2 Knowledge management process

2.1 Overview and process diagram

The main activities of knowledge management are shown in Figure 1 and summarised below.

Figure 1: Knowledge management activities

Source: based on ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011. Reproduced under license from AXELOS

Although each activity is shown in Figure 1 as following on from the previous one, knowledge management actually takes place across a broad spectrum of projects, services and other IT-related functions. The full process may be followed for large projects, such as the introduction of a new ERP system, but equally each activity may be undertaken in isolation on a day-to-day basis for established services.

The first step in establishing a knowledge management process will be to define the strategic approach that will be taken within [Organization Name]. Knowledge exists within all of the processes of service management but is created, stored and used in many different ways. The purpose of the strategy is to provide clear direction for how the

different sources of knowledge will be brought together to enhance the organization’s overall capability in the delivery of services.

Knowledge transfer will take place at various times and within various parts of the IT service management lifecycle but is particularly intensive during service transition. This will involve the identification of the knowledge required by specific groups and the delivery of this knowledge via an appropriate mix of transfer methods, such as classroom training, webinars, manuals and increasingly social media.

The management of data, information and knowledge activity is where the detail is decided of how the specific requirements of the organization will be delivered. This includes how data, information and knowledge will be identified, stored, accessed, changed, protected and deleted and the information architecture and supporting procedures that will allow this to happen.

Consideration must also be given to how the SKMS will be used by those that have access to it. This should aim to make the knowledge as relevant and accessible as possible within the context of the business process being carried out by the user.

2.2 Process triggers

Due to its general scope of applicability, the knowledge management process is initiated at different stages by a wide variety of triggers, including the following:

• Knowledge Management Strategy o Management intention to maximise the use and re-use of organizational knowledge o Initiation of a major project that requires a more structured approach to knowledge management to be taken • Knowledge Transfer o Transition of a new or changed service (usually as part of a project) o As part of the initial training of a new starter o Initiation of a cross-training exercise to reduce risk in a specific area e.g. for security or business continuity reasons o A user awareness campaign is required to prevent security breaches from phishing or similar techniques • Manage data, information and knowledge o Scheduled tasks to review the accuracy and suitability of existing knowledge o Introduction of additional information sources o Continual improvement activities • Use the SKMS o Diagnosis of incidents related to a service o Assessment of RFCs as part of the change management process o Request for performance figures for input to a service level review

o Access to capacity information as part of service design activities for a new service

2.3 Process inputs

The process of knowledge management requires a large number of inputs from most of the areas of service management in order to be able to function effectively. These will typically include:

• Requirements for knowledge management in terms of scope, usability, accessibility etc. • Details of the information available, including how it is stored, frequency of creation/update, format etc. • Contact information for people responsible for maintaining the sources of information referenced by the SKMS • Legal, regulatory and contractual requirements for the collection, storage, retrieval and deletion of information • Information about the resources available to knowledge management including financial, human, physical and technical

2.4 Process activities

The individual process activities at each step are detailed as follows.

2.4.1 Knowledge management strategy

The establishment of a knowledge management strategy will be a one-off exercise designed to define how knowledge will be captured and managed within [Organization Name]. This strategy will then be revisited on an annual basis to ensure that it remains valid and relevant to our changing environment.

The strategy will require firm management support and commitment and will establish and document the following items:

• The scope of knowledge management in the initial and subsequent phases of the project, ideally with timescales • An outline plan for the introduction of knowledge management to fit in with the defined scope and any known business or IT changes that may affect its timing • Funding for the initial implementation project and for the ongoing management of the SKMS over a defined period of time • The level of resources that will be dedicated to the process of knowledge management, both on a part-time and full-time basis

• Any constraints that will be applied to the introduction of more formal knowledge management processes and procedures • The preferred technology platform(s) that should be adopted when designing the

SKMS e.g. databases, query tools, presentation methods

The strategy may refer to this process document where appropriate.

