Case Studies

APQC knowledge management case studies

APQC has been investigating knowledge management for more than 15 years. During that time, our researchers have written countless detailed case studies featuring best-in-class organizations and their leading practices in KM. Below are listed more than 70 of APQC's finest case studies on KM topics. 

Is your organization a member of APQC? If so, you can access almost all of these case studies for free by registering for the APQC Knowledge Base. Click here to check whether your organization is a member. For more information about APQC membership, click here or contact us.

Topics

Overcoming Knowledge Loss            Communities of Practice
Virtual Collaboration                            Expertise Location
Best Practices Transfer                         KM and Web 2.0 Technologies
KM and Innovation                        KM and Process Improvement Methodologies
KM and the Value Chain                       KM and Organizational Learning
Content Management Systems          Implementing KM
Measuring KM                                           Alphabetical Listing by Organization


KM and Web. 2.0 Technologies

The Role of Evolving Technologies best practices report

NEW!   The following case studies are from APQC's 2008 best practices report The Role of Evolving Technologies: Accelerating Collaboration and Knowledge Transfer.


Accenture
Hewlett-Packard
Royal Dutch Shell
Siemens AG
U.S. Department of State


Overcoming Knowledge Loss


Retaining Today's Knowledge for Tomorrow's Work Force best practices report

NEW!   The following case studies are from APQC's 2008 best practices report Retaining Today's Knowledge for Tomorrow's Work Force.

 The Aerospace Corporation
Fluor Corporation
Michelin North America
NASA
Rolls-Royce


Thumbnail image for RVKPSDSWF.jpg

The following case studies are from APQC's 2002 best practices report Retaining Valuable Knowledge: Proactive Strategies to Deal with a Shifting Work Force. 

BestBuy
Corning Incorporated
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Siemens AG
 The World Bank


Communities of Practice

Networks: Compete on Knowledge with CoPs

APQC's 2007 publication on this topic, Networks: Compete on Knowledge with CoPs by Carla O'Dell, contains case examples from Air Products and Chemicals, BHP Billiton, Buckman Laboratories, Chevron, Fluor, and Halliburton.





Using Communities of Practice to Drive Organizational Improvement and Innovation

The following case studies are from APQC's 2005 best practices report Using Communities of Practice to Drive Organizational Performance and Innovation.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc.
Arup Group Limited
Ernst & Young
Federal Highway Administration
Fluor Corporation


Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice

The following case studies are from APQC's 2001 best practices report Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice.

Capgemini
DaimlerChrysler AG
Ford Motor Company
Schlumberger
The World Bank
Xerox


Virtual Collaboration

Virtual Collaboration

The following case studies are from APQC's 2004 best practices report Virtual Collaboration: Enabling Project Teams and Communities.

Boehringer Ingelheim
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Cisco Systems Inc.
MWH Global
The St. Paul Companies


Expertise Location

Expertise Locator Systems: Finding the Answers

The following case studies are from APQC's 2004 best practices report Expertise Locator Systems: Finding the Answers.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc.
Honeywell
Intel Corporation
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Schlumberger
 


Best Practices Transfer

Facilitated Transfer of Best Practice

The following case studies are from APQC's 2004 best practices report Facilitated Transfer of Best Practices. 

Air Products and Chemicals Inc.
BHP Billiton
Cemex, S.A. de C.V.
Ford Motor Company
ServiceMaster
Tata Iron and Steel Co.


KM and Process Improvement Methodologies

Replicating the Gains of Six Sigma and Lean

The following case studies are from APQC's 2004 best practices report Replicating the Gains of Six Sigma and Lean. 

DuPont
Ford Motor Company
Intuit Inc.
John Manville
Raytheon Company


KM and the Value Chain

Leveraging Knowledge Across the Value Chain

The following case studies are from APQC's 2006 best practices report Leveraging Knowledge Across the Value Chain.

Buckman Laboratories
Caterpillar
Raytheon Company
Tata Iron and Steel Co.
U.S. Air Force Materiel Command

 

KM and Organizational Learning

Integrating Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning

The following case studies are from APQC's 2005 best practices report Integrating Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning.

Accenture
Aerotek 
U.S. Department of Defense--Defense Acquisition
IBM
Turner Construction Company

 

 KM and Innovation

Using Knowledge Management to Drive Innovation

The following case studies are from APQC's 2003 best practices report Using Knowledge Management to Drive Innovation.

