| This module focuses on the basics of Knowledge | | | | dynamics. The following list will be more illustrative in |
| Mapping, its importance, principles, and methodologies. | | | | this regard: |
| Key Questions | | | | - Available knowledge resources |
| - What is K-map? | | | | - Knowledge clusters and communities |
| - What does the K-map show, and what do we map? | | | | - Who uses what knowledge resources |
| - Why is K-mapping so important? | | | | - The paths of knowledge exchange |
| - What are some of the key principles, methodologies, | | | | - The knowledge lifecycle |
| and questions for K-mapping? | | | | - What we know we don?t know (knowledge gap) |
| - How do we create K-map? | | | | Activity: 1 |
| Background | | | | >> Can you create your personal knowledge |
| Each of the past centuries has been dominated by | | | | map which shows the types and location of |
| single technology. The eighteenth century was the time | | | | knowledge resources you use, the channels you use |
| of the great mechanical systems accompanying the | | | | to access knowledge? |
| Industrial Revolution. The nineteenth century was the | | | | Where does knowledge reside? |
| age of steam engine. After these, the key technology | | | | Knowledge can be found in |
| has been information gathering, processing and | | | | - Correspondents, internal documents |
| distribution. Among other developments, the installation | | | | - Library |
| of world wide telephone networks, the invention of | | | | - Archives (past project documents, proposals) |
| radio and television, the birth and unprecedented | | | | - Meetings |
| growth of the computer industry and the launching of | | | | - Best practices |
| communication satellites are significant. Now people | | | | - Experience |
| started to think that only information is not enough, | | | | - Corporate memory |
| what matters is Knowledge. So there has been seen | | | | Activity: 2 |
| shift from Information to Knowledge. | | | | >> What are the other places where you can |
| A bit of information without context and interpretation | | | | find knowledge? |
| is data such as numbers, symbols. | | | | What are the other things to be mapped? |
| Information is a set of data with context and | | | | Benefits of K-mapping |
| interpretation. Information is the basis for knowledge. | | | | In many organisations there is a lack of transparency |
| Knowledge is a set of data and information, to which is | | | | of organisation wide knowledge. Valuable knowledge is |
| added expert opinion and experience, to result in a | | | | often not used because people do not know it exists, |
| valuable asset which can be used or applied to aid | | | | even if they know the knowledge exists, they may not |
| decision making. Knowledge may be explicit and/or | | | | know where. These issues lead to the knowledge |
| tacit, individual and/or collective. | | | | mapping. Followings are some of the key reasons for |
| The term -Knowledge Mapping- seems to be relatively | | | | doing the knowledge mapping: |
| new, but it is not. We have been practising this in our | | | | - to find key sources of knowledge creation |
| everyday life, just what we are not doing is - we are | | | | - to encourage reuse and prevent reinvention |
| not documenting it, and we are not doing it in a | | | | - to find critical information quickly |
| systematic way. Knowledge Mapping is all about | | | | - to highlight islands of expertise |
| keeping a record of information and knowledge you | | | | - to provide an inventory and evaluation of intellectual |
| need such as where you can get it from, who holds it, | | | | and intangible assets |
| whose expertise is it, and so on. Say, you need to find | | | | - to improve decision making and problem solving by |
| something at your home or in your room, you can find | | | | providing applicable information |
| it in no time because you have almost all the | | | | - to provide insights into corporate knowledge |
| information/knowledge about -what is where- and | | | | The map also serves as the continuously evolving |
| -who knows what- at your home. It is a sort of map | | | | organisational memory, capturing and integrating the |
| set in your mind about your home. But, to set such a | | | | key knowledge of an organisation. It enables |
| map about your organisation and organisational | | | | employees learning through intuitive navigation and |
| knowledge in your mind is almost impossible. This is | | | | interrogation of the information in the map, and through |
| where K-map becomes handy and shows details of | | | | the creation of new knowledge through the discovery |
| every bit of knowledge that exists within the | | | | of new relationships. Simply speaking, K-map gives |
| organisation including location, quality, and accessibility; | | | | employees not only -know what-, but also -know how-. |
| and knowledge required to run the organisation | | | | Key principles of Knowledge Mapping |
| smoothly - hence making you able to find out your | | | | - Because of their power, scope, and impact, the |
| required knowledge easily and efficiently. | | | | creation of organisational-level knowledge map |
| Below are some of the definitions: | | | | requires senior management support as well as careful |
| It's an ongoing quest within an organization (including its | | | | planning |
| supply and customer chain) to help discover the | | | | - Share your knowledge about identifying, finding, and |
| location, ownership, value and use of knowledge | | | | tracking knowledge in all forms |
| artifacts, to learn the roles and expertise of people, to | | | | - Recognise and locate knowledge in a wide variety of |
| identify constraints to the flow of knowledge, and to | | | | forms: tacit, explicit, formal, informal, codified, |
| highlight opportunities to leverage existing knowledge. | | | | personalised, internal, external, and permanent |
| Knowledge mapping is an important practice consisting | | | | - Knowledge is found in processes, relationships, |
| of survey, audit, and synthesis. It aims to track the | | | | policies, people, documents, conversations, links and |
| acquisition and loss of information and knowledge. It | | | | context, and even with partners |
| explores personal and group competencies and | | | | - It should be up-to-date and accurate |
| proficiencies. It illustrates or "maps" how knowledge | | | | K-mapping - key questions |
| flows throughout an organization. Knowledge mapping | | | | Knowledge map provides an assessment of existing |
