KNOWLEDGE

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
 Vinit Gole 307
Sagar Lotankar 311
Yogesh Kadam 314
Ankit Patkar 321
Amey Vartak - 340
Knowledge Management
Knowledge management (KM) is a process that helps organizations
identify, select, organize, disseminate, and transfer important information and
expertise that are part of the organizations memory.

Structuring of knowledge enables

effective and efficient problem solving
dynamic learning
strategic planning
decision making.
Knowledge management initiatives focus on
identifying knowledge
how it can be shared in a formal manner
leveraging its value through reuse.
Knowledge management can
promote organizational learning
help solve problems
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 Knowledge
Knowledge is very distinct from data and information and provides a higher
level of meaning about that data and information.
The ability to act is an integral part of being knowledgeable.
Data are a collection of:
Facts
Measurements
Statistics
Information is organized or processed data that are:
Timely
Accurate
Knowledge is information that is:
Contextual
Relevant
Actionable.

Having knowledge implies that it can be exercised to solve a problem,

whereas having information does not. 4
 Knowledge Explicit knowledge

Explicit knowledge has been codified (documented) in a form that can be

distributed to others or transformed into a process or strategy without
requiring interpersonal interaction.

Explicit knowledge (or leaky knowledge) deals with objective, rational,

and technical knowledge
Data
Policies
Procedures
Software
Documents
Products
Strategies
Goals
Mission
Core competencies

The more that knowledge is made explicit, the more economically

it can be transferred. 5
Knowledge Tacit knowledge
Tacit knowledge is usually in the domain of subjective, cognitive, and
experiential learning; it is highly personal and difficult to formalize. It is also
referred to as embedded knowledge since it is usually either localized within
the brain of an individual or embedded in the group interactions within a
department or business unit.

Tacit knowledge is the cumulative store

of the corporate experiences
Mental maps
Insights
Acumen
Expertise
Know-how
Trade secrets
Skill sets
Learning of an organization
The organizational culture

Tacit knowledge is generally slow and costly to transfer

and can be plagued by ambiguity. 6
Knowledge Knowledge Management Systems

The goal of knowledge management is for an organization to be aware of

individual and collective knowledge so that it may make the most effective use
of the knowledge it has. Firms recognize the need to integrate both explicit and
tacit knowledge into a formal information systems - Knowledge Management
System (KMS)
A functioning knowledge management system follows six steps in a
cycle dynamically refining information over time
1. Create knowledge.
2. Capture knowledge.
3. Refine knowledge.
4. Store knowledge.
5. Manage knowledge.
6. Disseminate knowledge.

As knowledge is disseminated, individuals develop, create, and

identify new knowledge or update old knowledge, which they
replenish into the system.
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Knowledge Knowledge Management
Systems

