Knowledge Management "Project"
- Dr. Moria Levy
- Apr 30, 2002
- 2 min read
Anyone practically engaged in knowledge management eventually grapples with how to develop a work plan for knowledge management.
After all, knowledge management is a way of life, and is so contrary to the concepts of "project" and "work plan."
And yet, we want to show results here and now (and even more than we want to show them, management wants to see them).
And yet, it's clear to us that culture doesn't change overnight, and even Rome wasn't built in a day...
How do we deal with all these apparent contradictions?
A practical suggestion is to clarify that knowledge management is a project in three phases:
Immediate Term
Pilots where we address knowledge management at defined points - painful problems for the organization where knowledge management has added value. Be cautious at this stage not to select topics of low importance, difficult implementation, or long duration. Try to conduct 1-3 pilots within a timeframe of 4-12 months. The pilots can be conducted in a staged manner (starting the second before completing the first, etc.). Try to choose topics that will make it easy for the organization to understand that this is knowledge management and that can be leveraged in additional directions. Try to choose the right subjects (knowledge suppliers and consumers) for change. This privilege won't exist later. Take advantage of it now.
Medium Term
The medium-term project is broader and longer in scope. Its objectives are: a) to establish knowledge management solutions in topics at the organization's core. b) to provide the knowledge manager and organization with tools, methodologies, and work methods for knowledge management, across all its characteristic types (process-oriented, cross-infrastructural, longitudinal, etc.). c) to begin planting cultural change in the organization: it's worthwhile to manage knowledge. Knowledge management concerns everyone. d) to establish supporting technological infrastructures for knowledge management in the organization. It's recommended in the medium term to work with a strategic document and an organized work plan to ensure coverage of the three emphases mentioned above (ensuring core coverage, ensuring coverage of method types, ensuring employee coverage).
Long Term
At this stage, knowledge management transforms from a "project" into a professional service and support team. The team participates in steering committees and projects being carried out within the organization, providing knowledge management aspects related to them. It provides services to bodies that come to consult with it, accompanies community managers, and oversees the overall monitoring of knowledge management conduct and progress within the organization. I believe one cannot start with the final stage; I believe no organization in Israel has yet reached it. But there's something to aspire to.
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