Knowledge structure mapping

People are the knowledge resource, says John Gordon of AKRI Ltd, who explains the concept of knowledge structure mapping.

In the great majority of cases, people are still the holders of the organisational knowledge resource. It is people who know things; it is people who apply their knowledge and it is people who innovate. This sort of knowledge resource may offer little in the way of information that can help managers to manage a business, yet this knowledge resource is quite probably the most valuable resource that an organisation owns, by virtue of the people it employs.

Organisations can benefit from information about this knowledge resource when they are making business decisions, that is, not just decisions about knowledge, but decisions about the whole business - for example, decisions such as whether to outsource an operation; whether to merge two departments; whether to merge two companies; whether to launch a new service or simply how to improve business performance, can all be greatly affected by the knowledge resource (the one in the heads of the staff).

Information about this knowledge resource can also offer opportunities to develop the resource itself and to assess the risks associated with it. Risk within the knowledge resource will not be spread evenly, it will be concentrated in certain knowledge elements, namely because of the people that hold the knowledge, the importance that parts of knowledge have for the organisation, the difficulty in acquiring that element of knowledge, the urgency associated with the need for the knowledge, and because of the availability of sources of the knowledge, etc. 

There will be some high risks and some low risks associated with the knowledge resource and it could be a good idea for managers to know about them.

Risk is just one thing which can provide information for managers that need to take decisive action about the business and about the knowledge resource that forms a critical part of it. Managers need to be able to discuss knowledge and its impact on the business using a common framework - one that all participants can see. 

There needs to be some way of measuring the development or growth of the knowledge resource as corrective actions are planned and undertaken; there needs to be a consistent way of monitoring the risks associated with the knowledge resource if action to reduce risk is taken, and there also needs to be a way of probing the knowledge structure for information which is required during a specific business activity, such as the launch of a new project.

What is knowledge structure mapping?

One way to provide all of these things (and more) is through knowledge structure mapping. KSM was developed from research and application which started at the Applied Knowledge Research Institute in the 1990s. Several large and small companies were involved with the ideas behind the method and several pilot applications were tried out in companies on specific areas of business (or the whole business). 

In 2005, the idea was developed into a commercial application and has since been used mainly in larger companies, but it is also highly applicable to smaller ones and indeed any organisation that needs knowledge - even government departments.

Knowledge structure mapping has a well defined methodology but, more simply, it involves interviews with people that are knowledgeable in the areas in question. The process takes about 3-4 weeks to complete and delivers a full report on the knowledge resource, including a visual map of the knowledge area. 

Information collected during interviews allows the map structure and associated data to be probed to answer questions that can inform decision-makers. The basic structure can also be used as the focus for on-going knowledge resource monitoring, providing managers with information concerning how the knowledge resource is changing in response to the actions they are taking.

A knowledge study tool was also developed to support the method and has matured as experience has highlighted areas for improvement. The tool supports all stages of the process and is particularly useful for the analysis of the information at the end of the data collection phase. For example, it can export resources to support analysis and decision making, and support information dissemination through the automatic creation of a web resource that contains the information collected and the analytical information derived by the tool.

Since the method is focused on people and on the way they acquire knowledge, the information derived can be used to support learning for the knowledge area and provide guidance for potential learners. KSM is focused on the knowledge that is held and applied by people, and aims to deliver information which will help in the management of the knowledge and also of the business to which the knowledge is applied.