KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT.... From Concept to Reality A Presentation by Tim Cope Chief Information Officer UNSW 5 May, 2003

Approach Concept Definition Opportunity/Threat Modelling Value Assessment Framework What is this ? How do we prioritise the opportunities How do we deal with potential dis-continuities (threats) How do we assess the value Focus of today’s presentation

CONCEPT DEFINITION

Knowledge Management Is Not A New Concept! 1959 – Peter F. Drucker The knowledge worker 1966 – Michael Polyani Tacit and Explicit Knowledge Karl Erik Sveiby The “Invisible Balance Sheet” Skandia First corporate appointment of VP for IP 1995/6 First Business Conferences Building awareness of KM 1998 – World Bank Chooses KM as topic for annual world development report

So What Is Knowledge Management?  New processes specific to the management of knowledge  Organisational structures that create accountability for KM  Applications that support KM processes  Enabling technologies A proposition that responsiveness and innovation can be improved through the leveraging of collective wisdom and experience …..this proposition is supported by: It requires an integrated approach to identifying, managing, and (most importantly) sharing the information assets of the enterprise

Information Management Versus Knowledge Management Source: Gartner Research How IP will managed and leveraged. Develop a culture of trust, autonomy, collaboration, and innovation Make KM part of the normal workflow and functions of the worker How and why to use information and resources, and enable that knowledge to be more responsive and innovative Engage individuals and communities, to flatten organisational structures and simplify communication paths

Knowledge Management Processes

The Knowledge Value Chain We must recognise that there is a value chain for “Knowledge” in just the same way that Michael Porter (1985) proposed that business functions be organised in terms of the value added to customers. Creation Preservation Integration Transmission Application  Within the value chain, business processes and KM processes interweave and at the touch points, create the “Points of Confluence” that require integration of KM practices It can be argued that part of the societal role of a university is to nurture and protect this value chain

Mapping to the Points of Confluence Which KM processes are active at the points of confluence in the Knowledge Value Chain and what are we looking for ? PreservationIntegrationTransmissionApplicationCreation Catalogue & Store Publish Discovery Locate & Retrieve 24x7 Secure Storage Data Warehouses Document Management Digital Archiving Netcasting Portals Low barriers to access Information Request Brokers Search Engines Content extraction Intelligent Agents Query Tools Collaboration Space Neural Networks Visualisation Case-based Reasoning Rule-based Systems Meta-data standards Semantic models Business Processes

A Conceptual Architecture is Required to Position Technologies Relevant to KM and Provide a Context For Selection Knowledge Portal Discovery Services Collaboration Services Knowledge map Knowledge Repository , file servers, Internet / intranet services WP Interface Knowledge Management services Taxonomy Information and process management Infrastructure Information and Knowledge Sources World Wide Web People Corporate Databases Collaboration Services Discovery services Knowledge Map Knowledge Repository supports knowledge sharing helps users to retrieve and analyse the information in the corporate memory provides a corporate schema for knowledge classifications provides the information management functions for captured knowledge

VALUE ASSESSMENT

Commercial Organisations and Knowledge Management 1.Improvement in operating efficiency of business processes which benefit from having access to superior information at the point of need e.g customer-facing and marketing processes, product development etc 2.A knowledge-empowered organisation 3.A way of addressing concerns over the loss of corporate memory arising from the increasing mobility of labour Exploring value of KM from 3 perspectives: “If we only knew half of what we know, we would be twice as profitable” Carla Fiorini, CEO Hewlett Packard Corp

Commercial Organisations Investing in KM Are Expecting a Return

But are also interested in preserving “Invisible Equity” Assets Finance Current Assets Non- Current Assets Current Liabilities Non Current Liabilities Visible Shareholder Equity Invisible Equity The “Invisible Balance Sheet” Management Value-Add Market Value $14.05 Billion This illustration was developed using data taken from the CWO Balance Sheet of 31 March 2001

Universities and Knowledge Management 1.Improving the velocity of information 2.Increasing the impact of research (freedom of access) 3.Long-term curatorship Similar drivers towards business performance, but the real value lies in enhanced research outcomes. The collaborative efforts of universities towards Knowledge Management are likely to provide an ‘accelerator’ effect for research in each participating institution. This, dis-intermediation of the current publishing business model, is something that will need to be carefully considered.

Universities and Knowledge Management…….continued Relevance to the core mission:  Protection of the Knowledge Value Chain can be directly related to the core mission of universities and the role they play in society.  Loosening of the traditional bonds between faculty, students and institution brought about by the impact of Information Technology, may require even greater emphasis on the management of knowledge

For a university, the benefits Are Expressed through Indicators of Research Performance

So What’s Next? Identification of high-value business processes – student- facing, marketing, library, teaching and research Systematic, and detailed analysis of the “Points of Confluence” Benefits modelling Formalisation of architectures within which key work practices technology decisions and standards will be made Prototypical approach to deployment, given some technology life-cycles

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT.... From Concept to Reality The End – Thank You QUESTIONS?