Knowledge
Management Cycle

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 Characteristics
Discipline, order or segmentation into
manageable activities or phases.
Good documentation for possible
changes or modifications of the system
in the future.
Coordination of the project to ensure
the cycle is completed on time.
Regular mgmt review at each phase of
the cycle.
Challenges in
building KM
Culture (K sharing & reward
Systems
system)
Knowledge Evaluation (metrics)
Knowledge Processing
(capture, store, process &
distribute)
Knowledge Implementation
(change, learn & innovate)
Process/Stages of
KMSLC
1. Evaluate existing infrastructure
2. Form the KM team
3. Knowledge capture
4. Design KM Blueprint
5. Test the KM System
6. Implement the KM System
7. Manage change & reward
structure
8. Post-system evaluation.
1.Evaluate existing
Identifying and evaluating the current
Information
knowledge envt makes it easier to point
out the critical missing gaps & justify
the formation of new knowledge envt.
As a part of this phase ,we focus on the
system justification, scoping the
evaluation, determining feasibility.
a. System Justification:
K developer to justify whether it is
worth undergoing changes that ensures
top mgmt support.KM system
justification involves answers to
specific questions.
1. Is current knowledge going to be lost
through retirement, transfer or
departure to other firms?
2. Is the proposed KM system needed in
several locations?
3. Are experts available & willing to help in
building a KM system?
4. Does the problem in question require
ears of experience & cognitive reasoning
to solve?
5. When undergoing knowledge capture,
can expert articulate how the problem
will be solved?
6. How critical is the knowledge to be
captures?
7. Is there a champion in the house?
b. The Scope Factor:
The term scoping means limiting the
breadth & depth of the project within the
financial, human resource & operational
constraints. The project should be small
enough for the K developers capabilities,
especially if it is orgns first attempt at
developing a KM system.
Readiness of the companys current
technology (intranet, LAN etc).
Identification of gaps & areas needing
improvement in current technology.
General review & understanding of the
benefits & limitations of KM tools &
components.
c. The Feasibility Question:
Is the project doable? Affordable?
Appropriate? Practical?
Factors for successful installation:
1. Economic Feasibility (cost benefit
analysis)
2. Technical Feasibility
3. Behavioral Feasibility
Traditional approach to conducting a
feasibility study could be useful in
building KM system.
It involves several tasks:
Form a KM team.
Prepare a master plan
 Evaluate cost/performance of the
proposed KM system.
Quantify system criteria & costs
(rating scale).
2.Form the KM
After the evaluation of the
Team
companys existing infrastructure is
complete, a KM team should be
formed.
Team success depends on a number
of factors:
1. Caliber of team members in terms of
personality, communication skills &
experience.
2. Team size.
3. Complexity of the project.
4. Leadership & team motivation.
5. Promising more than can be
realistically delivered.
3.Knowledge Capture
Knowledge capture involves eliciting,
analyzing & interpreting the knowledge that
a human expert uses to solve a particular
problem.
Knowledge capture & transfer are often
carried out in teams, not just through
individuals.
K capture includes determining feasibility,
choosing the expert, tapping the experts
knowledge, and retapping the knowledge to
plug gaps in the system & to verify and
validate the knowledge base after the
system is in operation.
A competent & cooperative expert is
essential to the success of knowledge
capture.
4.Design the
This phase is the beginning of designing
Blueprint
the IT infrastructure & the KM
architecture in order to proceed with the
actual design & deployment of the KM
system.
1. Aim for system interoperability &
scalability with existing IT infrastructure.
2. Finalize the scope of the proposed KM
system with realized net benefits in mind.
3. Decide on the required system
components, such as user interface
options, knowledge directories and
mining tools.
4. Develop the key layers of the KM
architecture to meet the
companys requirements.
The key layers are as follows:
a. User interface.
b. Authentication/security layer.
c. Collaborative agents and filtering.
d. Application layer.
e. Transport internet layer.
f. Physical layer.
g. Repositories.
Key Layers of a KM System
User Interface
Infrastructure
User interface via Browser
Part of the Internet
Authentication/Security Layer
(includes access identification, firewalls & user recognition)

Collaborative Agents & Filtering

(intelligent robots that can disseminate news, warnings & notifications)
Application Layer
(collaborative work tools, videoconferencing, decision support tools,
group decision support tools & yellow pages)
Transport/Internet Layer
(TCP/IP)-manages transmission of data b/w computers
Physical Layer
(cables, physical wires, modems for transmission)
Repositories
Data Warehouse Documents
& Databases
Other Files
Legacy Applications
5.Test the KM
This involves 2 steps
System
1. Verification:
This procedure ensures that the
system is right -that the programs
do what they are designed to do.
2. Validation:
This test ensures that the system is
the right system that it meets
the users expectations, that it is
user friendly and that it will be
usable and scalable on demand.
6.Implement the KM
System
Implementation means converting a
new KM system into actual operation.
Conversion is the major step in
implementation.
The other steps are post
implementation review & KM system
maintenance.
It is the transformation of the precise
representation of knowledge into
machine equivalent a specific
program or software package.
7.Manage Change &
Reward Structure
Implementation means change and
people in general resist change.
People become anxious when they do
not know what the system will offer
and how it will effect their current
jobs & decision-making quality. The
result is stress & further
resistance to change.
The resistors include the following:
Experts.
Regular employees(users).
 Troublemakers.
Narrow minded superstars.
Resistance is displayed in 3
personal reactions:
1. Projection: Hostility towards
peers.
2. Avoidance: Withdrawal from the
scene.
3. Aggression: Killing the system,
because of uncertainty of its
operation or use.
8.Post System
System impact must be assessed in
Evaluation
terms of its effects on people,
procedures and performance of the
business.
The main areas of concern are quality of
decision making, attitude of end users
and cost of knowledge processing &
updates.
The objective is to evaluate the KM
system against standards & determine
how well meets the goals set in advance.
The user initiates the review for
enhancement (upgrading the system) &
maintenance (making corrections).