Ralf Klamma RWTH Aachen University Professional Training Facts Stuttgart, November 13, 2007 Communities of Practice and Competence Management

Agenda Motivation Communities of Practice Social Software Compentence Development in the Web 2.0 Star-Discovery Conclusions and Outlook

Motivation

Communities of Practice

Social Software

Compentence Development in the Web 2.0

Star-Discovery

Conclusions and Outlook

Communities of practice Community of practice (CoP) as the basic concept for community information systems Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better Usability & Sociability Wenger: Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, 1998 Preece: Online Communities: Designing Usability, Supporting Sociability, 2000

Community of practice (CoP) as the basic concept for community information systems

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better

Usability & Sociability

Working Knowledge and Practice Lave and Wenger (1991) first introduced the concept of a Community of Practice in 1991 “… an intrinsic condition for the existence of knowledge" (p98) "… a set of relations among persons, activity and world, over time and in relation with other tangential and overlapping CoPs" (p98) The acquisition of knowledge is a social process and people participate at different levels The community and participation in it are inseparable from the practice

Lave and Wenger (1991) first introduced the concept of a Community of Practice in 1991

“… an intrinsic condition for the existence of knowledge" (p98)

"… a set of relations among persons, activity and world, over time and in relation with other tangential and overlapping CoPs" (p98)

The acquisition of knowledge is a social process and people participate at different levels

The community and participation in it are inseparable from the practice

Features of CoP Situated Learning Learning is a function of the activity, context and culture in which it occurs (i.e. it is situated) Informal and Co-located The gradual acquisition of knowledge and skills learned from experts in the context of their everyday activities Group Knowledge Knowledge is mediated through social interaction and collaboration in the group Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) Novices move from peripheral to full participation as they gain legitimacy in the group

Situated Learning

Learning is a function of the activity, context and culture in which it occurs (i.e. it is situated)

Informal and Co-located

The gradual acquisition of knowledge and skills learned from experts in the context of their everyday activities

Group Knowledge

Knowledge is mediated through social interaction and collaboration in the group

Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP)

Novices move from peripheral to full participation as they gain legitimacy in the group

Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) LPP is complex and composite: legitimation, peripherality and participation are each indispensable in defining the other: Legitimation concerned with power and authority relations in the community but is not necessarily formal Peripherality not a physical concept or a measure of acquired knowledge, but concerned with degree of engagement Participation In an activity where the participants have a shared understanding of what it means in their lives

LPP is complex and composite: legitimation, peripherality and participation are each indispensable in defining the other:

Legitimation

concerned with power and authority relations in the community but is not necessarily formal

Peripherality

not a physical concept or a measure of acquired knowledge, but concerned with degree of engagement

Participation

In an activity where the participants have a shared understanding of what it means in their lives

CoPs and the world of work Wenger (1998) studied a CoP in a large insurance company and identified two key processes in CoPs: participation and reification. Participation “ ... the social experience of living in the world in terms of membership in social communities and active involvement in social enterprises” (p 55 ) Reification “ ... the process of giving form to our experience by producing objects that congeal this experience into thingness” (p 58)

Wenger (1998) studied a CoP in a large insurance company and identified two key processes in CoPs: participation and reification.

Participation

“ ... the social experience of living in the world in terms of membership in social communities and active involvement in social enterprises” (p 55 )

Reification

“ ... the process of giving form to our experience by producing objects that congeal this experience into thingness” (p 58)

CoPs and Work A CoP is now defined in terms of: What it is about The activity/body of knowledge that the community has organized itself around - a joint enterprise How it functions How people are linked through their involvement in common activities - mutual engagement What it produces The set of resources the members of a CoP build up over time - their shared repertoire

A CoP is now defined in terms of:

What it is about

The activity/body of knowledge that the community has organized itself around - a joint enterprise

How it functions

How people are linked through their involvement in common activities - mutual engagement

What it produces

The set of resources the members of a CoP build up over time - their shared repertoire

Web 2.0 and Communities of Practice Web 2.0 „ The long tail“ Use of Collective Intelligene Web as Platform YouTube Del.icio.us Amazon [Wenger 1998] [O‘ Reilly 2005]

YouTube

Del.icio.us

Amazon

Social Software Second Life Data is the Next Intel Inside -> Unique data Users Add Value -> no restrictions, Inclusive Network Effects by Default -> Collective Intelligence Some Rights Reserved -> Standards, Remix The Perpetual Beta -> Smaller modular Components Cooperate, Don't Control -> Light Web Services, Loose Syndication of data and systems (RSS, Mash-ups) Software Above the Level of a Single Device -> Software mobile and ubiquitous The Long Tail -> Small Communities O‘Reilly: What is Web 2.0?, 2005 7 WOW 70 MySpace 171 Skype 120 MSN Space 11 LiveJournal 4 Wikipedia 3 Second Life Akteure (in Millionen, Stand Ende 2006) Social Software

Data is the Next Intel Inside -> Unique data

Users Add Value -> no restrictions, Inclusive

Network Effects by Default -> Collective Intelligence

Some Rights Reserved

-> Standards, Remix

The Perpetual Beta -> Smaller modular Components

Cooperate, Don't Control -> Light Web Services, Loose Syndication of data and systems (RSS, Mash-ups)

Software Above the Level of a Single Device

-> Software mobile and ubiquitous

The Long Tail -> Small Communities

Social Software and Communities: The Long Tail & Fragmentation The Web is a scale free, fragmented network Power Laws (Pareto Distribution etc.) 95 % of users are in the long tail (Communities) Collaboration and Learning is based on trust and passion Islands Tendrils IN Continent Central Core OUT Continent Tubes Barabasi: Linked – The New Science of Networks, 2002 Anderson: The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, 2006

The Web is a scale free, fragmented network

Power Laws (Pareto Distribution etc.)

95 % of users are in the long tail (Communities)

Collaboration and Learning is based on trust and passion

Competences in CoPs Social structures reinforce or hinder innovation activities and diffusion [Rizova06, MIT Sloan Management Review] 4 crucial elements: Open communication pattern and low degree of formal reporting Strong and sustained project support Presence of a technical star Speaks ”technical languages” fluently Valuable for team and company Presence of a managerial star Well connected within Knows how to play politics The conditions must interact to reinforce each other

Social structures reinforce or hinder innovation activities and diffusion [Rizova06, MIT Sloan Management Review]

4 crucial elements:

Open communication pattern and low degree of formal reporting

Strong and sustained project support

Presence of a technical star

Speaks ”technical languages” fluently

Valuable for team and company

Presence of a managerial star

Well connected within

Knows how to play politics

The conditions must interact to reinforce each other

Competences in Social Networks a) Technical Star b) Organizational Star Figure: MIT Sloan School Review

Technical Star in Blog

Organizational Star in Blog

StarDiscovery: Competence Management Tool

Web 2.0 Competence Management

Conclusions and Outlook Communities of practice as competence management resource Web 2.0 and Social Software offers new forms of participations for companies Technical and Organizational Competences can be analyzed within communities of practice StarDiscovery Tool and Web 2.0 Environment for companies Case Studies with the tool in the near future

Communities of practice as competence management resource

Web 2.0 and Social Software offers new forms of participations for companies

Technical and Organizational Competences can be analyzed within communities of practice

StarDiscovery Tool and Web 2.0 Environment for companies

Case Studies with the tool in the near future