| helps an organization to appreciate how the loss of | | | | and required knowledge and information in the |
| staff influences intellectual capital, to assist with the | | | | following categories: |
| selection of teams, and to match technology to | | | | - What knowledge is needed for work? |
| knowledge needs and processes. | | | | - Who needs what? |
| - Denham Grey | | | | - Who has it? |
| Knowledge mapping is about making knowledge that is | | | | - Where does it reside? |
| available within an organisation transparent, and is | | | | - Is the knowledge tacit or explicit? |
| about providing the insights into its quality. | | | | - What issues does it address? |
| - Willem-Olaf Huijsen, Samuel J. Driessen, Jan W. M. | | | | - How to make sure that the K-mapping will be used in |
| Jacobs | | | | an organisation? |
| Knowledge mapping is a process by which | | | | Note: |
| organisations can identify and categorise knowledge | | | | - K-maps should be easily accessible to all in the |
| assets within their organisation - people, processes, | | | | organisation |
| content, and technology. It allows an organisation to | | | | - It should be easy to understand, update and evolve |
| fully leverage the existing expertise resident in the | | | | - It should be updated regularly |
| organisation, as well as identify barriers and constraints | | | | - It should be an ongoing process since knowledge |
| to fulfilling strategic goals and objectives. It is | | | | landscapes are continuously shifting and evolving |
| constructing a roadmap to locate the information | | | | Offline Readings: |
| needed to make the best use of resourses, | | | | - K-mapping tools |
| independent of source or form. | | | | - K-mapping tool selection |
| -W. Vestal, APQC, 2002 | | | | - Creating knowledge maps by exploiting dependent |
| (American Productivity & Quality Center) | | | | relationships |
| Knowledge Map describes what knowledge is used in | | | | - Creating knowledge structure map? |
| a process, and how it flows around the process. It is | | | | - White pages |
| the basis for determining knowledge commonality, or | | | | - KM jargon and glossary |
| areas where similar knowledge is used across multiple | | | | Online Resource: |
| process. Fundamentally, a process knowledge map | | | | K-mapping Tools: |
| cntains information about the organisation?s | | | | - MindMapping |
| knowledge. It describes who has what knowledge | | | | - Inspiration |
| (tacit), where the knowledge resides (infrastructure), | | | | - IHMC (cmap.ihmc.us/) (need to have.NET Framework |
| and how the knowledge is transferred or disseminated | | | | and JavaRunTime installed in your computer) |
| (social). | | | | (Learn more about KM tool selection at ) |
| -IBM Global Services | | | | ____ |
| How are the Knowledge Maps created? | | | | Categorised K-mapping |
| Knowledge maps are created by transferring tacit and | | | | Social Network Mapping: |
| explicit knowledge into graphical formats that are easy | | | | This shows networks of knowledge and patterns of |
| to understand and interpret by the end users, who | | | | interaction among members, groups, organisations, and |
| may be managers, experts, system developers, or | | | | other social entities who knows who, who goes to |
| anybody. | | | | whom for help and advice, where the information |
| Basic steps in creating K-maps: | | | | enters and leaves the groups or organisation, which |
| Basic steps - creating K-maps for specific task | | | | forums and communities of practice are operational |
| - The outcomes of the entire process, and their | | | | and generating new knowledge. |
| contributions to the key organisational activities | | | | Competency Mapping: |
| - Logical sequences of all the activities needed to | | | | With this kind of mapping, one can create a |
| achieve the goal | | | | competency profile with skill, positions, and even career |
| - Knowledge required for each activity {gives the | | | | path of an individual. And, this can also be converted |
| knowledge gap} | | | | into the?organisational yellow pages? which enables |
| - Human resource required to undertake each activity | | | | employees to find needed expertise in people within |
| {shows if recruitment is needed} | | | | the organisation. |
| What do we map? | | | | Process-based Knowledge Mapping: |
| The followings are the objects we map: | | | | This shows knowledge and sources of knowledge for |
| - Explicit knowledge | | | | internal as well as external organisational processes |
| - subject | | | | and procedures. This includes tacit knowledge |
| - purpose | | | | (knowledge in people such as know-how, and |
| - location | | | | experience) and explicit knowledge (codified |
| - format | | | | knowledge such as that in document). |
| - ownership | | | | Conceptual Knowledge Mapping: |
| - users | | | | Also sometimes called -taxonomy-, it is a method of |
| - access right | | | | hierarchically organising and classifying content. This |
| Tacit knowledge | | | | involves in labelling pieces of knowledge and |
| - expertise | | | | relationships between them. A concept can be defined |
| - skill | | | | as any unit of thought, any idea that forms in our mind |
| - experience | | | | [Gertner, 1978]. Often, nouns are used to refer to |
| - location | | | | concepts [Roche, 2002]. Relations form a special class |
| - accessibility | | | | of concepts [Sowa, 1984]: they describe connections |
| - contact address | | | | between other concepts. One of the most important |
| - relationships/networks | | | | relations between concepts is the hierarchical relation |
| Tacit organisational process knowledge | | | | (subsumption), in which one concept (superconcept) is |
| - the people with the internal processing knowledge | | | | more general than another concept (subconcept) like |
| Explicit organisational process knowledge | | | | Natural Resource Management and Watershed |
| - codified organisational process knowledge | | | | Management. This mapping should be able to relate |
| What do the knowledge maps show? | | | | similar kind of projects and workshops conducting |
| Knowledge map shows the sources, flows, constraints, | | | | conducted by two different departments, making them |
| and sinks of knowledge within an organisation. It is a | | | | more integrated. |
| navigational aid to both explicit information and tacit | | | | Knowledge is power, broadly accessible, |
| knowledge, showing the importance and the | | | | understandable, and shared knowledge is even more |
| relationships between knowledge stores and the | | | | powerful! |