Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques ... - Index of - Free

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Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques
• Process and information transparency
• The partnering approach it enables
In each instance, a customized Quickplace was developed to meet the specific needs
of each client and the account team who works with them. Of course, our successes
with Quickplace did not happen overnight. We have taken specific measures like:
• Introduced systems and procedures to deal with the new risks that a Web-based
collaboration tool as introduced into our organization
• Systematically approached the task of diffusing this collaboration capability
into our organization
These new risks relate to issues such as corporate branding standards, liability for
incorrect or misleading content, copyright, and mistakes with access control that could
break confidentiality and privacy requirements. Some of these risks can be managed
at the technology level. For example, before any user (internal or external) can be
granted access to a Quickplace, he or she must first be registered into a central user
list. While this control creates an inconvenient two-step enrollment process for
Quickplace managers, it is an important risk mitigation process. Each new Quickplace
is also created using either a CBK or practice areas developed template to ensure it
meets corporate branding guidelines.
In addition to the security controls described above, the Internet operating environment
is not always as universally consistent and standardized as we would like.
Such technical problems can affect the accessibility of the collaboration space, and we
have discovered over time many reasons why this might be the case.
• Internet access speed from the client site
• Firewall configurations
• Internet browser settings
• Hardware
• Other software conflicts or incompatibility
The only way to avoid accessibility issues is to include the external organization
in testing and learn to work with their IT group to resolve technical issues as early
as possible. You should also consider using standards-based document formats
such as Portable Document Format (PDF) or ensure you agree on document format
protocols with your external users as part of the development of your collaboration
space.
From the CBK perspective, these issues are IT issues that in most cases are best left
to technical experts to manage and resolve. However, as part of the innovation
process, it is still helpful that knowledge managers are aware of the reasons, if not the
details of the technology implementation, for the security-related restrictions and controls.
This way they can play a role in explaining the limitations and managing the
expectations of end-users.
This is critical to a user-driven collaboration tool because at the next level of control,
responsibility passes from the IT specialists to the end-users of the Quickplace. At
this level, the CBK has a key role to act as a relationship manager to the business to
explain why Quickplace should be used and how it should be used. The CBK does this
by providing knowledge managers with access to a variety of different support
resources. For example,
• Business researchers and analysts are available to identify existing content or to
create new content for use in the Quickplace.