Wikis in Knowledge Management Presentation

This is the presentation I gave at the Dublin Institute of Technology on 08/11/09. There were 2 masters classes in attendance (Knowledge Management & IT).

Wikis In Knowledge Management Enabling Effective Collaboration

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For My Next Dissertation - BPO

I am currently working on my second masters dissertation as I near the end of my MSc in Operations & Technology Management at DCU.

The topic of BPO seems to be hot right now with recent M&A activity in this domain, including the acquisition of EDS by HP. Just last week, HP announced a re-branding of EDS which will now be known as "HP Enterprise Services".

My own specific focus on BPO relates to the challenges that a captive O&T unit faces in exposing BP services on the commercial market in their industry. This will build on the core competency theories of Prahalad and Hamel which would suggest that organisations can use their existing expertise to provide services to others.

Classic cases would include the spin-out of EDS from General Motors, 6-Sigma from Motorola and the likes of Canon becoming a key market player in the printing business.

I will share some of my research and thoughts here, but I am finding the subject very interesting and especially in a recession, where organisations are looking for new revenue channels when traditional income sources are suffering. Disruptive Innovation and Discovery-Driven Growth are two topics which are quickly growing my reading list currently!

Idea - Internet Banking App for the iPhone

I was kindly given an Apple iPod Touch for my birthday last week, and I have to say that the apps framework and app store have got my creative juices flowing. I have been playing around with a number of the downloadable apps and have now got my calendar, contacts, email, facebook and linkedin access through my iPod touch.

So, next I was thinking what other apps would I like? I started thinking about the tasks I carry out over the web (apart from searching tons of research papers) that I could potentially like to do through the iPod touch. My main thoughts were about my accounts access for banking, mobile phone, credit cards and other utilities.

The most popular of these I would think is internet banking. Yes I can already do this by using the inbuilt safari browser to go to the internet banking site and transact in that way. The problem is that the site is not designed for browsing it in such a way, and I repeatedly need to zoom in and out to manage the transaction which is not very suitable. So, my suggestion is that banks should produce an app for the iPhone to allow their customers to access their internet banking directly from the iPhone/iPod touch home screen.

There would be a number of benefits to this:

• It would work well as a marketing tool to advertise the internet banking offering.
• It provides a new channel to create business (mobile banking already exists but most mobile access is too slow to make the experience enjoyable. The wifi ability of the iPhone/iPod touch allows fast access).
• Surely all mobile phone operators will follow the same app model to increase the attractiveness of their phones (like this Nokia rumour?).
• It could possibly be extended to provide other services in the future.
  
• The net generation would love it, it would be "cool" to them.

What would the app be like? Well it would be quite simple I imagine.... Click on the app, which would present a login page allowing you to enter you identification code and password. This would then present you account information etc. Obviously there would be some security concerns related to this, but I can't see this as being less secure than the already available web browser option.

I think that more and more companies will enter this domain, as the popularity of the iPhone increases.

Enterprise 2.0 Starting Points

I have been discussing the introduction of web 2.0 tools into a global organisation with a contact recently and a few familiar points arose relating to the introduction of these tools / way of working. So to help address them, I have broken these points down into some headings:

Understanding - There is no point in implementing web 2.0 tools for the sake of it. You must understand both your target audience internally and how these tools can improve how you do what you do. Here you must look at how collaboration is different in the new way of working compared to how it is currently being achieved. From basic principles it is about connecting people through their knowledge and expertise by providing the environment (real & virtual) which encourages them to share information as part of their daily operation. This famous "Meet Charlie" deck gives a nice introduction to the potential of what can be done:

Meet Charlie - what is Enterprise2.0?

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Support / Sponsorship - Once you fully understand what web 2.0 is about ("I get it!"), you now need to get your organisation on board. There are 2 elements to this:

1. Senior Management - The initiative needs to be supported top-down by senior management in the organisation (across all divisions / geographies). This is required from the beginning, and will work in a lead-by-example method e.g. Executive Blogs. The sales pitch to this group needs to echo their needs from existing programmes. Avoiding redundant effort, avoiding repeated mistakes, taking advantage of existing expertise, making individuals more effective, making teams more effective.
   
2. Grass Roots - The initiative needs to be driven laterally by communities of practice at grass roots level. Employees need to be encouraged to participate and rewarded for contributing. The model is suited to achieving a critical mass of users to ensure trust and sustained engagement for ongoing success.
   

