Knowledge Management in Acquisition and Program Management - KM in the AM and PM - Tutorial

Acquisition Review Quarterly, Wntr, 2002 by Neal Pollock

Knowledge Management (KM) applies management principles to the knowledge life cycle (cradle to grave). Both Acquisition and Program Management (AM and PM) utilize some KM principles (e.g., lessons learned) for some time, but there are additional KM opportunities available to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.

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There are Knowledge Management (KM) applications with potentially major payoffs to Acquisition Management (AM) and Program Management (PM). After defining KM, I will describe its major aspects and implementation and make specific recommendations for KM use in AM and PM.

DEFINITIONS

KM is the conscious creation, storage, distribution, and use of knowledge -- management of knowledge. Knowledge is at a higher level of abstraction (LOA) than data or information. Data are the nuts and bolts; information is the structured arrangement of data; knowledge is the processed information in context -- understandable and actionable. The captain of a ship under attack cannot use piles of data or information (drawings with numerous intersecting lines, status reports, or even attacker LAT/LONG). A captain needs succinct, appropriate LOA, and actionable knowledge -- target direction and range usable by ship's weapons systems -- to decide whether or when to fire. Decisions depend upon knowledge, but decisions require understanding, wisdom, and the ability to integrate inputs from diverse sources. Nevertheless, a knowledge base (KB) can provide benchmarks of other captains' past actions and their results, and Case-Based Reasoning can automate the lessons-learned process.

KM METHODS AND PAYOFFS

KM has two main aspects: social and technical. The social aspect comprises about two-thirds of KM. People tend to emphasize the aspect with which they are more familiar. Interaction among KM techniques provides major synergistic gains, while implementing either a technical or social approach in isolation provides limited Return on Investment (ROI) (value added). People share knowledge; it's natural. Much of KM is natural, but Information Technology (IT) enables great potential KM gains. KM adds purpose, organization, consciousness, and recognition. Institutional acceptance of KM's value facilitates its effectiveness.

SOCIAL ASPECTS OF KM

Communities of Practice (CoPs) assist practitioners, in a domain, to share knowledge, information, and data (KID) and develop cooperation and mutual support. For instance, the KM CoP is a CoP addressing KM. CoPs focus on one specific discipline or practice. Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) has numerous CoPs. Technical Discipline Leaders (TDLs) each have their own CoP within separate domains, but they share domain expertise in an enterprise-level CoP cutting across NAVEAC's endeavors. These CoPs are not collocated, but reside throughout the United States and other NAVFAC facilities. There are numerous CoPs throughout the U.S. Government (USG) and industry including: Defense Acquisition University! Assistant Secretary of the Navy (DAU/ASN) (AR)'s Program Manager's CoP, Navy's KM CoP General Services Administration/Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer's (GSA/DON CIO's) Federal KM Working Group, and IBM's Institute for Knowledge Management.

Social Network Analysis (SNA) maps interactions between people within an organization. Such interactions are not homogeneous: specific persons act as Connectors, Salesmen, and Mavens whose value is hidden from view (Gladwell, 2000). Eliminating such functions/persons yields great institutional losses. During downsizing, such functions must be identified and contingencies created.

Recognition of generalized reciprocity can lead to a re-orientation of organizational values, culture, and definition of work. The top Ford Motor Company General Manager evaluated his direct subordinates' performance by the quality and quantity of their helping each other and eliminated subordinates who didn't actively help peers. His direct reports were the candidates of choice for new Ford General Managers.

Steve Denning introduced KM at the World Bank using storytelling as a change management technique, now recognized as a powerful way for organizations to codify norms, energize personnel, and achieve corporate cohesion (Peters & Waterman, 1982). Archetypal stories of founders' exploits establish company myths and culture. Storytelling codifies organizational KM and enables and facilitates KM changes.

DON CIO's annual knowledge fair provides a venue for knowledge workers to share efforts throughout the USG. It provides one-stop shopping for initiatives, tools, techniques, and concepts relating to successful or unsuccessful KM implementation (i.e., KM of KM or meta-KM). The essence of KM is to reuse lessons-learned. However, KM is not limited to problem solving or best practices but can provide opportunities to break new ground. "Pygmies placed on the shoulders of giants see more than the giants themselves" (Lucan, 1968, p. 134).

TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF KM