2.4.2 Perform knowledge transfer

Knowledge transfer is an ongoing process that typically happens on a day-to-day basis as individuals never stop learning from others. However, there are particular times when this process needs to be greatly accelerated and a significant amount of new knowledge absorbed in a relatively short space of time. The introduction of a new IT service is usually an example of this.

When we introduce a new service there will be several groups of people who need to absorb new information and knowledge in different areas. These will often be:

• Users: how to perform business tasks relevant to their job role using the new system • IT service desk staff: how the new service works and how to address the kinds of incidents that users are likely to experience with it • IT support staff: how to maintain and if necessary, change the new service in an effective way • IT development staff: how to support and enhance the new service at the technical configuration or application coding level

The first step in designing an appropriate approach to knowledge transfer is to understand the gap between the current level of knowledge of the target audience and that which will be required. This may be established in several different ways including:

• Use of skills questionnaires • Interviews of representative people • Discussion with managers • Discussion with suppliers

This will result in a definition of the areas to be covered by knowledge transfer and the best ways to achieve it may then be considered, taking into account relevant factors such as the culture, level of technical ability and time availability of the audience.

Various methods may be used to achieve knowledge transfer, including:

• Formal training courses • On-the-job training • Self-study • Books • Documentation

• Videos • Podcasts • Discussion groups • Online discussion forums • Posters • Webinars • Involvement in testing • Attendance at post-project reviews (lessons learned)

The best approach is often a combination of these methods, implemented in a phased way in the run up to go live.

2.4.3 Manage data, information and knowledge

The creation of the SKMS needs to be based upon a firm understanding of the requirements for data, information and knowledge and how and why it will be used. The first step therefore is to discuss with the existing users of the SKMS what information they currently have access to, where it is located and how they make use of it.

Importantly, it should also be established what access controls are necessary to protect the information from unauthorized access and whether there are any restrictions on its use e.g. from copyright or licensing arrangements.

Once a clear picture has been gained of the available information sources, a target information architecture can start to be defined, setting out what resources within [Organization Name] will be used. Further detail of this architecture may be found in the Knowledge Management Strategy.

Subsequent to the definition of the information architecture, procedures will then be established to create the SKMS as defined and provide managed access to it. These procedures will cover many of the areas normally addressed as part of service design, including:

• Operational procedures, such as data transformation and querying • Backup and restore • Access management • Housekeeping • Capacity and performance • Information review and maintenance • Data retention and secure disposal

Once up and running, the use of the SKMS will be monitored to assess its performance within different groups and make any changes required under the control of the change management process.

2.4.4 Use the SKMS

Use of the SKMS will be encouraged throughout the organization and feedback obtained about its degree of usefulness. The SKMS itself will be subject to the knowledge transfer activities set out within this process document both upon initial introduction and on an ongoing basis for improvements and new starters.

The strength of an SKMS is in providing new ways to look at information about services and a continuous effort will be made to identify additional views, reports etc. that provide an increased level of insight in support of decision-making both at operational and management level.

2.5 Process outputs

The outputs of the knowledge management process will be the following:

• Knowledge presented in a format that is easy to use and available at the right time in the right place • Greater awareness of the importance of the collection, collation and use of knowledge to deliver better services • Conformance with legal, regulatory and contractual requirements with respect to the storage and retention of information

2.6 Knowledge management tools

There are a number of key software tools that underpin an effective knowledge management process. These are subject to change as requirements and technology are updated and so specific systems are not described here. However, the main types of tools that play a significant part in the process within [Organization Name] are as follows.

2.6.1 Service desk system

The service desk system has the capability to hold knowledge in its knowledgebase which is then available to all users performing the processes supported by the system, including incident, problem, change and service asset and configuration management.

This knowledge can also be accessed by IT users via the self-service portal, so speeding up resolution times and reducing the workload of support staff.

