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