Knowledge Management Systems

Knowledge Management Systems Knowledge Management Systems • Week 1 Schedule- Web Site• http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~i385q

- Syllabus Review- Personal Introductions- BREAK- Readings Discussion

The Big Question(s)The Big Question(s)• How can KMS help people coordinate,

discover & organize information and knowledge?

• How can intranets, groupware, weblogs, wikis, instant messaging, search engines, PIMs & email in both individual and organizational contexts help us manage knowledge?

• Are certain types of KMS suitable for certain types of tasks, groups or roles?

Syllabus and Topics OverviewSyllabus and Topics Overview• Weekly Work- Readings• Primary• Secondary

- Blogging- Class Work- Discussions

• Participation is the key to getting something out of this course

• Cooperation & Collaboration with others in class

AssignmentsAssignments• Discussions- Class discussions- Class blog

• Presentations- Book report (see Assignments page)- Weekly topic (Secondary readings)

• KMS evaluations- Examine a KMS for utility, practicality & potential- Use the KMS for an extended period

• Research Papers- Gradual, weekly assignments for full paper

Rules for AssignmentsRules for Assignments- All assignments due at the absolute beginning of class (do

not be late)- Late assignments are penalized 20% per 24 hour period after

the beginning of class• You are responsible for making sure the assignment is

received• E.g. Due at Noon today, turned in tomorrow at Noon = -

20%. Turned in a week later = 0.• Arrangements can be agreed upon for known issues

- Travel, Serious Illness or Work- Do not mail attachments to me unless agreed upon- Make assignments Web accessible

• When required, notify class of your assignment via blog or class listserv

• Posting or sent email times count as submission times

Tools for KMS workTools for KMS work• Web browser (HTTP)

- Firefox• News or Feed Reader (RSS, Atom)

- Web Based• Google reader

- Windows• FeedDemon• Thunderbird (also for email)

- Macintosh• NetNewsWire (Lite version)

• Blog posting tool (XML-RPC)- MarsEdit- Ecto

Tools for Graduate SchoolTools for Graduate School• Text creation & editing tool

- Spell & Grammar checking (not a substitute for proofreading)- Formatting & Style markup- XHTML Output (not MS Word)- Learn one tool well, rather than many tools a little

• Bibliography (Information Database)- EndNote

• Notes, Information Management tools- OneNote- OmniFocus- Text files

• Analysis- Calculations- Charts

KMS & ToolsKMS & Tools• Tools make the rules

- The functionality of what you use defines the possibilities of your work

- Learning a few tools well makes work more productive• Use tools that support collaboration

- Open file formats- Easy availability

• Where to find tools- iSchool IT Lab- Campus Computer Store- Versiontracker.com & Download.com- Sourceforge.net

Types of Blogging SystemsTypes of Blogging Systems• Why not blog yourself?• Putting Weblogs to Work• Blog Tools- Blogger- Movable Type- TypePad- LiveJournal- Radio Userland- WordPress

• Class Blog: WordPress

Personal IntroductionsPersonal Introductions• Why KM?• Tools you use to organize your information• Tools you use to organize your knowledge?• Background that might be applicable• Anything else

Readings DiscussionReadings Discussion• Prusak, L.

Where Did Knowledge Management Come From?

• Ruggles, Rudy. (1998) The State of the Notion: Knowledge Management in Practice. California Management Review. Vol 40, No. 3. pp 80-90.

Where did KM come from?Where did KM come from?• Replacement for Info Mgmt or MIS?• Globalization (Competition)• Ubiquitous Information Technology

- Organizing information to get to knowledge- IT Costs are small(er)

• Support & training vs. Hardware & software- We can capture knowledge as developed

• Knowledge Centric Organizations- Personal knowledge more valuable than before

- “judgment, design, leadership, better decisions, persuasiveness, wit, innovation, aesthetics, and humor” i.e. more focus on people than before

- Strategic Approach for Working with Knowledge as Core Function of the Organization

Where did KM come from? (2)Where did KM come from? (2)• Not just about moving data around• Help organizations do things (k centric)• Focus on Users, not Technology• Sociology

- “Human Capital”- Social Networks

• Philosophy - “know how” & “know what”

• What other fields apply to KM?

So is KM just recycled?So is KM just recycled?• Back, but to the Future?

- Is the pendulum swinging away from KM?• Information Management

- User focus• Quality Movement

- Information development & coordination quality• Human Capital

- Individuals are the assets- Improve personal and group work

• Not re-engineering the organization- Cutting and optimizing without much future focus- IT can replace people

• Outsourcing non-critical (KM producing) tasks

State of the Notion: KM in PracticeState of the Notion: KM in Practice• 1998, Broad Study of 431 Corporations• Activities- Generating new K- Accessing K from outside- Using K in Decision Making- Embedding K in work- Representing K in technology- Facilitating K growth- Transferring K- Measuring K (p 81)

KM Efforts UnderwayKM Efforts Underway

Accomplishing KMAccomplishing KM- How can any one, any group do all these?

• Is the Journey to KM the Reward?• Does making people aware of Knowledge help

to establish KM?• Can a focus on rewarding and acknowledging

KM work enable KM in an organization?• How can a KMS help or hinder the KM

process?

KM Project PrioritiesKM Project Priorities

KM & KMS ChallengesKM & KMS Challenges• Is it possible to get beyond a buzzword?• Can technology solve everything?• Can people solve everything?• Can organizations and groups solve

everything?

KM DifficultiesKM Difficulties

KM BarriersKM Barriers

A new view of KMA new view of KM• Technology- Innovation- Adoption- Implementation

• People- Behavior- Personality

• Organizations- Culture- Industry- Environment

KM as a NetworkKM as a Network• Networking metaphors are apt- Routing (around damage)- Frequency- Latency- Information Gain- Entropy- Chaos and Complexity Theory

- The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.• is the greater than Knowledge?

Questions about KM or KMS?Questions about KM or KMS?• Terminology• Theories• Empirical studies• System descriptions• Organizational environments

Class Work: what’s a KMS?Class Work: what’s a KMS?• Features that a distributed knowledge collection tool

should have- Collaboration- Coordination- Creation- Collection (retrieval)

• What would you look for to determine whether to build or buy for a blog system?- Platform- Content Management- Open format- Extensibility

• Group blogs or individual blogs- Feeds, trackback and guest accounts- Tracking multiple blogs - specialized vs. generalized

Topic Selection (next week)Topic Selection (next week)• Choose a topic (week) to overview & lead the

discussion about our readings- What was interesting about the readings?- What were the great ideas?- What were bad ideas?- How can the concepts be used by people or

organizations?• How can a KMS help coordinate, discover,

organize information & knowledge?• Your own point of view about KM, KMS + the

practicality & promise of these tools and procedures