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Course Content
Session One: Course Overview
You will spend the first part getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.
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Pre-Assignment
Course Overview
Session Two: Definitions
Then, participants will learn the definition of knowledge, as well as the differences between tacit and explicit knowledge. The meaning and history of knowledge management will also be covered.
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What is Knowledge?
Assignments
What is Knowledge Management?
History of Knowledge Management
Session Three: The Business Case for Knowledge Management
In this session, participants will learn how knowledge management can reduce costs and grow sales. They will also learn how to build a business case for knowledge management. You will also examine the impact that knowledge management can have on business strategy and profit.
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Reducing Costs and Growing Sales with Knowledge Management
Assignments
Business Case Basics
Sample Knowledge Management Business Case
Assignments
Session Four: The Knowledge Management Mix
Next, participants will learn about three components vital to knowledge management: people, technology, and process. In this session, you will examine the relationship between these three essential knowledge management components.
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People
Assignments
Technology
Process
Assignments
Session Five: The Knowledge Management Framework
The knowledge management framework is comprised of four interdependent elements: needs analysis, resource identification, process analysis, and knowledge handling. In this session, participants will learn about the steps to building their knowledge management framework: needs analysis; resource identification; process analysis, identification, and construction; and accumulating, sharing, and storing knowledge. In this session, you will investigate what the four elements of the knowledge management framework are and how they work together.
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Introduction
Needs Analysis
Resource Identification
Process Analysis, Identification, and Construction
Assignments
Accumulating, Sharing, and Storing Knowledge
Session Six: ITandD’s Conundrum
A pre-assignment is designed to get you thinking about the topic, and to give you some indication of what is coming. In this example, the case study and the carefully crafted questions were intended to have you reflect on the vital role of knowledge within an organization. In this session, you will reflect on the answers you provided in the pre-assignment.
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Introduction
Assignments
Session Seven: Knowledge Management Models
Knowing the theory behind the practice can increase your knowledge and inform what you do. Having a foundational awareness helps you to understand the theory’s evolution and history in the business world and better enable you to see how this system will fit into your organization. In this session, you will investigate four different knowledge management models.
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The KM Process Framework (Bukowitz and Williams)
Knowledge Management Matrix (Gamble and Blackwell)
Assignments
Process Model (Botha)
Assignments
Knowledge Spiral Model (Nonaka and Takeuchi)
Session Eight: The Knowledge Management Toolkit
Cross-functional Teams, mentoring, organizational culture, and IT solutions are all techniques that you can use employ when implementing a knowledge management program in your organization. In this session, you will explore each of these techniques in depth. As you review the information, think about ways that you could use each technique in your workplace.
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Cross-Functional Teams
Assignments
Mentoring
Assignments
Organizational Culture
Assignments
IT Solutions
Which Technologies Would Be Best?
Assignments
Session Nine: Implementing Knowledge Management Initiatives
You see an organizational need for knowledge management. You understand what a knowledge management system is. You have the tools and information you need. Now it’s time to take action: it’s time to begin building the program. In this session, you will identify and investigate the necessary components for implementing a knowledge management program.
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Building Knowledge Networks
Creating a Knowledge Management Body of Knowledge (KMBOK)
Assignments
Creating a Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) Position
Advertise for Your CKO
Assignments
Creating a Post-Mortem Plan
Assignments
Creating Measures
Assignments
Start With a Pilot
Assignments
Where Do I Put This?
Assignments
Support Your Organization Through the Change
Post-Course Assessment
Draft Lesson
Recommended Reading List
If you are looking for further information on this topic, we have included a recommended reading list below. Bergeron, Bryan. Essentials of Knowledge Management. John Wiley & Sons, 2003. Dixon, Nancy M. Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know. Harvard Business School Press, 2000. O'Dell, Carla, and Cindy Huebert. The New Edge in Knowledge: How Knowledge Management Is Changing the Way We Do Business. New John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Pasher, Edna, and Tuvya Ronen. The Complete Guide to Knowledge Management: A Strategic Plan to Leverage Your Company's Intellectual Capital. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Rumizen, Dr. Melissie Clemmons. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knowledge Management. Alpha Books, 2002.
Knowledge Management
About Lesson

What is a Post Mortem?

