Week # 04 "KM Life Cycle"

Various of diverse methods have been planned for KMSLC. The predictable approaches can still be used for mounting KM system and often substituted by iterative design and prototyping. Knowledge Management systems are developed in order to fulfill the need for improving efficiency and potential of employees and the company as a whole. The offered knowledge infrastructure gives the insight that the current ways of doing things are not unmanageable in first choice for a new system.

We can check the feasibility of a project by addressing its affordability, whether it is appropriate and its cost. The tasks involved in conducting a feasibility study include:

• Forming a knowledge management team.
• Preparing a Master Plan.
• Performing cost/benefit analysis of the system.
• Quantifying system criteria and costs.

The user support is also an important aspect which is to be considered during the Km system development. The main points which must be considered includes:

• How the system is perceived by the user?
• How many involvements can be expected from the user during system development?
• What type of user training will be needed?
• What kind of operational support should be provided?

During the strategic planning of the system the areas to be considered are: Vision, Resources and Culture. While forming a KM Team one should Identify the key units, branches, divisions etc, Strategically, technically and organizationally balancing the team size and competency.

Factors that impact the team success are:

• Quality, capability and size of team
• Complexity of the project
• Team motivation and leadership

Capturing Knowledge involves extracting, analyzing and interpreting the concerned knowledge that a human expert uses to solve a specific problem. Interviewing is the most popular methods used to capture knowledge. Data mining is also a very useful method used for Knowledge capturing. 

Knowledge capture and knowledge transfer are often carried out through teams. Usually Knowledge developers use iterative approach for capturing knowledge. The spontaneous and iterative process of building a knowledge base is referred to as rapid programming.

A knowledge developer can be considered as the architect of the system. In the blueprint designing phase the Knowledge Management infrastructure’s design is initiated. The Key layers of KM Architecture are:

• User Interface
• Security Layer
• Collaborative agents and filtering
• Application layer
• Transport internet layer
• Physical Layer
• Sources

The testing phase involve two steps: Verification Procedure, Validation Procedure. In the Implementation phase the new KM system is rehabilitated into real operation. Conversion is the major step in case of implementation. Quality Assurance point to the development of controls to ensure a quality KM system.

The user training depends on the user’s knowledge level and the system’s attributes. Training should be geared to the exact user based on ability, experience and system complexity. 

Training can be carried by user manuals, explanatory facilities and job aids.

Implementation refers to change, and organizational members usually oppose modify. Resistance can be observed in the form of Projection, Avoidance and Aggression.