Usability, Accessibility, Security, Intellectual Proper ty, Tracking Use Feedback Systems, Tracking Systems, Dissemination Technology, Search Technologies Data Creation/ Acquisition Modi
Trang 1decrease in file size compared to the original, but the compressionprocess isn’t fully reversible because the transformation from a TIFFimage to a JPEG one involves data loss The greater the compression,the greater the information loss Finally, someone in the organizationhas to have the authority to sign off on the modification, indicating that
it, like the original information, is correct
As illustrated in Exhibit 4.3, the key support mechanisms for thisphase of the KM life cycle include editing tools, tracking information,security, and version control Generally information is modified withthe aid of tools, such as graphic programs and text editors.Version con-trol, using software tools to track of versions of documents and otherinformation, is key to locating the intermediate products of internallyauthored information
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E X H I B I T 4 3
Edited, Reformatted, Extracted, and/or Condensed Data
Moral Rights, Author Involvement, Sign-Off Process, Reversibility, Ownership Verification
Archiving
Disposal Use
Data
Suppor t Mechanisms
Output Data
Trang 2In this phase of the Knowledge Management life cycle, the information
is employed for some useful purpose The range of potential uses forinformation is virtually unlimited, and depends on the industry and theneeds and activities of knowledge workers within the organization Forexample, the information may be incorporated into applications for sale
or licensed to third parties
The key issues in the use phase depicted in Exhibit 4.4, includeusability, accessibility, security, intellectual property, and tracking Forexample, not only must the information be easy to use in the form pro-vided, but it must be easily accessed by those with the appropriate priv-ileges In addition, use of specific information may be restricted bylicensing, moral rights, and other intellectual property controls
Usability, Accessibility, Security, Intellectual Proper ty, Tracking
Use
Feedback Systems, Tracking Systems, Dissemination Technology, Search Technologies Data
Creation/
Acquisition Modification
Archiving
Disposal Use
Data
Suppor t Mechanisms
Output Data
Trang 3Key support mechanisms in the use phase of the KM life cycleinclude feedback and tracking systems as well as a variety of disseminationand search technologies Feedback from automated tracking or directuser feedback is key to improving the processes involved in the KM lifecycle In addition, technology-enabled information dissemination systems,from expert systems and decision support tools, to visualization systems,increase the value of information for specific uses Similarly, searchengines and other technologies allow knowledge workers to navigatethrough vast collections of information efficiently and effectively.
Archiving information involves storing it in a form and format that willsurvive the elements and time and still be accessible and usable byknowledge workers in the organization Archiving can involve printing,making electronic copies in several formats on a variety of media, or evenoutsourcing to an off-site storage facility accessed over the Internet.Some of the key issues related to the archiving phase of the KM lifecycle, depicted in Exhibit 4.5, include access time, provision for securityand privacy, selection versioning and indexing of information, the loca-tion of archives, the cost of archiving, and the various technologies used,especially those used to filter or select information From the user’s per-spective, access time—the time to retrieve specific information from thearchive—usually is the most significant day-to-day issue Depending onthe technology underlying the archiving process, access time can rangefrom a few seconds to days, with the greatest delays associated withprinted information
Archives, especially central repositories, are attractive to hackersbecause of the concentration of information in one place Making mul-tiple archives protects against fire, flood, or other natural disasters butpresents a greater security risk because multiple sites must be covered
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Trang 4with the same vigilance Similarly, maintaining the privacy of tion in an archive can be challenging because of the potential inter-vention of hackers or internal knowledge workers.
