knowledge audit and analysis

8/2/2019 Knowledge Audit and Analysis

1/23

4/12/12

ABHINAV PARMARAMIT KALANIYAANKUR VERMABHAVYA PABBY

BHUPINDER

Knowledge Audit and AnalysisKnowing the what, where, who, how and why


2/23

What Is Knowledge?

Knowledge is defined (Oxford English Dictionary) variously as

1. Facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through

experience or education; the theoretical or practicalunderstanding of a subject;

2. What is known in a particular field or in total; facts andinformation; or

3. Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or

situation.


3/23

Is Knowledge Manageable?

Knowledge itself is not manageable. What is manageable are the processesnecessary to encourage the sharing of knowledge and the development of

intellectual capital assets.

The implementation & management of processes requires a route map thatmay be used by all members of the organisation to understand their

roles and responsibilities, their relevance within the organisation,and to access the knowledge available to carry out those roles.

26

%

42

%

20

%

12

%Paper Employees Electronic ElectronicDocuments Brains Documents Knowledge Base

Where Does Corporate Knowledge Reside?

Salamander Organization WorkforceSurvey*


4/23

KNOWLEDGE AUDIT


5/23

What Is A Knowledge Audit?

Systematic investigation, examination, verification, measurement and

evaluation of explicit and tacit knowledge resources and assets, in orderto determine how efficiently and effectively they are used and

leveraged by the organisation

Ann Hylton

The systematic analysis of anorganization's information and knowledgeentities and their key attributes, such asownership, usage and flows, mappedagainst user and organizationalknowledge needs

David Skyrme


6/23

Materiel Acquisition andSustainment Framework

What Is The Context For A Knowledge Audit?


7/23

Why Would You Conduct A KnowledgeAudit?Helps identify knowledge needs to support organisational goals:

Provides tangible evidence of the extent knowledge is effectivelymanaged (shared, leveraged etc)

Helps show what knowledge exists, where it is, and whether thereare any duplication or gaps

Reveals pockets of knowledge e.g. untapped potential

Shows knowledge sources and any sinks or blocks Provides information in order to tailor knowledge management

initiatives

What we wanted what we made


8/23

How Do You Undertake A Knowledge Audit?

1. Identify what knowledge exists Identify explicit knowledge (e.g. snapshots corporate

information) Identify tacit knowledge pools (e.g. knowledge networks)

2. Identify where that knowledge resides Shared drives, paper records, local gurus

Determine sinks, sources, flows, blockages Map knowledge processes (way it is captured, shared, used &

saved)

3. Identify what knowledge is missing

Assess corporate objectives, skills, competencies against bestpractices Perform a gap analysis - who needs the knowledge & why

4. Report and recommend suggestions for improvement


9/23

How Long Does It Take To Conduct An Audit?

Unsurprisingly the time it takes for a Knowledge Audit depends on:

The size of the target population, their geographical location, and

participation

The resources available (and their capability) to undertake the Audit

The budget allocated and the time allotted by Senior Management

The level of detail required

The focus required (e.g. current knowledge stocks and/or knowledgeflows)

Answers to questions such as these also dictate the method/s to be used

As a guide experienced and qualified knowledge auditors with anapproved budget, a participatory target audience, and using a variety of

methods, may take approximately 3 months to audit a branch < 50people.


10/23

Case Study A Large Organisation


11/23

Case Study A Large Organisation

Large Government Department Branch About 100 people (mainlyQLD) who fulfil various administrative design roles (internal

consultancy).The challenge was to:

Complete a KM audit to identify the essential knowledge elementsto support a knowledge strategy; and

Highlight existing knowledge assets and thereby make themaccountable and relevant to organisational performanceThe methods used were:

Initial research Intranet & shared drive

Leveraged work by RMIT on a Government Senior Executive

Survey andused results from Senior Executives

Semi-structured individual interviews and observations


12/23

Case Study A Large Organisation(FINDINGS)The findings were:

Support for existing knowledge sharing & support initiatives

Need for additional cross-team sharingNeed for improved tacit knowledge capture from leavers

Need for improved targeted training

Need for improved access to experts and artefacts

Need for clarity of roles & responsibilities

Need for improved systems for collaboration, version

control, archival procedures(IT services)


13/23

Case Study B Small Department


14/23

Small specialised team in a Government Department seen as a test sitefor Knowledge Management