Education - Web 2.0 is new to many, so it is important to convert these people by demonstrating a clear benefit to them from using the tools. Removing the technical jargon for business users can help to speed their introduction to web 2.0. I am a big fan of the CommonCraft show which has taught us to focus on plain english explanations of technical tools / concepts for business users. An example of how they simplify these concepts is RSS in plain english:



Starting Points - I believe that the best starting points for the introduction of web 2.0 tools are those which have high visibility, are cross divisional / geographically dispersed and can have a quick turn-around for early results. Operations & Technology is always a good area for testing the waters in this domain. The tasks and roles in O&T divisions are suited to adopting tools like instant messaging, wikis for documenting practices / ideas, RSS feeds for monitoring systems etc. Prove the value here and the other areas of your organisation will follow.

Growth - You need champions and evangelists to drive adoption and early growth for a successful beginning for your web 2.0 initiative. It is so important to fuel the flame of enthusiasm early on by demonstrating functionality, mentoring and supporting your user community. I had posted in the past about the characteristics of a wiki champion, but they are applicable to all web 2.0 adoption really:

• Be a Clear Communicator
• Be a Coach
• Be Patient
• Be Enthusiastic
• Be Engaging
• Have Fun!
  

Measurement - This is a real grey area, as the metrics could be different for each organisation depending on the goals of your initiative. There are however some emerging examples of what organisations are measuring when it comes to examining trends and ROI for web 2.0 programmes. Things like # of unique users, # of unique contributions etc. This slide deck shows some of the metrics that Accenture use for their knowledge management initiatives:

Measuring the impact of knowledge management

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This is by no means an extensive coverage of this topic, however I would encourage those interested in Web 2.0 or enterprise 2.0 to use the tools online to discover more e.g. YouTube, SlideShare, RSS Readers / Blogs, LinkedIn etc.

Introducing RSS to your Organisation - The Business Case

As part of my current MSc in Operations and Technology Management, we are undertaking a module in Technology Management. One of the current assignments I am researching is the investigation of how RSS (Really Simple Syndication) can be used as a new information channel for those areas of your organisation whose product is knowledge/information.

The examples I am looking at in relation to financial services are the press office and research units which produce press releases, market commentary, financial outlooks and other research material. I want to understand the relationship between these departments and their prospective customers (investors, journalists and the wider customer audience).

The first hurdle to overcome is the language used to introduce and explain RSS technology to the primarily business users who work in these areas. I presume it is unlikely that they will fully understand RSS, let alone know what it is (I am basing this on a statistic from my first dissertation in knowledge management where out of 101 people surveyed in a large financial services organisation, only 24 had heard of RSS - approx 24%).

I am a big fan of the Common Craft Show and their suite of videos which explain technology concepts in "Plain English". Their video "RSS in Plain English" is a good place to start:




I have also begun looking at existing financial services organisations who are using RSS to deliver updates to their prospective customers. Here is a sample set of RSS listings:

Northern Trust Corporation
ING Wholsale Banking
UBS Investment Research
Royal Bank of Scotland
Bank of America
RaboDirect

I will update how I get on here again, but my thinking is that if I was a journalist, I would appreciate automated feeds instead of having to visit each site every day to keep up-to-date with what is happening. Hopefully I can pitch RSS as a valuable, inexpensive tool which can enhance the offerings of the press office / research unit in the pilot organisation.

KM Dissertation Advice

I met with a friend and former KM classmate of mine, Colman McMahon, today in preparation for a presentation we will be giving to the current students of the MSc in Knowledge Management at the Dublin Institute of Technology. We will be sharing our experience of tackling a dissertation in KM and also an open Q&A about our views on the current state of KM.

It was interesting to compare thoughts on where we see the future of KM, particularly on the technology and tooling side. We both had looked at wiki-use during our research and agreed that they are certainly useful in demonstrating the human elements of KM (capture, sharing, organising of knowledge etc). We also spoke about Sharepoint and Lotus Connections - we both agreed that there is huge potential in relation to the power of these environments to provide a solid infrastructure for KM and Enterprise 2.0 features going forward.

In terms of what advice we would pass on to the current class, we have yet to conclude on this. My own thoughts include:

• KM is more than just a technology discipline, in fact it encompasses many aspects of a working organisation. This is an important lesson to learn, as many people have fallen at this first hurdle of understanding what KM is and how it will provide value and enable internal growth for your organisation.
• The role of HR in KM is very important. "Learning & Development" has out-grown its welcome, and the days of simply attending courses and returning to the desk are over. The next generation of "Learning & Development" is continuous learning & development - KM! The knowledge workers of Gen X/Y want to search and discover knowledge instantly (instead of attending a 3-day course to do so).
• The tie between Web 2.0 and KM is a growing discipline. However, it is important to remember and focus-on the core KM principles. Don't deploy a wiki or blog because it's cool - deploy them for what they can add to your organisation, and be clear on what you are using them for.

