Knowledge process
Contents
Definition
Knowledge process is a process that acts on /or with knowledge, either individual knowledge or organizational knowledge.
Description
Knowledge process is often used as an alternate term to knowledge management process with the purpose to distinguish knowledge processes from business processes in an organization.
Purpose & benefits
The purpose of knowledge management processes is to aid in the implementation of knowledge management in the organization, they are the activities that make KM real in the organization. They are selected based on the needs and objectives of the organization see Knowledge management strategy so that only knowledge management processes that support the organizations objectives are implemented (there are more than 80 potential knowledge management processes, not all are relevant to every organization). Reference for KM process list
Variations
Knowledge processes may also be called knowledge management processes, or knowledge management activities. They are, however, different from knowledge lifecycle activities, which are described in another article, Knowledge lifecycle.
Implementation guide
Th implementation of a knowledge process is dependant on which one is being implemented, in general, as with the KM strategy, change management is critical. People's behaviours and activities are changing because of the knowledge process so they need to understand why they have to change, how they have to change, how to execute the new process, their role in the new process, how to use any associated technology, what the process is, and why the process is necessary.
Depending on the knowledge process being implemented it may be useful to run a pilot/trial first to ensure everything works the way it is expected and to make sure it has the desired impact/results. Running a pilot first allows for feedback from those in the pilot which can facilitate the implementation across the organization. It may also make sense to do the entire roll-out of the knowledge process in phases, in order to monitor and control the roll-out and results.
Success factors
Change management, using a phased approach, involving users in the design and development of the process, all of these things will aid in a successful implementation.
Common pitfalls
Not doing enough or the right change management, imposing the process on the users without their input are two of the main pitfalls that many organizations fall into.
Related articles
Knowledge management framework
