Knowledge Management

R D Kulkarni, Beena C K & Bindu Narayan

Tata Elxsi Ltd.

Abstract:

This paper describes Knowledge Management as the conversion and representation of

knowledge available with each individual in a tangible format. In this paper, strategic
methods that include information collection, indexing, retrieval and usage of knowledge
at different levels in an organization will be discussed. The paper also talks about an
effective Knowledge Management Repository (KMR), a collection of information
regarding process and technology related good and corrupt practices, development life-
cycle, tips related to tools, customers etc that would help build a strong knowledge base
to be used to drive future business. Using the different knowledge tapping mechanisms
like KMR, BOK (Book of Knowledge), K’ Caps (Knowledge Capsules) that includes PA
Caps and T Caps mentioned in the paper, the accumulated knowledge can be processed
and gains of KM can be realized

Knowledge is the key factor for the success of any organization. In this paper we
will be describing strategic methods to deploy knowledge management across the
organization. This includes information collection, indexing, retrieval and usage of
this knowledge at different levels in the organization. It also provides insight on
different applications that need to be integrated to form an effective knowledge
repository in an organization. This repository will help build a strong knowledge
base that can used to drive future business.

Introduction

In short, Knowledge Management (KM) means to “know what we know”. KM is

the conversion and representation of knowledge available with each individual in a
tangible format. Knowledge unlike information is created and available with
human beings rather than systems. The major challenge in KM is to collate this
knowledge and make it available across the length and breadth of the organization.
Knowledge available should be shared amongst each individual.

Knowledge Management basically deals with ways and means of capturing and
making available knowledge of the experts to others, in electronic form.
Knowledge that was accumulated and developed over a period of years can now
be made available in just a few mouse clicks. Knowledge Management systems
help you locate, contact, and communicate with experts (knowledgeable people)
on various subjects, within your organization, or maybe even outside. Even if

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experts no longer exist in the organization, new entrants should be able to make
use of the knowledge gained over years through KM. This paper basically talks
about certain knowledge management concepts and the implementation of the
same in our organization.

Knowledge Assets:

Knowledge assets are the knowledge regarding markets, products, technologies

and so on, that an organization owns or need to own which inturn influence the
growth of an organization. At the strategic level the organization needs to be able
to analyze and plan its business in terms of the knowledge it currently has and the
knowledge it needs for future business processes. At the tactical level the
organization is concerned with identifying and formalizing existing knowledge,
acquiring new knowledge for future use, archiving it in organizational memories
and creating systems that enable effective and efficient application of the
knowledge within the organization. At the operational level knowledge is used in
everyday practice by professional personnel who need access to the right
knowledge, at the right time, in the right location.
What this all means is that KM is all about the following:

- Knowledge acquisition
- Knowledge collation
- Knowledge Classification
- Knowledge usage

Knowledge acquisition: (what?)

The first step towards building knowledge base is identifying what knowledge
assets an organization possesses and should possess. As our processes are aligned
to meet the business goals, similarly the knowledge acquisition should be in
alignment with the business goals.

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 Organization objectives

Business Goals

. . . .
Function 1 Function 2 Knowledge
KRA KRA Function
KRA

Function Objectives,
Action Plans, &
Measurements

♦ Knowledge Acquisition (What?)

♦ Knowledge Collation (How?)
♦ Knowledge Classification (Where?)
♦ Knowledge Usage (When?)

Let’s take an example where the set business goal is to increase the productivity.
With respect to the above goal the knowledge required can be available internally
within the organization & also it is available external to the organization.
Internal Knowledge : This can be some methods/practices/tools used by a
certain group of people within the organization where the productivity is
above average. We need to know (acquire) about these

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 methods/practices/tools to increase the productivity among the other
groups.

External Knowledge : There will be certain proven

methods/practices/tools which have improved productivity elsewhere, so
the organization needs to know (acquire this knowledge.

In short , the organization should have a very clear understanding of what

knowledge it needs, to achieve the set goals.

Knowledge Collation ( How ? )

Once the organization decides on what knowledge is required the next step
involves identifying where the knowledge assets are, in what form is it available
and how to collect it. The conventional methods of collecting knowledge are like
books, training, hands-on practices, seminars and so on. But what these
conventional methods lack is the knowledge that is gained through experience and
practice. This knowledge is basically embedded in the heads of the practitioners.
The organizations should have mechanisms to capture and access such experience-
based knowledge. Those organizations, which are able to leverage on this
experience knowledge in combination with the conventional methods, have a
greater chance of success.

Knowledge Classification:( Where??)

With the advent of the Internet and other sources of information/knowledge there
is a knowledge explosion created. Searching for an information among these huge
knowledge repositories will be like searching for a pin in the haystack. So the next
logical step would be to sensibly classify the collated knowledge as per the needs
of the organization. The classification should be based on the principle of quick,
relevant and easy accessibility of the knowledge.

