Essentials of Knowledge Management

8.3. Implementation Overview

A successful Knowledge Management implementation requires that senior management understand the corporation's needs and have a clear vision for its future, a grasp of the range of technologies available for enabling the KM processes that apply to the corporation's business, and the experience to navigate the inevitable legal, contractual, and economic hurdles ahead. Addressing these requirements systematically through an established process maximizes the odds of success and provides senior management with flexibility in modifying the approach to meet their needs.

The road map offered here, consisting of five major phases, addresses practical a KM implementation from the perspective of senior management aided by a CKO or KM consultant:

1. Adhoc experience. Collect data about the company's ongoing KM activities.

2. Fact finding. Determine if a corporate-directed KM implementation is warranted and feasible.

3. Formalize approach. Define specific milestones and outcomes for success.

4. Implement. Take action.

5. Evaluate. Assess progress toward milestones and outcomes, and, based on the results of the evaluation, follow one of the four following paths:

   1. Modify. If the current solution doesn't suit the needs of the corporation, then modify the approach and implement a new KM solution. Since few implementations will work perfectly on the first attempt, this is the most likely initial outcome of the evaluation phase.

   2. Extend. If the KM solution suits the needs of the corporation, ...