From the introduction to; "An Open Discussion of Knowledge Management", Brian (Bo) Newman , 1991.Knowledge Management is the collection of processes that govern the creation, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge. In one form or another, knowledge management has been around for a very long time. Practitioners have included philosophers, priests, teachers, politicians, scribes, Liberians, etc. So if Knowledge Management is such an ageless and broad topic what role does it serve in today's Information Age? These processes exist whether we acknowledge them or not and they have a profound effect on the decisions we make and the actions we take, both of which are enabled by knowledge of some type. If this is the case, and we agree that many of our decisions and actions have profound and long lasting effects, it makes sense to recognize and understand the processes that effect or actions and decision and, where possible, take steps to improve the quality these processes and in turn improve the quality of those actions and decisions for which we are responsible?
Knowledge management is not a, "a technology thing" or a, "computer thing" If we accept the premise that knowledge management is concerned with the entire process of discovery and creation of knowledge, dissemination of knowledge , and the utilization of knowledge then we are strongly driven to accept that knowledge management is much more than a "technology thing" and that elements of it exist in each of our jobs.
Listed below are several important Defense Acquisition University (DAU) / Department of Defense developed knowledge sharing resources.
Acquisition Community Connection (ACC) https://acc.dau.mil is the collaborative arm of the AT&L Knowledge System, it consists of publicly accessible knowledge communities (Communities of Practice (CoPs) and Special Interest Areas (SIG)) whose goal is connection people with know-how across all DoD organizations and industry. Take a virtual tour of the ACC http://www.dau.mil/about-dau/virtual_tour/acc/index1.html
ACQuipedia https://dap.dau.mil/acquipedia serves as an online encyclopedia of common defense acquisition topics. Each topic is identified as an article; each article contains a definition, a brief narrative that provides context, and includes links to the most pertinent policy, guidance, tools, practices, and training, that further augment understanding and expand depth
Defense Acquisition Portal (DAP) https://dap.dau.mil The Defense Acquisition Portal (DAP) enhances the focus of acquisition to include "Big Acquisition," encompassing all phases of the acquisition process: requirements generation, budget development, and forces such as organization, workforce, and industry. As a portal, the DAP provides access to golden sources for mandatory and discretionary instructions, directives, guidebooks, handbooks, manuals, and other knowledge libraries within the DoD and associated Service portals.
Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG) https://dap.dau.mil/dag is an interactive, web-based site designed to provide users with discretionary guidance and support for the DoD Directive 5000.01 and the DoD Instruction 5000.02. Take a virtual tour of the Defense Acquisition Guidebook http://www.dau.mil/about-dau/virtual_tour/dag/index1.html
Generic Acquisition Process (Pre-Tailoring) This chart illustrates the sequence of events in a generic program, which could be a Defense program or, except for the unique DoD terminology, a commercial product. DoD Instruction 5000.02 milestones, other decisions, phases and major phase activities are shown in relation to the generic sequence of events.
Program Managers e-Tool Kit https://pmtoolkit.dau.mil The Program Managers e-Tool Kit puts program management tools at your fingertips in a dynamic new format. This Web-enabled tool lets you search the entire contents of this popular handbook from the menu bar, access continually updated content, and jump directly to current policy documents, aggregated resources related to the topics, and relevant communities of practice.
Ask A Professor (AAP) https://dap.dau.mil/aap is a Department of Defense resource for asking acquisition and logistics questions concerning policies and practices.