A post mortem is a discussion that takes place after an event has occurred. A post mortem can take place at the end of a work day, the end of a meeting, or the end of a major project. The purpose of this discussion is to analyze and learn from the event. Carefully crafted questions help people reflect on and learn from the completed task.

Benefits of Post Mortems

Wide Variety of Situations

One benefit of the post mortem is that they can be applied in a wide variety of situations. They can range from a simple discussion at the end of a workday to a multi-day session held at the end of a long project.

Environment of Continuous Learning

An organization that promotes post mortems shows that it is committed to continuous learning. By holding a post mortem, the organization is modeling behavior that supports knowledge management. This can have a cascading effect on the culture of your organization and, by extension, the attitudes of employees.

Make Tacit Knowledge Explicit

Post mortems help to make tacit knowledge explicit by encouraging people to reflect on their thought processes and why they did what they did. The process of articulation helps individuals recognize their tacit knowledge and share it with others. In turn, by identifying and sharing this knowledge, we can capture it.

Increase Improvement

The informal nature of the post mortem allows individuals to share and contribute in a nonthreatening way. These processes are not meant to be linked to any performance reviews or assessment. Therefore, they become a forum for people to learn how to improve both individually and on an organizational level.

How to Conduct a Post Mortem

Here are some simple guidelines to follow when conducting a post mortem.

The Sooner the Better

Conduct your post mortem as soon as a task has been completed; the sooner the better. This helps to prevent people forgetting what has taken place. It also improves availability, since people often have not had time to move onto the next task.

Build Your Environment

A post mortem works best when it is held in an environment that promotes openness and honesty. Reassure participants that the comments they make will not be held against them and that these comments are for educational purposes only.

It may also be a good idea to set some guidelines or rules for how these sessions will be conducted. Members of the group should all feel comfortable in contributing their thoughts. A way to create this safe environment is to have some ground rules for your post mortem

sessions. These rules can be created by the group or established before the session takes place. Some sample ground rules could include:

  • Everyone must contribute.
  • No idea gets criticize, no matter how unconventional.
  • Be considerate of those around you. Allow a person to finish their thought before jumping in.
  • One person speaks at a time.

Having guidelines can help to create a safe environment without hampering the learning taking place. Additionally, if rules are not in place you may have outspoken group members taking over the session. If that happens, you may miss out on a fantastic piece of information that could make a future task much easier.

Have a Moderator

The role of the moderator is to monitor the climate of the environment, ensure that no one is being blamed, make sure the guidelines of the session are being followed, ensure everyone participates, and ask questions to stimulate deep thought and quality answers (which will help everyone get the most out of the session).

Make a Recording

When conducting a post mortem of a large project, it is best to record the session on video. This will allow you to review and refine the information presented in the session once the post mortem has ended.

Accentuate the Positive

Begin your session by bringing attention to the original goals of the task. What did we set out to do? How did we accomplish these goals? Encourage participants to celebrate the success of the initiative and to identify processes that may be worth replicating in the future.

Learn from Mistakes

Once you have identified the successes of your task, ask what went wrong. Could we have done something different to have a more desirable outcome? What might we do differently next time? Remind participants that the focus is on continuous improvement, not failure. The purpose of this activity is to learn from our mistakes and avoid repeating them in the future.

After the Post Mortem

Review and Refine Your Post Mortem

Using the recording of the session, review and refine the information presented, summarize it for others to review, and share it as appropriate. This will help reinforce lessons learned with those involved with the session and share the knowledge with others in the organization.

When refining the information, you should focus on the key points of the session and present the information in a logical way. Start with basic information like what the session was about, who was present, and when and where it took place. Then include the lessons you learned from the project, what actions you would repeat, and any other key points that need to be shared with your audience.

To guide you through this process, ask yourself, “What would I hope to learn from watching this post mortem?” This question will help you focus on what material to include in your presentation.

Share this Knowledge

Store the recording of the post mortem in a place that is easily accessible to others within the organization. Consider who else in the organization would benefit from this knowledge and encourage them to learn from your post mortem.

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