Posted by BK Ghosh on June 30, 2002 at 22:24:28:

In Reply to: Corporate Memory For These Forums posted by Denham on June 29, 2002 at 08:50:22:

Greetings Denham and others interested in this issue,

Thank you for sharing your perspective. I perfectly agree with you about the What? and Why? issues of KM that you have addressed very effectively. And, I agree with you on all the aspects that you have mentioned about design and emergence. However, the key challenge of KM is in How?: How do we make all the wishes and ideologies materialize and that too while meeting criteria of both efficiency and effectiveness?

Most organizations have been struck in defining the "perfect picture" KM and have found themselves floundering in implementing or executing those ideas. In most companies, almost everyone knows what the "perfect picture KM" is and likes it, but no one has adequate time, attention, or resources needed to get these done from the get go… many are fortunate if they realize some measure of perfection even in the short or long term. The challenge of KM lies where theory of KM collides with these harsh realities of lack of adequate time, attention, and resources where the rubber meets the road. This issue is more pertinent to the design of communities of practice that are not structured or bounded within corporate walls as many issues of command and control [discussed earlier on these forums] are absent.

Yes, all the specific aspects, hooks, anchors, and details etc. are needed for defining a picture perfect KM of any concept, such as that of knowledge ecology that you referenced. However, one needs to appreciate the investment of time, attention, and resources that goes in it… if you want to design it from the beginning. Therefore, your other idea about emergence seems more appropriate as the current design only takes care of the starting point for implementation while leaving enough flexibility for advancing and enhancing that design as it progresses.

Given that, the suggestion made by me earlier does not contradict the specifics of the implementation in getting it up and going and expect that the details will result from emergence of many aspects as I discuss later:

By developing the phase 1 of the proposed repository: here are some specific, non-abstract, tangibles we can achieve efficiently that can facilitate development of the subsequent deliverables.

a) There will be some key concepts delineated that provide a starting point for anyone trying to know the domain of KM.
b) By hyperlinking these repositories to the discussion archive of these forums: the context will be identified the depth and breadth of discussions on each of these concepts, the specific proponents / experts / leaders trying to advance those concepts.
c) By hperlinking to the portal interface (which is again a work in progress), the foundations are defined for links to other literatures, forums, and all other 'perfect picture' aspects of KM as next generation community technologies are implemented and integrated into the current technology and community architectures.

The biggest concern is getting struck in the paralysis by analysis mode and not moving an inch in terms of implementation and execution where the real devil lies. The real devil of KM lies in the details of execution and implementation not unlike materialization of any other complex management concept, theory, or ideology. The connections will emerge with the specific artifacts as they are hung on the specific implementations of those technologies that develop greater capabilities needed for the picture perfect KM.

Ideally, one would prefer a silver bullet of KM like many companies out there. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending upon your perspective, there is no silver bullet and the real crux of most such online community of practice efforts lies in the implementation: from a technological perspective and more so from a human perspective.

In summary, our thinking takes into consideration the What and Why of KM community model that you have suggested, it further takes into consideration the How that maps onto the tomorrow and connects tomorrow's needs and expectations to what is out there today. [As I am told in the internal stories of Brint, the whole thing that you see on Brint portals started with one single web page about 8 years ago… about 4 years ago before it was even considered worthwhile to pursue it beyond pure experimentation stage. ]

I am sure that there are other specific and deliverable measures that you and others would know or think of that take into consideration not only the What and Why of the KM community model discussed in this thread, but also the most important issue of How to get it done efficiently and effectively that distinguishes pipe dreams from real executables that can have any measure of impact. I welcome everyone to share your thinking about those specific deliverable and executable details that take into consideration all three issues of KM, but most importantly, the issue of implementation.

Thank you for the opportunity of reflecting upon some specifics of implementation.

BK Ghosh
editor@brint.com

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• Re: Corporate Memory - From Concept to Reality - How? Prac 10:56:14 07/01/02 (0)

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