Adaptive Knowledge Architectures

Disclaimer The following presentation discusses a combination of theory and practice. The theories and scenarios presented are based on work done at Hewlett- Packard between the years 2002-2008. However, the ideas and opinions presented here are solely those of the author and in no way represent the views of, or an endorsement by, HP. 2

Agenda • Scenario: − Business problem − Original solution − Real-world outcome • Adaptive Knowledge Architecture: − Rethinking the solution − Requirements & responsibilities for adaptive architecture • Conclusion: − Final outcome 3

Business Scenario • Provide KM support to a global organization of SI consultants − 12,000 employees − 800-1,000 projects a year • Employees managed by region • Strategic direction set by HQ “practices” (manufacturing, financial, infrastructure, etc.) 4

Original Architecture • “3-Tier Architecture” simplified to address operational & strategic needs. HP Intranet Managed Content HP Services SI … Communities Open, Globally of Practice Shared Content Secure, Operational Teams Content 5

Communities of Practice • This presentation focuses on the middle layer. Security CIM . Mission Etc. Critical • The CoPs combined both actual communities of people and the technology to support them. • Specifically, SharePoint sites for capturing/sharing examples, reports, papers, best practices, etc. 6

Architecture Theory • The intent was for subject matter experts to lead the communities, delegate & manage the associated spaces. • Both global and local search (augmented by metadata) made content accessible and reusable at multiple levels. 7

Business Realities • Mgt liked the strategy – so much they claimed responsibility (and ownership) over them: − Mgt selected CoP leaders as a business role − They “managed” the content: • Focus on driving business strategies • Insisted on “qualifying” content • Removed “non-strategic” content • Locked down content to specific audiences − Mapped CoPs to operational practices 1-for-1 8

The Conflict • However… the content comes from the field (i.e. the regions). • Regions wanted to manage their own content. • CoPs as managed portals discouraged contributions. 9

The Outcome • CoPs became islands of (unused) content. • Regions created their own repositories, disconnected from larger framework. • “Balkanization” of knowledge. Security CIM Mission Critical UK Italy US Asia 10

Rethinking the Architecture 11

Rethinking the Architecture • Original KM architecture defined according to strict principles: • Global not local • Single infrastructure for reduced cost, simplification • Communities of Practice as collection point of refined knowledge • The architecture is under attack, constantly fighting to keep up with competing requests: − local vs. global − closed vs. open • Inherent problems for architecture: − Conflicting requirements with no principles to resolve differences − “Missing” requirements – no matter how complete the list, new requirements or new priorities keep coming up. − Unclear any architecture can meet all of the requirements. 12

Rethinking Architecture (contd.) • Constraints: − Management insists on controlling how information is seen (i.e. the view) − Different views for different groups − Control of the content (ownership) is critical • Solution: − Separate storage/ownership from presentation 13

Adaptive Knowledge Architecture: Basic Principles • Architecture is a loose, dynamic collection of rich content • Don’t care where people store documents (as long as they meet minimum criteria) • Can add and remove content sources from the “pool” dynamically or systemically. • Focus of KM is on “enabling”: − Maintaining minimum criteria standards − Providing compliant infrastructure − Design and construction of useful functions using the total pool of content (think Project Finder, community directory, and more…) 14

KM “Laws of inclusion” Minimum Criteria: • Content is reachable (& crawlable) • Content is owned (& managed) • Content is semantically rich (i.e. metadata) • There is a common semantic vocabulary 15

What Adaptive Architecture Looks like Portal Content Global Scope Management Domain Practice Region Blogs? 16

Adaptive Architecture Requirements • Must have clear, complete, common metadata. • Management of content delegated to content “owners” (practice, region, etc.) • Focus of global KM shifts from managing to using content to enable business operations. • Architecture encourages/adapts to localized innovation 17

Adaptive Architecture Consequences • No single point for contributions (submitted where the content is managed). • There will be overlap and possible competition (region vs. practice, etc.) 18

Risks • Revolutionary: − Given freedom of control, groups may rebel and try to separate entirely. − Answer: Use management goals and measurability as “stick” (to enforce minimum criteria) to the self- management “carrot” • Reactionary: − Groups may complain about having to take responsibility for their own content, will demand more hands-on from global KM. − Answer: Provide compliant infrastructure, guidelines, and consulting to enable local KM teams. 19

Final Outcome • Architecture proposed twice: − 1st time the global practices rejected the architecture, refusing to accept alternate views. − 2nd time accepted, but then rescinded (by practices) before implementation. • Alternative: − CoPs left in hands of the practices − Project Document Library created to capture reusable documents, organized (and managed) by region. Global Search Practices Regions 20

Hindsight • Beware of success But you cannot stop it • Stick to your principles They define what you do • You cannot fix dysfunctional behavior with KM But avoiding reproducing it 21

Foresight • You cannot fix dysfunctional behavior with web 2.0 • Beware of: − Security on wikis − Permissions on blogging − Scoped or segregated search 22

Questions? Contact Info: Email: ajgent@yahoo.com Blog: http://incrediblydull.blogspot.com/ Website: http://www.radiopoets.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/AndrewGent 23

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Adaptive Knowledge Architectures

by ajgent on May 20, 2009

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Adaptive Knowledge Architectures — Presentation Transcript