Managing Knowledge Quarterly Update — 1998 Qtr 2

In their book Working Knowledge, Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak define and discuss the following concepts:

• Data — Data is a set of discrete, objective facts about events. The transaction of purchasing a sweater is an example of data.
• Information — Data is turned to information when its creator adds value in some way. For a sweater purchase, relating the purchase to a newspaper coupon for a 10% discount helps assess the effectiveness of the ad and coupon.
• Knowledge — Broader, richer, and deeper than information, knowledge results when, for example, information about a situation is compared to other situations, or when a connection is made between this bit of information and others. For a sweater purchased using a coupon, knowledge could reflect past sweater sales patterns with and without coupons.

This book classifies knowledge management projects by three broad objectives:

• Attempts to create knowledge repositories.
• Attempts to improve knowledge access.
• Attempts to improve knowledge cultures and environments.

Knowledge repositories can encompass several types of information, such as competitor intelligence, internal research reports, or discussion databases. We have developed the following Lotus Notes databases to help share our knowledge:

• Contact Management — Stores letters, mailing lists, and discussion notes on our contacts.
• Business Ideas — Contains ideas related to our business processes.
• Library Catalog — Lists all the books, audio tapes, periodicals, and other materials available for research and self-improvement.

Knowledge access projects help users find the person with the knowledge they need, serving as a kind of internal "Yellow Pages" of knowledge. In my firm, two Notes databases serve this role:

• Client Folder — With a summary for every client, and an engagement letter and consultant list for each project, this database helps in locating knowledgeable associates and similar projects.
• Service List — This planned database will list descriptions of our services and consultants qualified to perform each service.

Projects to improve a firm's knowledge culture and environment are less dependent on technology and more dependent on attitudes and incentives to generate, codify, and transfer knowledge.

Today's economy requires moving from providing strictly a product to offering a product that has aspects of services, such as consumer feedback and additional information via the Web. To better provide these services and a joint product-service "offering," systematically managing knowledge will be a requirement for any company wishing to successfully compete.

Enabling technologies, such as Lotus Notes and the Web, allow even small companies such as ours to have sophisticated tools at a reasonable cost. We are already well on our way in using technology to manage our knowledge. Where are you?

Sincerely,

Todd L. Herman