Fifth Knowledge Management Roundtable
Convened at
Science Applications International Corporation
Tysons Corner, Virginia
Resources:
Agenda
Organization List
Participants
CKO Brainstorming
Advanced Technologies for KM
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Brief:
The Knowledge Management Roundtable convened the fifth in its series of Knowledge Management (KM) presentations at the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC, http://www.saic.com/) new facility in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
Held in conjunction with Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), George Mason University's International Center for Applied Studies in Information Technology (ICASIT), and the Internet Technology Innovation Center, the KM Roundtable meetings seek to broaden the application and advance the effectiveness of KM practice in regional organizations. CIT (http://www.cit.org/) seeks to increase the Commonwealth's economic competitiveness and quality of life by advancing the development of Virginia as a technology state and by creating and retaining technology-based jobs and businesses.
As part of its efforts to achieve these results, CIT initiated activities to position itself as a major participant in the diffusion of KM in the business community. A grant to ICASIT (http://www.icasit.org/) helped initiate a shared KM culture among organizations in Virginia by identifying organizations in Virginia interested in KM and convene the first KM Roundtable that was held in March 1999 (*KM Roundtable, March 1999, * *KM Roundtable, June 1999*, *KM Roundtable, September 1999,* and *KM Roundtable, February 2000*), as well as the more recent event reported here.
With this event, five meetings have been held since initiation of the KM RT a year ago, and an average of 35 individuals have participated in each event. Based upon attendance at this meeting at SAIC, some 122 practitioners representing 58 organizations are now involved in the KM RT program. (*See Organization List*).
The May 16 meeting (*See Agenda*) was attended by 57 participants (*See Participants*). This included 32 from large and small private sector organizations; the university (5 member), nonprofit (6 members), and government (14 members) sectors were also represented.
Virgil Frizzell, Director for Industry and University Collaboration with the Internet Technology Innovation Center (www.InternetTIC.org) provided a brief history of the Knowledge Management Roundtable and introduced the speaker Dr. Geoffrey P. Malafsky.
Geoffrey Malafsky possess 20 years of research, program management, technical support, and marketing experience in projects ranging from basic science to industrial equipment in a variety of fields, including Knowledge Management. At SAIC, Malafsky serves as director for SAIC's Command and Control Technology group, and he has created and marketed new business concepts based on customer needs and developed new a knowledge management business area. He describes himself as a technologist who provides clients advice about emerging technologies and how they might be applied to enhance the client's core capabilities.
Before joining SAIC, Geoff was with Global Associates and the Naval Research Laboratory; he earned a BA in Chemistry from Cornell and a Ph.D. in Surface Science from Penn State.
In his presentation, * The KM Tool Kit *, Malafsky presented an overview of the advance technologies in the tool kit, many issues relevant to better understanding the challenges facing tool kit developers and users, and comments on specific packages available commercially. At the outset, he stressed the importance of not confusing Information Technology with KM.
For instance, just because an organization hosts an Intranet does not mean that it has a KM program. The intranet could be considered part of a tool set that may enable a KM program, but KM practitioners must pay attention to whether folks in the organization are using it or not and how. Are they learning, sharing, and helping get pertinent, focused information in a timely manner?
Malafsky emphasized his opinion that no KM tool can do what the marketing folks say it can do: no panacea in a box exists. If we look at what we want in a KM package, current solutions present a 4th grade version of that ideal. Calling ones colleagues still may be the most effective way to solve some problems.
Malafsky led a vigorous Q&A and discussion session at the conclusion of his presentation after which two participants sought to initiate KM RT subgroups on metrics and CKO characteristics.
Joe Osterhaus of CSC presented an overview of a subgroup that would address Metrics. Organizations make substantial investments in KM. Is it worth it? How do we know? Trying to determine the value of an organization's knowledge is perplexing, yet proving that value is critical to securing additional investments. While several success stories document the value of managing knowledge as a strategic asset, they don't indicate what works or will work for other organizations.
Ten KM RT participants indicated an interest in participating in the KM Measurement subgroup, which will focus on what its members are doing to tackle the assessment of the impact of knowledge management to an organization. The objective of the subgroup is to share what works for the organizations represented and to develop a better understanding what might improve these organization's measurement programs. Please send a note to Don Shope (dshope@csc.com) if you would like to join this subgroup.
Bob Neilson (neilson@ndu.edu), CKO, Information Resources Management College, National Defense University presented an overview of what will be a short-lived CKO Competencies Subgroup. He asks the question: "How do you know if your are a 3rd degree Blackbelt CKO?" He is in the process of developing a CKO competency model for the federal government and solicits private sector CKOs to participate in a group brainstorming session. Payoff: A similar session has been conducted with public sector CKOs, and the results of that session will be shared with participants.
Bob invites CKOs or those who act as CKOs or are leaders of KM initiatives in private sector corporations to participate in this activity on June 20. Please see (* CKO Brainstorming *) for details.
Draft agenda for August 31 Knowledge Management Roundtable.