1. Knowledge Management Systems Life Cycle
B. Information Technology (IS) CISB454: Introduction to Knowledge Management
Knowledge Management Systems Life Cycle

2. Learning Objectives At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
discuss the challenges in building KM Systems
compare CSLC and KMSLC
elaborate on the stages of KMSLC

3. Knowledge Management Systems Life Cycle
Challenges in Building KM Systems

4. Challenges in Building KM Systems
Culture
getting people to share knowledge
Knowledge evalua-tion
assessing the worth of knowledge across the firm

5. Challenges in Building KM Systems
Knowledge process-ing
documenting how de-cisions are reached
Knowledge imple-mentation
organizing knowledge and integrating it with the processing stra-tegy for final deploy-ment

6. Knowledge Management Systems Life Cycle
CSLC vs. KMSLC

7. versus Conventional System Life Cycle KM System Life Cycle
Recognition of Need and Feasibility Study
Logical Design
(Master Design Plan)
Physical Design (coding)
Testing
Implementation
(File Conversion, User Training)
Operations and Maintenance
Software Requirements Specifications
Iterative
KM System Life Cycle
Evaluate Existing Infrastructure
Knowledge Capture
Design KMS Blueprint
Verify and Validate the KM System
Implement the KM System
Manage Change and Rewards Structure
Form KM Team
Post-system evaluation
versus

8. Key Differences Conventional Systems KM Systems
Systems analysts deal with information from the user
Knowledge developers deal with knowledge from domain experts
Users know the problem but not the solution
Domain experts know both the problem and the solution
System development is pri-marily sequential
System development is inc-remental and interactive
System testing normally at end of system life cycle
KM system testing evolves from beginning of the cycle

9. Key Differences Conventional system life cycle is process-driven
specify then build
KM system life cycle is result-oriented
start slow and grow

10. Key Similarities Both begin with a problem and end with a solution
Both begin with infor-mation gathering or knowledge capture

11. Key Similarities
Testing is essentially the same to make sure the system is right and it is the right system
Both developers must choose the appro-priate tool(s) for de-signing their respec-tive systems

12. Knowledge Management Systems Life Cycle
Stages of KMSLC

13. Stages of KMSLC Iterative Rapid Prototyping
Evaluate Existing Infrastructure
Form the KM Team
Knowledge Capture
Iterative Rapid Prototyping
Design KM Blueprint
Verify and validate the KM System
Implement the KM System
Manage Change and Rewards Structure
Post-system evaluation

14. (1) Evaluate Existing Infrastructure Systems Justifications
What knowledge will be lost through
retirement
transfer
departure to other firms?
Is the proposed KM system needed in several locations?

15. (1) Evaluate Existing Infrastructure Systems Justifications
Are experts
available
willing to help in building a KM sys-tem?
Does the problem in question require
long years of expe-rience
tacit reasoning to solve?

16. (1) Evaluate Existing Infrastructure The Scope Factor
Consider breadth and depth of the project within financial, hu-man resource, & ope-rational constraints
Project must be com-pleted quickly enough for users to foresee its benefits

17. (1) Evaluate Existing Infrastructure The Scope Factor
Check to see how the current technology will match technical requirements of the proposed KM system

18. (1) Evaluate Existing Infrastructure Role of Strategic Planning
Risky to plunge into a KMS without strategy
Knowledge developer should consider
Vision — Foresee what the business is trying to achieve, how it will be done, and how the new system will achieve goals
Resources — Check on the affordability of the business to invest in a new KM system
Culture — Is the company’s political and social environment amenable to adopting a new KM system?

19. (2) Form the KM Team
Identify the key stake-holders of the prospec-tive KM system
Team success depends on:
Ability of team members
Team size
Complexity of the project
Leadership and team mo-tivation
Not promising more than can be realistically deli-vered

20. (3) Knowledge Capture
Explicit knowledge captured in reposito-ries from various media
Tacit knowledge cap-tured from company experts using various tools and methodo-logies

21. (3) Knowledge Capture
Knowledge develo-pers capture know-ledge from experts in order to build the knowledge base

22. (3) Knowledge Capture Selecting an Expert
How does one know the expert is in fact an expert?
How would one know that the expert will stay with the project?

23. (3) Knowledge Capture Selecting an Expert
What backup should be available in case the project loses the expert?
How could we know what is and what is not within the expert’s area of expertise?

24. (3) Knowledge Capture Role of the Knowledge Developer
The architect of the system
Job requires
excellent communica-tion skills
knowledge of capture tools
conceptual thinking
a personality that mo-tivates people

25. (3) Knowledge Capture Role of the Knowledge Developer
Close contacts with the champion
Rapport with top management for on-going support

26. (3) Knowledge Capture Role of the Knowledge Developer
Worker
Champion
Progress Reports
Prototypes
Demos
Feedback
Support
Knowledge
Developer
Interactive Interface
User Acceptance
Solutions
Rules
Testing
Knowledge
Knowledge
Base
Knower

27. (4) Design the KM Blueprint
The KM blueprint addresses several issues
Finalize scope of proposed KM system with realized net benefits
Decide on required system components

28. (4) Design the KM Blueprint
The KM blueprint add-resses several issues
Develop the key layers of the KM software architecture to meet company requirements
System interoperability and scalability with existing company IT infrastructure

29. (5) Testing the KM System
Verification procedure
Ensures the system has the right func-tions
Validation procedure
Ensures the system has the right output
Validation of KM sys-tems is not foolproof

30. (6) Implement the KM System
Converting a new KM system into actual operation
This phase includes conversion of data or files
This phase also includes user training

31. (6) Implement the KM System
Quality assurance is important, which includes checking for
Reasoning errors
Ambiguity
Incompleteness
False representation (false positive and false negative)

32. (7) Manage Change and Rewards Structure
Goal is to minimize resistance to change
Experts
Regular employees (users)
Troublemakers
Resistances via pro-jection, avoidance, or aggression

33. (8) Post-system Evaluation
Assess the system’s impact in terms of effects on
People
Procedures
Performance of the business

34. (8) Post-system Evaluation
Areas of concern
Quality of decision making
Attitude of end users
Costs of Knowledge processing and up-date

35. Key Questions Has accuracy and timeliness of decision making improved?
Has the KMS caused organizational changes?
What are users’ reactions towards KMS?
Has the KMS changed the cost of operating the business?
Have relationships among users affected?
Does KMS justify the cost of investment?

36. THE END College of Information Technology
Copyright © 2012 Mohd. Sharifuddin Ahmad, PhD
College of Information Technology