3M
The Boeing Company, Rocketdyne Division
NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The World Bank
 


Measuring KM

Measuring the Impact of Knowledge Management

The following case studies are from APQC's 2003 best practices report Measuring the Impact of Knowledge Management.

 Caterpillar
Ford Motor Company
Halliburton
IBM
Schlumberger


Content Management Systems

Managing Content and Knowledge

The following case studies are from APQC's 2001 best practices report Managing Content and Knowledge.

Company A (blinded)
General Electric
MITRE
Schlumberger
Washington State Library

 


Implementing KM

Successfully Implementing Knowledge Management

The following case studies are from APQC's 2000 best practices report Successfully Implementing Knowledge Management. 

Chevron Corporation
Hewlett-Packard Consulting
Siemens AG
The World Bank
Xerox


Alphabetical Listing by Organization

3M - KM and Innovation
Accenture - KM and Organizational Learning
Accenture - KM and Web 2.0 Technologies
The Aerospace Corporation - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
Aerotek - KM and Organizational Learning
Air Products and Chemicals Inc. - Communities of Practice
Air Products and Chemicals Inc. - Best Practices Transfer
Air Products and Chemicals Inc. - Expertise Location
Arup Group Limited - Communities of Practice
BestBuy - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
BHP Billiton - Best Practices Transfer
Boehringer Ingelheim - Virtual Collaboration
The Boeing Company, Rocketdyne Division - KM and Innovation
Bristol-Myers Squibb - Virtual Collaboration
Buckman Laboratories - KM and the Value Chain
Capgemini - Communities of Practice
Caterpillar - KM and the Value Chain
Caterpillar - Measuring KM
Cemex, S.A. de C.V. - Best Practices Transfer
Chevron Corporation - Implementing KM
Cisco Systems Inc. - Virtual Collaboration
Company A (blinded) - Content Management Systems
Corning Incorporated - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
DaimlerChrysler AG - Communities of Practice
DuPont - KM and Process Improvement Methodologies
Ernst & Young - Communities of Practice
Federal Highway Administration - Communities of Practice
Fluor Corporation - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
Fluor Corporation - Communities of Practice
Ford Motor Company - Communities of Practice
Ford Motor Company - KM and Process Improvement Methodologies
Ford Motor Company - Best Practices Transfer
Ford Motor Company - Measuring KM
General Electric - Content Management Systems
Halliburton - Measuring KM
Hewlett-Packard Consulting - Implementing KM
Hewlett-Packard - KM and Web 2.0 Technologies
Honeywell - Expertise Location
IBM - KM and Organizational Learning
IBM - Measuring KM
Intel Corporation - Expertise Location
Intuit Inc. - KM and Process Improvement Methodologies
John Manville - KM and Process Improvement Methodologies
Michelin North America - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. - KM and Innovation
MITRE - Content Management Systems
MWH Global - Virtual Collaboration
NASA - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory - KM and Innovation
Northrop Grumman Corporation - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
Northrop Grumman Corporation - Expertise Location
Raytheon Company - KM and the Value Chain
Raytheon Company - KM and Process Improvement Methodologies
Rolls-Royce - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
Royal Dutch Shell - KM and Web 2.0 Technologies
Schlumberger - Communities of Practice
Schlumberger - Expertise Location
Schlumberger - Measuring KM
Schlumberger - Content Management Systems
ServiceMaster - Best Practices Transfer
Siemens AG - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
Siemens AG - Implementing KM
Siemens AG - KM and Web 2.0 Technologies
The St. Paul Companies - Virtual Collaboration
Tata Iron and Steel Co. - KM and the Value Chain
Tata Iron and Steel Co. - Best Practices Transfer
Turner Construction Company - KM and Organizational Learning
U.S. Air Force Materiel Command - KM and the Value Chain
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Acquisition - KM and Organizational Learning
U.S. Department of State - KM and Web 2.0 Technologies
Washington State Library - Content Management Systems
The World Bank - Overcoming Knowledge Loss
The World Bank - Communities of Practice
The World Bank - KM and Innovation
The World Bank- Implementing KM
Xerox - Communities of Practice
Xerox- Implementing KM