What I Did

Hi. Thanks for reading. After 8 years with SRA, I’m moving on and searching for new opportunities.

I thought I’d share a little about what I did there as I learned about the damnable field of Knowledge Management

Expect randomness Along with many, I believe knowledge is both a object (content) and a flow (context) If we’re right, the implications for KM are substantial

In retrospect, I really should have seen the layoff coming

SOME OF WHAT I SAID.

Information Management

Involves data and documents, their content, and information systems.

Knowledge Management

Involves what people know, how they learn and apply it, organizational culture and relationships.

IM vs. KM Map vs. Taxi driver Recipe vs. Chef Book vs. Author Portal vs. Meeting Why do you care who prepares your sushi?

Organizational Information Management

Above waterline

Need business case tied to specific business or operational problems

Business analytics

Dashboards

Application integration

Below waterline

Basic information sharing infrastructure – just do it

Meeting rooms

Telephone

Individual Email accounts

Enterprise search

Democratic web publishing

Social media! Everything 2.0

Define KM? Tag cloud based on 43 definitions for Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management refers to the management of the components and enabling of relationships from which knowledge emerges: used to enhance decision making, spark innovation, and comprehend weak signals in the information environment.

“ Very few people understand the need (requirement) for KM. They do understand barriers, non-sharing, poor training, awful deployments with no attention to human factors, atrocious documentation, and the lack of information while drowning in data.” – CKO of a U.S. government agency

Related Question – Where to Give Attention? Volume Time Data, Information, Knowledge Information Processing Technology Access Network Bandwidth Attention Davenport, T. H. and J. C. Beck (2001). The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business. Cambridge, MA, Harvard Business School Press.

Some Things I’ve Heard

“ In order to find out what's going on back at HQ, we fly lieutenants back there twice a month.”

“ When the general asks me what the effect of a reconfiguration of communication satellites is on our networks - it shouldn't take me 3 days to get the answer.”

“ When I come in and hear that 2 nodes among my communication networks are down - can I get coffee? Is it 2 out of 12, or 2 out of 3? I don't know.”

“ We have a document management system in place, but can't find anything. Don't tell anyone, but we set up a private share drive where we store our working docs...”

Problem Abundance

Katrina revealed lack of interagency shared situational awareness, therefore inability to effectively respond

(Most) Agencies lack a focused architectural initiative focused on information sharing and management

Fannie Mae subprime cautions date to 1999 Can an increased ability to detect and comprehend weak signals prepare us for economic recovery, war on cities, pandemic? Mumbai under siege, any early indicators? Struggle to understand initial SARS outbreak

Doing KM in the Public Sector? Clients find themselves in a ‘forced’ extended enterprise Citizen Congress Exec Agency LOB Regulatory Agencies OMB Press Executive sets Vision, every 4-8 years Regulatory agencies establish compliance targets Citizens demand services Press amplifies failures, strategic effects reached quickly Lines of Business require sub-optimization of Agency requirements for USG efficiency OMB assesses processes and management of IT portfolio Congress controls appropriations, and monitors actions (My Clients)

Consider the Individual Instruction COPs / social networks Know how, why Info Mgmt Info Sharing Tacit Knowledge Know what Explicit / Implicit Knowledge

Consider the Organization Enterprise Integration Extended Enterprise Integration Isolated Functions Continual Functional Improvement Cross Functional Process Improvement Organization as Complex Adaptive System

SOME OF WHAT I DID.

Role: Leader, KM Working Group, Project on National Security Reform

Combined organizational management theories and systems science to explore dysfunctional behaviors and recommend reforms

Report release date: 3 December 2008, National Press Club

Hypothesis : The U.S. fails to effectively integrate the components of national security Task : Assess problems, recommend solutions.

KM Practice, 2000-2007 Missile Defense Agency Veterans Administration Health and Human Services Defense Information Systems Agency USAID American Red Cross US Navy ES/FAM US Navy NPDC/CIT US Marine Corps National Geospatial Intelligence Agency National Security Agency SIGDEV US Air Force COOP USAID ASD/NII (DoD CIO) Army Medical Command Health and Human Services Missile Defense Agency Department of Homeland Security OGC Health and Human Services Missile Defense Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Association of State and Territory Health Officials White House Military Office US Senate Transition capabilities and skill sets to business units as appropriate through training, brown bags, etc