Lately,
I've spent a fair amount of time waxing nostalgic about "past" knowledge management techniques
and methods, mentioning what seems to be a resurgence of interest in them.
Recent work with a client has caused me to bring an additional old KM standard to
the forefront. So here's another "blast from the past" (don't worry, I
won't ever go so far back as to break out the polyester suits and platform
shoes). What is this technique dusted off from the KM toolkit? It's knowledge
mapping.
I presume
that, if you're reading this, you're already familiar with the technique.
However, if you're not, a quick Internet search will provide you with lots of
background on this simple but powerful tool. Recently, a team from APQC
assisted a group from the supply chain function of a large manufacturer, one
that has both Six Sigma and Lean philosophies in place. In spite of that, we
were asked to help the organization--using knowledge mapping--since experience indicated
that there was going to be a show-stopping problem in the very near future.
As with
most large, complex organizations, this was not a simple problem, and certainly
not one with a simple fix. Previous attempts to expose the issues to
management--using both Six Sigma and Lean techniques--had proved less than
effective at solving the root causes of the problem. However, unlike the other
powerful techniques that had been tried, knowledge mapping was able to identify
the enabling capability of knowledge captured and, subsequently, knowledge
shared.
Through
APQC's facilitation of a small group of known subject matter experts, not only
were the sources of knowledge explicitly recorded for future use, but real-time
knowledge sharing among the subject matter experts also occurred (a side
benefit always experienced in these sessions). The knowledge necessary to make
informed decisions, some obtained only through experience, was documented in
such a simple and straightforward way that the knowledge map could even be used
as part of new-employee orientation or onboarding activities.
So why
does knowledge mapping work where other, more glamorous methods do not? I think
there are some key characteristics of knowledge mapping that make it effective:
- Knowledge mapping emphasizes
the flow of knowledge as the primary output. This means that the model of
knowledge input, transformation, output, and outcome is preserved for any
process step, and it can be reused indefinitely as long as new knowledge
is always incorporated into the map.
- When done properly, knowledge
mapping is conducted as a facilitated session with all the key knowledge
owners present. Through the use of an external (at least external to the
SME group) facilitator, each participant can stay focused on his or her
knowledge assets and needs, rather than the knowledge mapping process
itself. In turn, the facilitator can ensure that the SMEs have sufficient
opportunities to think about their assets and needs through skilled
questioning.
- The target audience for knowledge mapping is usually made up of individuals who are less
experienced and, therefore, most in need of understanding the sources and
uses of knowledge. Unlike experts, such individuals typically do not have
robust social networks to draw upon. By making the sources and uses of
knowledge explicit to the new or non-SME employees who are performing the
function, the knowledge map can often help users expand their social
networks more quickly than would be possible if the sources of knowledge were
known only tacitly.
- Knowledge mapping is easy to
apply, even by "non-experts." Contrast that with Six Sigma, where
levels of expertise are used to identify users' capabilities in the
technique and a limited number of projects are available to gain that
expertise. Similar challenges occur with Lean techniques, where concepts
such as kaizen or takt may literally be foreign languages to many.
The best
part about knowledge mapping? It isn't exclusive to Six Sigma, Lean, or any
other process-based technique. In fact, this is a place where all these
methodologies can "just get along."
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