knowledge management?
- How can I address it with existing systems?
- What do I need to know before choosing a new solution?
- How can I justify the investment?
- Should I buy or build a new solution?
- Can I leverage what I have?
- What are some of the most successful use cases for the new uses of knowledge?
- How about success stories and lessons learned?
- Is there a framework for managing this decision?
I will also convey the summary of these findings and the deck used in a blog post to follow after the event. If you are in town for the event, or are interested in knowledge, come visit me at my presentation and we can chat. We will have time for Q&A and I will be also happy to remain available for anything after my presentation.
See you there?