informa-Besides providing ready access to information, archiving involves afiltering process that is a function of the quality and importance ofinformation, cost of archiving, and the likely need for the information
in the future For example, in archiving phone support logs for the ation of a frequently asked question (FAQ) online database for internalcustomer service representatives, relevant questions and answers may beflagged for editing and archiving for use in the future Because theinformation may go out of date with changes in the product line, theremust be some efficient, automated means of identifying all FAQs related
Information Technologies, Controlled Vocabularies, Librarian,
Controlled Environment, Maintenance Programs
PHASE
Issues Input
Data
Suppor t Mechanisms
Output Data
Transfer
Trang 5The most important support mechanisms at the archiving phase ofthe KM life cycle include a variety of information technologies, fromdatabase management systems and controlled vocabularies to expertsystems The longevity of the information in the archive is a function
of having a controlled environment, maintenance programs in place,and a librarian to oversee the archiving process Archiving lends itself to
a secure, controlled storage environment that is safe from natural andartificial threats, from fire and flooding to hackers Similarly, since fileformats, operating systems, computer hardware, and even media have afinite life span, maintenance programs that specify periodic conversion
to new operating systems and most popular file formats will ensure thatthe information is accessible in the future
The transfer or communications of information from one person orplace to another is a prerequisite for an efficient Knowledge Managementsystem As illustrated in Exhibit 4.6, the key issues in the transfer phase
of the KM life cycle include cost, security, and transfer time The costper quantity of information communicated from one point to anothermay be significant, especially if there isn’t an existing networked infra-structure In addition, the security of information is always an issue, and
it is especially critical when the information is being transferred across
a public network, such as the Internet or a wireless or telephone work Transfer time—the time it takes to move information from onepoint to another in the organization—often defines the usability of a
net-KM system In most cases, the shorter the transfer time, the more usablethe information
The primary support mechanisms in the transfer phase of the KMlife cycle include networks and, in some instances, physical transfer.Corporate intranets, the Internet, and the web are all enabling technologies
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Trang 6that support virtually instantaneous communications throughout the
KM life cycle and shorten the transfer time However, for some cations, including ultrasecure electronic digital information as well asdigital media-based communications, physically delivering media fromone point to the next is the way to transfer information
In the translation/repurposing phase of the Knowledge Managementlife cycle, information is translated from its original form into a formmore suitable for a new purpose For example, a table of numerical datamay be transformed into a three-dimensional graphic, a sound file might
be translated into a graphic or sonogram, or the data in the table might
be condensed into a concise statistical summary
Archiving
Disposal Use
Data
Suppor t Mechanisms
Output Data
Trang 7Exhibit 4.7 illustrates the key issues at this phase of the KM lifecycle, which include reversibility of the translation process, the moralrights of the author, ownership verification, and author involvement inthe translation and repurposing process Translation and repurposingmay be constrained by the intellectual property rights of the originalauthor or licensing agency For example, the original author may haveretained the moral rights to the information Often this constraint can
be avoided by involving the original author in the translation process.When a complex translation or significant repurposing of informa-tion is under way, author involvement often can ensure that the contextand accuracy of the information are maintained Because the translatedinformation may not resemble the original information, many times
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E X H I B I T 4 7
Edited, Reformatted, Extracted, Condensed, Incorporated, Personalized, and/or Localized Data
Creation/
Acquisition Modification
Archiving
Disposal Use
Translation/
Transfer Access
Data
Suppor t Mechanisms
Output Data
Trang 8verifying ownership of the information is critical, especially if the mation is to be repackaged and sold.
infor-The most significant support mechanisms in the posing phase of the KM life cycle include outsourced expertise and avariety of information technologies External vendors usually are happy
translation/repur-to provide translation services translation/repur-to companies that don’t have the time orthe resources to perform the translation in-house For some applications,software programs, specialized translation hardware, and other techno-logic solutions are available to support automatic translation
Access to information also can be limited by the sheer volume ofinformation available For example, in a KM system with hundreds ofthousands of FAQs available to customer support reps, accessing the par-ticular FAQ and response for the problem at hand can present a signifi-cant challenge A parallel situation exits on the web, where the challenge
is culling the desired information from the vast stores of informationavailable All too often, searching for a term or key word brings up a list
of tens of thousands of possible web sites that may have little or no evance to the desired information
rel-In Exhibit 4.8, the most significant issues related to the access phase
of the KM life cycle are and information security, and cost, selecting themost appropriate technologies, and knowledge worker authentication.The cost of accessing information can vary considerably, depending on
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Trang 9corporate policy, the interaction required from the librarian or othersupport staff, and the cost of the underlying technology infrastructure.
