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.
