Essentials of Knowledge Management

4.6. Creation and Aquisition

In the creation an acquisition phase of the Knowledge Management life cycle, information is authored internally by knowledge workers, acquired through outsourcing, or purchased from an outside source. As illustrated in Exhibit 4.2, this phase starts with a requirements specification that provides the author or acquiring agent with a description of the information needed. The information can take the form of questions presented to customer service representatives; decision-making heuristics used by expert knowledge workers; and designs, illustrations, and schematics of devices and services sold by the company. It also can be process descriptions and personal best practices. External sources of information are increasingly significant in most knowledge organizations, especially given the affordability and ready availability of commercial databases on every topic from current publications to industry-specific processes in fields like engineering, law, and medicine, and genomics.

EXHIBIT 4.2. EXHIBIT 4.2

In Exhibit 4.2, the primary issues associated with the creation and acquisition of information in the KM life cycle include cost, the enabling hardware and software technologies, the format and naming of information, quality control, security, and the means of tracking of information. In addition, the editability of the information, ownership, and even ...