The challenge was to:Complete a Knowledge Audit to identify gaps that could beaddressed by a knowledge strategy and some politicallydriven initiatives (e.g. CoPs)

Undertake the audit without using Knowledge Management jargon

Case Study B Small Department

The methods used:Established Project Management procedures - scope, reporting,concepts

Undertook preliminary research & later Industry research

Developed and tested survey instruments

Administered electronic questionnaire

Conducted individual semi-structured interviews

Analysed results (including performing a gap analysis)

Mapped processes & knowledge sources


15/23

The findings were:

Demonstrated support for a culture of knowledge sharing

Some documentation of knowledge processesSome problems associated with explicit knowledge(information) management - version control, access, archival,search, publication, catalogues

Case Study B Small Department (FINDINGS)


16/23

KNOWLEDGE ANALYSISTHROUGH KNOWLEDGE

MAPPING


17/23

What Are Knowledge Maps (K-Maps)?

Sometimes undertaking a Knowledge Audit is simply not enough.You also need to VISUALISE the content in a meaningful (useful anduseable) way for both senior management and staff who are taskedwith undertaking the work.

People often need to delve deeper and understand the importanceand impact of knowledge flows on business outputs and outcomes,they need to look at the organisations processes and visualise therelationship with the final business goals.

K-Maps help people understand and analyse the current state andask the important questions before moving forward.Questions like:

Does the current structure support active knowledge sharing?

- Are there information silos within the business?

- Is there evidence of duplication of effort within the business?

- Who are the subject matter experts and how can I find them?

- What should we be doing that we currently are not doing?


18/23

Why Would You Build A Knowledge Map?

The goals of knowledge maps are to:

Set out how outcomes are achieved (how things get done!)

Provide a simple common user experience of how business is organised- how things operate at the all important task, activity, function

levels - how they provide the building blocks for deliveringoutputs and outcomes

Help people understand their roles and responsibilities- help to make business lines join up

Make workflows visible to both managers and staff;

Deliver self service functionality to clients over the Intranet; and whereappropriate

Deploy a quality system for quality standards accreditation to satisfy- audit requirements as established by Government and / or


19/23

Click to edit Master subtitle style

Materiel Acquisition and SustainmentFramework

How Do

I?

Sources Of Knowledge

Corp. Systems

BusinessOutcome

s

K-Mapping

Access Right Application When I Need To

Understand How & WhereThis Application Helps Me

To Achieve The Outcomes

Access To Associated Resources

Understand How & WhereThe Correct Resource

Helps Me To Achieve TheBranch Outputs

Understand What Is Best PracticeFor Achieving The Branch Outputs

Understand How The Branch OutputsFeed Into The Corporate Picture


20/23

In its simplest form K-Mapping is the process of analysing tasks, activities, functions,outputs and outcomes of an organisation or of a particular area of an organisation andunderstanding the dependencies that exist.

TASKTASKTASK

TASKTASKTASK

TASKTASKTASK

What are the benefits? Enables a common

language

across agencies

Assists you todecomposeoutcomes

Draws an explicit

link betweenactivities youundertake withthe outcomebeing delivered

Identifiesefficiencies,deficiencies andimplications

Functions are thelargest unit ofbusiness activity.

They representmajorresponsibilities thatare managed by anorganisation/area.

Activities arethe majortasks whichsupport andassist inachieving theworkfunction.

An outcomeis the endresult derivedfrom theoutput.

Tasks are thelowest level ofeffort theybreakdown theactivities.

A cluster of tasksmay often seemunrelated.

Tasks can exist inseveral clusters atthe same time.

TASKTASKTASK

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

FUNCTION

FUNCTION

OUTPUT OUTCOME

An output is thedeliverablefrom thefunction/s.


21/23

The following example highlights how K-Mapping (analysing tasks, activities, functionsand outputs) helps us to understand the dependencies that exist at each level whichsupport the achievement of a particular outcome (eg: maximising the re-sale value of acar).

TASKS ACTIVITIES FUNCTIONS OUTPUTS OUTCOMES

Change oil and water

Check air in tyres

Replace worn tyres

Replace headlight bulb

>

> Clean the car

Replace faultyor worn parts

>

>

>

>

Service the car

Maintenance

Presentation

>

>Speedometer Cable

A car that is:

Well maintained;

well presented; and

mechanically sound

Car re-sale valueis maximised

Change spark plugs

Clean windows

Wash wheels

Vacuum interior

Polish paintwork


22/23


23/23

QUESTIONS ??