Co-written with Gal Gutman
Like any professional article, we'll start with definitions. First, what is a template? A template is a basic unit of knowledge (visual, behavioral, audio/acoustic, or linguistic/semantic) that dictates our way of viewing the world. We use templates as tools/techniques for processing information within the processes of perception, memory, learning, and understanding.
On the same topic, a bit of theory.
The first to address the concept of templates were the proponents of the Gestalt approach ("Gestalt" means "pattern" or "form" in German) who argued that any living creature encountering a partial stimulus or information in the world will strive to complete it based on previous experience with that complete pattern. For example, a person looking at stars in the sky will see them as a pattern that can be completed to create a broader picture - "The Big Dipper."
Linguist Noam Chomsky claimed that we have an innate tendency to use templates. Chomsky found that the process of language learning and usage is based on templates: the syntactic structure of a sentence (subject + conjugated verb + noun) is predetermined as a template, and the speaker pours knowledge into it, dependent on the language and the idea they want to express.
Edward Cell describes in his book "Learning to Learn from Experience" how the process of learning from experience is based on templates. According to Cell, our brain works through templates. In every second, we are exposed to many stimuli. Our brain must process each one, decide which to filter out and which to respond to, and determine how to respond. We deal with this need (which is paradoxical given the multiplicity of stimuli) through templates. Each stimulus is generalized, details that do not help decide the course of action are removed, and its compatibility with the existing template repository in our brain is examined. According to the most appropriate template, our brain chooses the desired response method and acts without additional thought and processing. Creating new templates or expanding existing ones is based on events we experienced that did not match existing templates either beforehand or in retrospect.
Now, after getting to know the "roots" of the template, let's examine how the template integrates into the world of knowledge management
If A = Our innate tendency as human beings is to use templates and B = We are knowledge workers in knowledge management (according to Peter Drucker, Management Challenges for the 21st Century), then C = Templates are integrated into knowledge management.
The world of knowledge management uses templates to advance three main goals: creating structured knowledge, simplifying the reader's orientation, and facilitating an orderly understanding of information items.
Let's continue to examine the advantages of using templates in the knowledge world:
Creating Structured Knowledge
The human tendency to use templates is expressed in the relative ease of creating a knowledge item given an initial basis and guidelines; this, compared to the difficulty of creating a new knowledge item from a "blank page" that contains no hints about desired structure and content. The template offers a solution to this problem; it provides clues about the type of knowledge to be created and the required logical structure. For example, consider the process of creating a procedure in an organization. A procedure template will include the main knowledge details such as introduction, objectives, definitions, and so on. The template allows the procedure writer to focus on the core content and provides a friendly input format. An organization that uses these templates achieves uniformity in the knowledge transferred to its employees, creates a shared professional organizational language, and promotes the creation of new knowledge by making the process of documenting knowledge by employees friendly and simple.
Simple Navigation
An organizational pain familiar to all of us is that procedures containing important and core knowledge for execution guidelines and action are not implemented due to their length, the difficulty in understanding the spirit of the procedure and its concept, and the inability to locate information in response to a specific issue. Sometimes, the procedure is adapted for sequential reading as a document with a multi-topic index, and employees may often "lose their bearings" when searching for relevant information and, as a result, give up on reading, learning, and applying the knowledge. Knowledge management responds to this challenge through the solution of a smart template. A smart template consists of a gateway map and a body. The gateway map brings knowledge items to the forefront of the procedure and presents the content of the procedure in a user-friendly visual way with references and links through which the user can reach the expanded items in the body of the procedure.
The gateway map also displays the workflow diagram that underlies the procedure's action guidelines. In this way, the user's navigation through the procedure's principles of operation (which can sometimes be complex and multi-dimensional) is no more than solving a friendly crossword puzzle ("follow the arrows... and learn").
The body of the procedure will include expanded knowledge segments that are edited according to the principles of content organization methodology and concise writing. The knowledge segments allow continuous reading of the procedure as a document and focusing on relevant parts one wishes to explore in depth. A prerequisite for using the template is mapping all content domains relevant to the user (for example titles, topics, subtopics). The added value of this requirement is in the ability given to the reader at first glance to verify and validate their location in searching for the knowledge item they were looking for.
Structured Understanding of Knowledge Items
The template enables a deeper understanding of the procedure's content. The division into stages, levels, derivatives, and required actions takes the reader one cognitive step further in the learning process. After encountering the content presented through the template several times (remember uniformity?), the reader better understands the implications of the procedure and the context between the different parts of the procedure. This makes it easier to understand the content due to that structure and subsequently retrieve the relevant parts from memory.
In this way, organizational resources required for implementing and applying knowledge in the field are saved in the long term, as relearning, memorization, and repetition of "new" knowledge for each procedure separately are avoided.
After establishing the advantages of using a template (a smart one, of course) within knowledge management, how can one create one? Learning researcher Piaget claimed that creating a template includes two parallel processes: assimilation and accommodation.
In the assimilation process, a person perceives and interprets a stimulus according to knowledge they have already acquired about it. The template is built according to knowledge that has already been created in the organization in the past and through an attempt to generalize it under a generic structure. This activity will include observing similar knowledge items that already exist in the organization and analyzing them. During the analysis, questions will be asked such as: What is the accepted categorization of the items (title, subtitles)? What are the main chapters? Analyzing the items allows for their inclusion under a uniform structure and central knowledge segments to be used when creating a new knowledge item.
In the accommodation process, the complementary action of changing existing templates and structures will be done to progress and include structures not included in the original template. Changing the templates is done according to knowledge and experience acquired in the past, expands the existing knowledge base, and creates an updated, new, and improved template. The template is built by retroactively analyzing existing knowledge items to raise possibilities for upgrading and improving them. For example, creating links to additional documents that complement those items' knowledge segments or operational derivatives. In this case, the analysis of existing knowledge items leads to their inclusion under one template and to changing and creating a more advanced smart template.
Summary
Templates are integrated into all components of the knowledge management world: they are based on, created, and improved based on the content of the organizational knowledge world. They connect to and streamline the work process, are nourished by and support the organizational culture, and are implemented with quality through simple, user-friendly technology.
Furthermore, the fact that using templates is an innate ability embedded in us by virtue of being human encourages us to harness this tool for use in the business world to advance organizational goals. Creating smart templates that include gateway maps and knowledge segments has a decisive impact on the ease of creating knowledge items, the convenience of navigating them, and the employee's ability to understand the item. Creating such a knowledge template is done by analyzing existing knowledge items in the organization, attempting to generalize them under a generic structure, and upgrading them beyond what exists today into the next era...
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