Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Chapter 8: The KM Toolkit | 57
to the current state of the utility, its culture, workload, competencies and outside demands on its
time. Also, it is useful to get some key workers involved so that the purpose, nature and value of
the project is made visible in a way that gives the utility time to digest and understand its goals and
impacts.
Setting Objectives
The project requirements must be made explicit for all personnel involved in the project.
Project objectives are often defined in terms of being SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Realistic (and Relevant) and Time-based. While this approach works well for complicated systems
such as building information systems or developing KM Desk Guides, parts of SMART may
have to be dropped or modified in a KM project where the desired outcome is an emergent phenomenon
of a complex system (a community or team).
Closely linked to setting objectives are setting targets and developing milestones. Set targets
which create direction and opportunities for high performance. These targets are sometimes
referred to as “stretch” goals. They are challenging but not so challenging that they are viewed as
non-achievable. Develop milestones to evaluate performance by comparing planned results at a
point in time to actual results. Milestones are usually significant events in the project, such as
completion of on-time deliverables or successful completion of phases of the project. Milestone
deviations should be monitored and carefully managed throughout the life of the project. There is
little point of being informed of a major cost overrun at the end of a project, or of ignoring a counter
intuitive result that creates unintended and harmful consequences to the project outcome. While
knowledge projects are usually aimed at long-term results and may be difficult to evaluate in the
short-term, activity toward the anticipated outcome and emergent indicators can be reviewed and
assessed.
Connecting the Dots
Any forward movement requires both a starting point and a direction in which to move. A
good way to understand the knowledge currently available in the utility is through conducting a
knowledge audit and creating a knowledge map. A knowledge audit moves beyond identifying and
mapping knowledge sources to evaluating the state of an organization’s technology, how well the
organization’s processes support knowledge sharing, and the work styles and culture of the people
within the organization. What is learned from the knowledge audit can now be compared to what
knowledge is needed in order to identify knowledge gaps. These gaps could be related to current
knowledge, or potential gaps as identified employees move toward retirement or as demands of the
environment change.
But having the required information available is not enough. People have to know about it
in order to use it. The flow of data, information and knowledge across the utility enables effective
decision-making and facilitates the connections and continuity that maintain utility unity and
coherence. A method for assessing the effective flow of information through communication and
collaboration is social network analysis. Interviews and surveys are used to ask such questions as:
From whom do you seek work-related information? Is this person accessible to you? Does this
person respond in time to help resolve your problem? To whom do you give work-related information?
From the answers to these and similar questions a map is created that connects people who
receive information with people who provide the information. This process allows the utility to
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