CHIPS Articles: Stop Reinventing the Wheel

What is Knowledge? What is KM?

There are many definitions of knowledge; one idea holds that knowledge is the understanding of a discipline, topic or task. Also, knowledge can be thought of as the specific information relevant to a user’s task or decision.

Knowledge can be defined as being either explicit or tacit. Explicit knowledge is recorded in some media. Tacit knowledge is not recorded; it resides in our minds. In the case of tacit knowledge, people are not always aware of the knowledge they possess or how it can be valuable to others.

Knowledge management means different things to different people and organizations. Examples of KM include: maintaining knowledge repositories, battle rhythm management, knowledge capture interviews with subject matter experts (SMEs), threaded discussions, expertise locators or "yellow books," lessons learned and collaboration methods. Some refer to KM as a "hot wash" or "turnover." Any way you slice and dice it — building and refining KM is an effective way to preserve and reuse the knowledge and experience of our people.

The application of KM practices can capture both tacit and explicit knowledge and make it available to those who need it. To be effective, KM efforts must be relevant and meaningful to the stakeholders of a command or organization. Merely standing up a portal is not practicing KM and will not produce results that can be sustained over time.

A Department of the Navy definition of knowledge management is: "KM systematically brings together people and processes, enabled by technology, to affect the exchange of operationally relevant information and expertise to increase organizational performance."

Putting KM to Use

Chances are your command is already taking advantage of some aspects of KM even though it might not be thought of as KM. On the other hand, many DON and DoD organizations have robust KM programs. A number of these commands have shared their KM experience at the DON Information Technology Conferences hosted by the DON Chief Information Officer in KM sessions over the last several years. Commands sharing lessons learned include: Commander, Pacific Fleet, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Tactical Training Group Pacific, NASA and Naval Special Warfare Command. These commands have been practicing KM for several years with notable results.

Top Cover

The DON CIO released the DON Knowledge Management Strategy on Oct. 20, 2005. Since that time, KM efforts continued to mature within the department.

On July 16, 2012, the Chief of Naval Operations issued OPNAV Instruction 3120.32D, Standard Organization and Regulations of the U.S. Navy, which contains the new Standard Organization and Regulations Manual (SORM). The manual specifies the establishment of a knowledge management officer in Navy commands. KM is not a program of record in the DON, so the SORM update is significant because it is the first directive implementing knowledge management in the Navy. The SORM states:

• 3.4.22 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OFFICER (KMO)
• a. BASIC FUNCTION. The KMO is designated in writing by the commanding officer as the focal point of the integration of people and processes, enabled by technology, to facilitate the exchange of operationally relevant information and expertise to increase organizational performance.
• b. DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND AUTHORITY. The KMO develops and executes a KM strategy for the unit, leveraging technology, to improve communications, collaboration and information exchange within the command and outside organizations.
• c. ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. The KMO reports directly to the commanding officer, regarding the effective management of the unit knowledge management program. The KMO coordinates with the FDO (foreign disclosure officer), security manager, IAM (information assurance officer) OPSEC (operations security) officer and the PAO (public affairs officer), regarding information exchanges with internal and external audiences, as well to ensure both proper use of official information and coordination of Internet-based capabilities.
• d. REFERENCE. DON Knowledge Management Strategy (DON CIO MEMO 20OCT2005).

DON CIO Command KM Course

The Department of the Navy’s KM champion is the DON Chief Information Officer (CIO). The DON CIO Director of Information and Knowledge Management, Jim Knox, leads a two-day Command KM Course several times a year in the Norfolk, Va., and San Diego, Calif., fleet concentration areas. He and his team are also available to provide special assistance to commands that are interested in standing up or improving their KM programs.

Classes are designed to be interactive with plenty of group discussion and participation. Participants receive tips and techniques for building and sustaining successful KM programs within their commands as well as instructions and templates for several no-cost KM processes that can be implemented immediately.

Mr. Knox and two of his colleagues led a Command KM Course in Norfolk in August for more than 90 Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force military and civilian personnel. This article presents just a few of the concepts that you will learn by taking the DON CIO’s Command KM Course.

Tapping into Available Knowledge

The complexities of work and decision making, as well as the amount of available information, have increased substantially. “Doing more with less” is a driving force in many organizations. Also, in many naval commands, team members are not collocated; reach-back from the field and between work groups is vital to performance. Most likely, a lot of your command’s information remains untapped. The result is that your people often start from scratch and rebuild knowledge that already exists. Implementing KM practices can go a long way to remedying these situations.

Using the DON CIO KM Framework (Figure 1), start your efforts by aligning KM strategies to your command’s mission priorities and articulate how KM can solve a problem or remove barriers to success. Start with a small project that matters and build on its success.

