Jinfo: Jinfo for knowledge management

Jinfo for knowledge management
Jinfo Blog

17th January 2017

Abstract

Will we reach a point where internal information and subscription sources are as easy to search and access as those on Google? What responsibility do content owners and end-users have to make knowledge management run smoothly?

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I recently conducted a site visit for a client of Jinfo Consulting, during which I interviewed at some length several heads of business units. When I asked what they are looking for from the information and knowledge centre of their organisation, they all commented on the difficulty of finding and using internal information:

"If it's more than two clicks away, I've found an alternative or I'm going without," one senior director commented. "Google lets me enter a few words and delivers pages of relevant stuff. I want our internal system to be that easy."

Is it discoverable?

Don't we all? And yet what most users (and business leaders) fail to recognise is that website owners put enormous effort into tweaking and tuning their content to be discoverable by Google and then usable by visitors. Yes, Google puts enormous search power into the system, but it's met with equal power on the part of content owners who leverage Google to attract users.

If content owners within organisations put that kind of effort into their documents - tagging, consistent use of vocabulary, testing and improving findability - knowledge management would be infinitely simpler and more effective.

Is it user-friendly?

As we completed the Research Focus, "Data analytics - ready your information service," I experienced a strong sense of déjà vu. So many of the cross-departmental discussions amongst information professionals, IT departments, analytics departments and technology suppliers echo the struggles that characterise knowledge management.

Both data analytics and knowledge management are domains in which technology, content and user needs must be brought into balance to support specific business goals. Both are domains in which technology can take over the discussion... and the budget. Both frequently lack a strong and clear statement of the specific goal of the project or initiative. And without that goal clearly articulated, it's easy to be distracted by the technology.

The fact remains: technology cannot make up for problems with content or corner-cutting by users. Not in knowledge management, not in data analytics, not in any part of information practice. At the same time, it's important to maximise what technology CAN do well, and manage documents and user behaviour to make the most of it.

Are you balancing technology, content, user behaviour and business goals?

The resources produced during "Data analytics - ready your information service" are particularly applicable to the discipline of knowledge management. They offer the same kind of emphasis on the balance between technology, content, user behaviour and business goals, and the same emphasis on cross-disciplinary projects to achieve success.

Extrapolate from these findings to consider improvements to knowledge management in 2017. Creating consensus on the specific, measurable goals of KM is always a good starting point.

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Current and upcoming research and events

The current Research Focus, "Developing an information-savvy workforce through strategic alignments", runs from January to March and encompasses three months of research, reports, webinars and Community sessions exploring the information skills today's knowledge workers need and how information teams can partner with other areas of a business to identify and close critical gaps.

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