In addition to search engines, biometric user authentication systems,graphical user interfaces, and other information technologies, key sup-port mechanisms in the access phase of the KM life cycle are corporatepolicy and the librarian function Access to corporate information isfundamentally defined by corporate policy, which specifies, for example,who needs access to specific information In addition, the librarian func-tion, performed by a knowledge worker, manager, or computer program,
is necessary to control expectations, prevent misuse of the underlyingtechnology, and ensure that corporate policy is enforced
Archiving
Disposal Use
Translation/
Repurposing
Transfer Access
Data
Suppor t Mechanisms
Output Data
Trang 10The ultimate destiny of information, whether from the scourges oftime, short-term benign neglect, or intentional disposal, is destruction.Although all information collected and generated in the course of con-ducting business may be valuable to someone at some point in thefuture, from a practical perspective, information with limited futurevalue is discarded to save space and reduce overhead
The method of identifying what information to save and what todestroy should follow corporate policy as well as governmental rulesregarding business records As illustrated in Exhibit 4.9, the primaryissues surround the destruction of information in the disposal phase ofthe Knowledge Management life cycle are cost, the most appropriate
Archiving
Disposal Use
Translation/
Repurposing
Transfer Access
Record of Discarded Data Data
Cost, Assessing Information Value, Technologies
Disposal
Established Processes, Technologies
PHASE
Issues Input
Data
Suppor t Mechanisms
Output Data
Trang 11level of security, assessing the value of information, and a variety ofenabling technologies.
Throwing away information isn’t free, especially if the informationmust be processed extensively before disposal For example, the level ofsecurity needed at this stage of the KM life cycle can be extremely high,depending on the nature of the information to be discarded Since thismay be the first and only time that information generated within theorganization is handled by the public disposal system, the potential for cor-porate espionage or even accidental discovery exists For example, simplythrowing old servers and PCs in a Dumpster may allow the competition
to recover the hardware and explore information on the hard drives.Someone, such as the librarian, must have the authority to assess the value
of maintaining information in the corporation versus disposing of it
The discussion of the Knowledge Management life cycle has assumedthat an infrastructure of sorts provides the support necessary for eachphase of the life cycle This infrastructure consists of tracking, standards,and methods of insuring security and privacy of information In mostorganizations, this infrastructure brings with it considerable overheadfor both the company and the knowledge workers For example, gen-erating and maintaining information is difficult enough, but it also must
be tracked, just as a book is tracked by a librarian in a public library.Besides merely tracking information at every phase of the KM lifecycle, standards for processing and handling information must be followed
to guarantee security, accuracy, privacy, and appropriate access Just aslibraries don’t condone readers replacing books on the shelves for fear thatthe books might be shelved incorrectly and therefore be temporarily
“lost” to other patrons, knowledge workers must abide by rules established
to maximize the usefulness of information throughout the KM life cycle
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Trang 12Chapter 5 continues the discussion of the phases of the KM life cycle,from the perspective of the vast array of technologies that can be applied
to enable the infrastructure and the individual phases of the life cycle
The Knowledge Management life cycle is perhaps best described as aweb of interrelated phases Each phase is associated with issues that mustaddressed by supporting mechanisms and can be enabled by informationtechnology Most of these issues revolve around economics, accessibility,intellectual property, the underlying infrastructure, and the commitmentand active role of management in setting policy In addition, the issuesregarding the information itself need supporting mechanisms, such asestablishing and enforcing standards, utilizing the contribution of knowl-edge workers, and managing the overall process
Do not be desirous of having things done quickly.
Do not look at small advantages Desiring to have
things done quickly prevents their being done
thor-oughly Looking at small advantages prevents great
affairs from being accomplished.
—Confucius
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