Next move to the people part of the process by building a culture of sharing. Leadership commitment is critical, but so is building strong relationships throughout the command and mechanisms for communicating the value of KM. A good tip here is to get the early adopters, stakeholders and “influencers” in your organization on board with your efforts. Be sure to sell the benefits of using KM but don’t overstate what it can do. Another good tip is to use simple, understandable terms to communicate. Use Navy language, or the language of your organization. For example, Tactical Training Group Pacific suggests that Navy strike group knowledge managers might use:

• Warfighting command and control (C2) instead of knowledge management;
• Warfare commanders and “bubbas” instead of communities of practice;
• Warfighting experience instead of tacit knowledge;
• SOPs, Naval Air Training Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS), and the like, instead of explicit knowledge; and
• Commander’s intent instead of strategic vision.

Many have said, “It’s all about the processes.” That’s certainly true when it comes to implementing KM. There are processes that focus on KM procedures such as maintaining a list of command SMEs to facilitate connecting to people to share tacit knowledge. KM is also important to other command processes by ensuring knowledge flows to the right processes at the right time.

Implementing KM projects without proper attention to relevant content will fail or at best be ignored. That seems obvious, but numerous KM projects floundered because content was not sufficiently planned. In each case, it was assumed that users would automatically start providing content — they didn’t. Even with content properly planned from the outset, continued management is critical; content must be kept current, relevant and accurate. The first time it is not — is the last time a user will look for it. This isn’t just true of explicit content in a repository. For instance, it also applies to yellow pages used to link people to a SME for tacit knowledge sharing.

Learning is about acquiring the knowledge and information needed to make a decision or complete a task. Just as there are many aspects to KM, there are many ways to learn and many ways to convey learning. This concept also applies to those working on KM projects. Project leaders should continuously learn about their command’s KM environment by establishing feedback loops and listening to what people are saying about their efforts.

Notice that technology is the final spoke in the framework. Though technology allows us to do remarkable things, for most KM projects, it should be an enabler rather than a focus. Also, when considering technology, first consider using what is readily at hand — and already paid for — even if it doesn’t have every “bell and whistle.”

Simply put, KM’s goal is to capture and quickly and easily provide (through push and/or pull) actionable information to users (people, processes and systems) when they need it to make a decision or complete an action. KM can create time because personnel aren’t spending valuable time searching for and managing information — instead they can be empowered by knowledge, inspired to excel, exceeding expectations and innovating ways to do the business of your organization better.

KM Resources:

DON CIO Command KM Course – conducted several times a year in San Diego and Norfolk. For more information, contact Jim Knox, DON CIO director of information and knowledge management, at jim.knox@navy.mil. Special assists may be available upon request. Mr. Knox also conducts KM sessions at the semiannual DON IT Conferences held in San Diego and Norfolk.

Afloat Knowledge Management Course (AKMC) – conducted by Tactical Training Group Pacific in San Diego each fall and in Norfolk each spring. The objective of AKMC is to provide an understanding of KM fundamental theory and to give context to KM in the military environment. The course provides an operational KM focus on people, processes, organizations, and technology’s supporting role within the constraints of afloat operations. For more information, contact TTGP at ttgp_ncwsyndicate@navy.mil.

APQC – a research organization that specializes in metrics, process improvement, knowledge management, measurement, best practices and benchmarking. The DON CIO has funded membership for DON personnel. Register by using your navy. mil or usmc.mil email address at www.apqc.org.

DON KM Quarterdeck – contains the DON CIO KM course material. Users are able to share KM success stories by going to https://www.intelink.gov/sites/donkmquarterdeck. Permission is required for access; register by going to: https://www. intelink.gov/passport/register.flow?execution=e1s1. Access via the Navy Marine Corps Intranet is required unless you have Department of National Intelligence-Unclassified (DNI-U) Remote Access: http://ra.intelink.gov.

KM PROGRAM CHECKLIST

• Before starting a KM effort, identify the “So What” or “Why” your organization needs to implement KM. A good place to look is your command’s priorities (strategic plan, vision, commander’s intent, fiscal year goals, etc.) then align your KM efforts to those priorities.
• Identify what the command is attempting to accomplish and the barriers to success.
• Listen for challenges – attend meetings and listen for the pressure points. Brainstorm how the KM team can help solve those challenges.
• Actively listen, observe and ask questions of whomever you can.
• Words matter – define KM in a meaningful way for your command:
-- Avoid using KM terms when normal or operational terms will do. -- Describe KM in terms that will resonate with the workforce.
• The KM plan should have specific outcomes that:
-- Improve organizational performance; and -- Are accepted/embraced by your organization’s leadership.
• Avoid overstating what KM can do.
• Engage the influencers – the boss and leaders below the boss.
-- Who are people of influence in your organization? -- How do you bring them along in your project?
• Might start with a “quick-win” – if it is about something that matters!
• Demonstrate the “What’s in it for me” (WIIFM) of KM for all levels of the command.
• Monitor, assess and improve KM efforts regularly:
-- Take a look at what you’re doing. What’s worked? What hasn’t worked?

Jim Knox is the DON CIO director of information and knowledge management.

Sharon Anderson, CHIPS senior editor, contributed to this article.