2.6.2 Query and analysis tools

A variety of software tools may be used to extract and process data from the SKMS as part of ad-hoc investigations e.g. during problem management. These will allow the comparison and merging of data from different sources in order to provide the knowledge insights upon which effective management decisions may be based.

2.6.3 Reporting tools

Regular and ad-hoc reports will be produced from the SKMS for various purposes including service level reporting, availability monitoring, security investigations and supplier performance monitoring. These tools will allow reports to be formatted in an appropriate way for the intended audience e.g. summaries and graphical output.

2.6.4 Performance management tools

The performance and capacity of the infrastructure will be monitored and analysed using a set of appropriate tools which will include threshold alerting and trending capabilities.

2.6.5 Modelling tools

The ability to perform “what-if” simulations on key data will provide insights into likely scenarios in areas such as performance and capacity. This will allow management to plan ahead and ensure that sufficient budget is allocated for service components that will need to be upgraded or purchased later in the financial year.

2.6.6 Monitoring and alerting tools

Real-time monitoring of key data will allow actions to be taken in advance of the production of historical reports e.g. when an incident exceeds its service level target or when suspicious activity may represent an attempted security breach.

2.6.7 Information integration tools

Tools will be used to proactively take different data sources and merge them together into new sources of data that may provide better management information at higher levels of the SKMS information architecture (see Figure 2). These may provide functionality for data reconciliation, manipulation and transformation also.

2.6.8 Configuration management system

The configuration management system (CMS) holds information about service assets including hardware, software and documentation and is a key component of the SKMS. The CMS itself may consist of multiple software tools such as automated inventory collection and may be interfaced with the service management system to allow incidents, problems and changes to be linked with configuration items.

2.7 Communication and training

There are various forms of communication that must take place for the knowledge management process to be effective.

These are described below.

2.7.1 Communication with information and knowledge providers

The success of the SKMS depends upon the co-operation of the stakeholders who are responsible for collecting the data that is contained within it. This means that there will need to be regular communication between the knowledge management function and these stakeholders, both in the planning an implementation stages of the SKMS and with regard to the maintenance of it. This may be achieved via a combination of individual meetings and attendance at a knowledge management forum which will meet on a regular basis.

2.7.2 Communication with knowledge consumers

In order to assess the usefulness of the knowledge contained in the SKMS and the tools used to extract it, regular communication must take place with the individuals and teams that are regular consumers of it. This communication may be via multiple methods, including face-to-face meetings, satisfaction surveys and focus groups in order to understand whether the information and knowledge provided makes them more effective and what improvements can be made over time.

2.7.3 Communication with projects

For projects which are introducing new or changed services, the transfer of knowledge will be a key activity that determines whether a service is successful or not. Knowledge management will need to be involved in such projects from an early stage to ensure that the

appropriate plans are included in the service design package. They will also need to be involved as the project moves through service transition into service operation.

This will usually involve attendance at regular progress meetings and in the relevant project work streams during the life of the project.

2.7.4 Process performance

It is important that the performance of the knowledge management process is monitored and reported upon on a regular basis in order to assess whether the process is operating as expected. The content of performance reports is set out in section 6 of this document, but it is vital that the reports are not only produced but are also communicated to the appropriate audience.

This will include the management of IT concerning knowledge creation, utilisation and maintenance. Depending on the health of the process it may be appropriate to hold regular meetings with IT management to discuss the performance and agree any actions to improve it.

2.7.5 Training for knowledge management

In addition to a well-defined process and appropriate software tools it is essential that the people aspects of knowledge management are adequately addressed. The process requires that training be provided to all participants in order that it runs as smoothly as possible.

The main areas in which training will be required for knowledge management are as follows.

• The knowledge management process itself, including the activities, roles and responsibilities involved • Knowledge management software such as the query and reporting tools, knowledge base and configuration management system • Methods for keeping the SKMS up to date, including the addition of new knowledge items and deletion of ones that are no longer relevant