Once we narrow down our thoughts on KM research and our experiences in the next few weeks, I will share them here.

Promoting Your Enterprise Wiki Portal - Business Card Idea

I have been thinking of ways to promote our enterprise wiki, particularly to new groups who have not been using wiki systems before. One thing I have been trying to do is to sell the concept that the wiki portal can act as a central knowledge repository that we can all benefit from. We called it 'OnePlace', to symbolise this idea "...find all your answers in One Place!".

Then, in a slide show I was putting together, it came to me that if I want to promote this as a great source of knowledge within the organisation, why not promote it using a business card. Now if teams say "where will we find information about xxxx", they can check OnePlace!

I have yet to 'test' this idea, but I think I will include it in any presentations I give internally as my closing slide......"Now the important contact you need is OnePlace"

21 Days of Wiki Adoption by Stewart Mader

Keep a close watch on Stewart Maders 21 days of Wiki Adoption. This set of 21 short videos will help you to understand the concept of Wiki use in your organisation.

Stewart is the author of 2 books, Wikipatterns and Using Wiki in Education. I have followed his blog on wiki patterns for some time now, and he is great at explaining the wiki concept in "plain english" just like the guys at CommonCraft.

The key thing about this series of videos is the simplicity and clarity of the examples that Stewart delivers. I frequently get asked in my organisation - "What is a wiki?" (this normally comes about 15 mins into my demo of our enterprise wiki!).

But that is ok for me, as if it takes them 15 mins to query the technology, then maybe the underlying benefits of collaboration, knowledge sharing and intuitive information retrieval are more prominent. The best bit is when we get to the cost!

So follow Stewart's videos and learn! As Luis Suarez said:

I bet, I know, I am sure of it, that after watching through the entire show with the different episodes, you would be more than ready to start deploying those wikis within your organisation.

Web2.0 - What's different this time around?

While thinking about the role of Web2.0 in the enterprise, a contact has asked the following question - "What's different this time around?"

They were referring to the language being used by vendors to sell the idea of web2.0, noting that it is very similar to the "spin" used back in the 90's during the emergence of the Internet.

This is one of the reasons I chose to tackle this issue. As I outlined in my dissertation proposal - "the adoption of web2.0 tools and methods is being prohibited by misunderstanding of purpose and lack of defined ROI for business cases".

In this context, I would say that where the emergence of the Internet created channels for business to exploit a new market with their customers (e-commerce), web 2.0 is more an enhancement of "How" organisations operate internally.

Using Wiki's, Blogs, Intranet Portals, RSS etc will not present an immediately obvious ROI like Internet Banking or Online Sales did. However, they can help empower organisations to become "learning organisations" i.e Reducing repetition of mistakes, improving knowledge retention, creating collaborative environments, and encouraging a knowledge sharing culture.

A quote I like is by Kahlil Gibran:

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than
much knowledge that is idle.

There are also externally facing uses of web2.0 for organisations emerging (RSS feeds, Podcasting, Support Wiki's etc), and as their popularity grow, we will see more exploration in this domain.

An excellent COP success story

This slideshow is a championing story for all trying to get a Community of Practice (COP) up and running. The DIGWWW (A Discussion Group about the World Wide Web) is a COP which has gone from strength to strength with some amazing results.

KM - Creating the learning environment

I love to learn, but in my own way. I prefer the practical - learning by doing, rather than classroom training courses with a "comedian" instructor.

I like to learn from others in a master and apprentice situation. I like working closely with an experienced colleague to watch how they complete tasks, analyse problems, communicate and deliver solutions.

However, the working environment within an organisation often doesn't allow sufficient time for such learning. The "master" may be so busy, that they have no time for an "apprentice".

JP Rangaswami makes some interesting points in his post entitled Facebook and the Enterprise: Part 5: Knowledge Management on his blog confused of calcutta.

Knowledge management is not really about the content, it is about creating an environment where learning takes place. Maybe we spend too much time trying to create an environment where teaching takes place, rather than focus on the learning.

He continues by noting 3 primary reasons why organisations would want to "manage knowledge" to share learning:

1. So that same mistakes are not repeated.
2. To speed up tasks.
3. To encourage teaching and learning.

I described above what my favourite learning traits are, and JP puts it very nicely:

a “let me show you” session, is worth a thousand “let me tell you” sessions.