Classification of the knowledge is an activity, which needs to be done with some

thought and rationale. This is because often we see that knowledge can be linked
to more than one category. And the categorization of such knowledge should be
made with the users perspective. Let’s take an example where a customer is very
particular about receiving status reports. This knowledge can be linked to two
categories, one with respect to the customer and the other with respect to project
management. When we capture this knowledge with respect to the customer we
would stress on the regularity of the status reports. But in the perspective of the
project management it should mention about the customer being particular about
weekly status report and at the same time stress on what he expects in the status
report.

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Knowledge Usage:

“A thing which is not used cannot improve”. Same holds true with knowledge
also.

The classified knowledge thus available and put into practice with some thought
generates more information, more knowledge and so on. It is a continuous cycle as
represented in fig and if it is not so then the knowledge becomes either obsolete or
it means it is not relevant/useful.

Knowledge / Info.

Practice Thinking

Practical Implementation of the above concepts

In Tata Elxsi knowledge management is done based on the above mentioned

concepts. This part of the paper will look at the practical implementation of some
of these concepts. Here we will not talk about the conventional methods

Alignment with business goals

As Tata Elxsi follows the TBEM (Tata Business Excellence Model) which is
similar to Malcolm Baldrige model, each function has to identify its KRA’s (Key
result areas) and accordingly make its action plans which are in alignment with
business goals. So the knowledge management function has its action plans which
are in tune with the organization objectives. These action plans are a mix of the
conventional methods and developing/devising mechanisms to tap the existing
embedded knowledge. Thus the knowledge needs are identified.

Knowledge Tapping mechanisms :

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KMR (Knowledge Management Repository):

KMR is a collection of information regarding

- process and technology related good practices

- process and technology related corrupt practices
- Tips related to tools, technology and customer
- Development life cycle related
- Management related

The inputs for this repository comes from many varied sources like the
- Business development team
- Development community
- Quality team
- Reports generated during the various life cycle stages
- Customer feedback
- And other Internet based sources etc.

The strength of this repository lies in its ability to provide classified information.
Some of the categories in KMR are Tech Domain specific, customer specific,
Stage wise best practices, Process specific etc. KRM is a lotus notes based
application developed in-house , accessible to all through the Intranet maintained
by the Knowledge Management Team.

BOK (Book of Knowledge)

BOK is a knowledge compendium document generated at the end of every project.

This document is structured in a way as to capture each and every aspect of the
development activity with the aim to make it a source of the organizational
Knowledge. Some of the points that are covered in the BOK are like lessons
learnt, new techniques/features used, risks, defect prevention methods, problems
faced, tools tips etc. For example, a specific characteristic of a programming
language can be an important source of knowledge to the rest of the organization
so that other teams need not go through the learning phase again.
The BOK Repository is maintained and the same is accessible to all through the
Intranet. Ongoing projects refer to these BOK’s for valuable tips at every stage.

K’Caps (Knowledge Capsules)

None of the conventional knowledge acquiring methods are able to replace the
knowledge gained through experience. This is where we thought of Knowledge

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Capsules. The idea is to convert the knowledge gained through years of experience
into capsules/modules, which will be administered, on the newer team members to
help them gain from the previous experience. This helps in reducing the learning
curve.
Presently we have developed two such Knowledge Capsules one is process
related and the other is technology related.

1. PA Caps ( Process Assistant Capsules ) :

Because of the high manpower turn over and also the regular recruitment of
fresher’s it becomes very important for an organization to familiarize these new
team members with the quality system and procedures within a shorter time span
to make them productive. The usual method to do this is to put the new members
through a QMS briefing program. These programs only help in introducing them
to the Quality systems and procedures and do prove effective when it comes to
practice. This is where PA Caps come into the picture.
PA Cap is a 3 day module where in the participants go through the entire
development life cycle. A set of requirements is given to the participants for which
they are expected to design , code and test using the organizations processes ,
templates and checklists. The co-ordinators of these programs will guide the
participants at every stage to familiarize them with Process and all the sections of
the templates, the relevance of each section and their importance in the template.
At every stage the participants are provided with standard reference
material thus enabling them to know the Grey areas. We could see a tremendous
amount of decrease in the learning curve as compared to those who did not
undergo PA Caps

2. T Caps (Technology Capsule)

Every technical domain has got some correct and distinct ways of
implementing certain things. This knowledge is only gained the hard way, i.e.
through experience. The objective of T caps is to simulate these situations thereby
helping to gain this distinct knowledge in a shorter duration
The T Caps actually consists of assignment related to different tech
domains developed by experts. The relevant modules can be administered
individually, mentored by the respective capsule developer. These assignments
are generally of 2 to 3 weeks duration. The capsule is administered with the
necessary inputs and the participant comes up with a solution, which will normally
be the incorrect implementation. Then the mentor gives him different levels of
clues in a phased manner and leads him to the right solution. Thus the participant

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is exposed to the problem and the right solution for it in a very short span of time.
This way we are able to disseminate the knowledge gained through experience.

Conclusion

Using the different knowledge tapping mechanisms mentioned above we can

process the knowledge accumulated and developed by individuals over a period of
time. Only when tools are synchronized with the ingrained knowledge of the
people within the organization can the real benefits of KM be realized. Gains in
the form of decrease in learning curves, increase in productivity and enhancing
skills of new entrants can be realized through KM.