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KM The Right Way

KM The Right Way

A step-by-step approach that will ensure that your expensive KM system actually gets used.

STEP 1: Ask Why

The first step toward a successful KM project is to look closely at your organisation and define the strategic business need. If KM isn't tied to a business goal, the organisation could end up with an expensive system that takes up server space but has no real purpose or ROI. Unfortunately, this first step is one many organisations fail to take. In a recent study by The Conference Board, 82 per cent of participating companies indicated they were involved in a KM project, but only 15 per cent of them said they had specific, stated objectives for the project.

Often companies link a need for KM with an event. During mergers, for example, information about intellectual assets, processes and potential collaboration should be collected for use in the new organisation. Some people also view retrenchments as a good time to look at KM. But Gene Wright, director of the manufacturing practice at Born, a Minneapolis-based technology consultancy, says companies shouldn't wait for a major shake-up. "When you look up and notice a redundant process or an example of repeated inefficiency where you realise you're spending all your time searching for information online instead of communicating with your clients or customers, that's a good time to think about KM," he says. "It's when you reach the point of pain, when you realise you can do things better."

For Brad Sidwell, CIO of Ice Miller, a law firm in Indianapolis, the need for KM became painfully apparent during a meeting with a prospective client that wanted to know whether the firm had worked with any of its competitors and, if so, what kind of work was done. "We discovered that we had no clue," Sidwell says.

To get started on a KM project, Sidwell defined the scope of the data he wanted to collect and organise - information on past and current clients, what work had been done for them, and their legal preferences. Each lawyer's knowledge and expertise had to be gathered and stored for others to access. Sidwell chose a product from Interface Software called InterAction to help set up a database for collecting client information. From a technology standpoint, the project is a success, Sidwell says, though he admits that the firm still struggles with motivating lawyers to contribute personal knowledge about old clients. (They are more willing to contribute information about new clients.) By taking a proactive approach to KM, Sidwell's firm is in the minority, says Skip Boettger, chief knowledge architect at software company PTC's global services division. Usually it takes some kind of disaster to jolt a company into understanding the business benefits of KM. "Whether it's low profit margins or overspending, it takes a lot to get a CEO's attention," Boettger says. "But it doesn't take much for a business to realise it can improve the whole process of gathering and organising knowledge. The key is that you have to focus on the business need, whether it's a problem you want to solve or a process you want to improve upon."

Once companies determine the business need, they can get a handle on the nature and scope of the intellectual assets they want to manage. Then they can determine how KM will affect the work routines of employees, Boettger says, which is an essential step to moving forward.

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