Initially delivered for the Bangalore K-Community Zoom Meetup: “The Digital Edge: Tech Roadmaps and Impacts on KM on June 15th, this deck covers the key takeaways from the leading Knowledge Management book, 'Making Knowledge Management Clickable,' by Zach Wahl and Joe Hilger of Enterprise Knowledge. The presentation covers definitions and value of KM, offers best practices on KM systems, details key types of KM technologies, and discusses some of the common types of KM solutions such as KM Portals and Knowledge Graphs.

1. THE RAPIDLY CHANGING STATE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
DELIVERED FOR THE BANGALORE K-COMMUNITY ZOOM MEETUP:
THE DIGITAL EDGE: TECH ROADMAPS AND IMPACTS ON KM
JUNE 15, 2022

2. ⬢ 24 Years of Consulting Experience
⬢ Expert in Knowledge Management
Strategy, Design, and Implementation
⬢ Inc. 5000 Listed CEO Four Years in a Row
⬢ Coauthor of Making KM Clickable (2022)
ZACH
CEO AND COFOUNDER, ENTERPRISE KNOWLEDGE
WAHL

3. Knowledge
Management
Defined

4. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT INVOLVES THE
PEOPLE, CULTURE, PROCESSES, AND ENABLING
TECHNOLOGIES NECESSARY TO CAPTURE,
MANAGE, SHARE, AND FIND INFORMATION.
THE NEW MISSION OF KM IS TO LINK ALL OF AN
ORGANIZATION’S KNOWLEDGE, IN ALL ITS
FORMS, MAKING IT NOT JUST FINDABLE, BUT
UNDERSTANDABLE AND ACTIONABLE.

5. PEOPLE PROCESS CONTENT CULTURE TECHNOLOGY
⬢ Flow of knowledge
through the
organization.
⬢ Knowledge holders and
knowledge consumers.
⬢ Understanding of state
and disposition of
experts.
⬢ Existence and
consistency of processes.
⬢ Awareness of and
adherence to processes.
⬢ Quality of processes.
⬢ State and location of
content.
⬢ Consistency of structure
and architecture.
⬢ Dynamism of content.
⬢ Understanding of usage
(analytics).
⬢ Senior support and
comprehension.
⬢ Willingness to share,
collaborate, and support.
⬢ Maturity of “KM Suite.”
⬢ Integration with and
between systems.
⬢ Usability and user-
centricity.
PROCESS CONTENT CULTURE TECHNOLOGY
Deconstructing KM

6. Knowledge Management Lifecycle
CREATE
The point at which knowledge
or information is first exposed,
either in written or verbal
form.
CAPTURE
The collection of information in
a tool or repository (from tacit to
explicit) so that it can be
managed.
MANAGE
Tools, technologies, and
processes required to secure,
organize, control, and expose
the right information to the
right people.
ENHANCE
Processes to evolve and prime
the information.
FIND
Tools and technologies to
help people find the
content they need, when
they need it.
CONNECT
Creating links between
knowledge and information,
between the holders of
knowledge (experts), and
between repositories.
Decisions, activities
or processes where
information could be
streamlined to
ensure success.
CONNECT CREATE
CAPTURE
M
A
N
A
G
E
E
N
H
A
N
C
E
FIND
ACT

7. Tacit Explicit
Structured
Unstructured
Highly internalized
knowledge has not
yet been recorded
or captured.
Knowledge that has been
made visible by capturing,
recording, or embedding it
in databases, documents
and processes.
Organized and categorized in a consistent
way that makes it easy for systems and
machines to read and process. More difficult
for human users to understand without
underlying context.
Follows no consistent format for its
organization and categorization. Generally
easy for human users to read and
understand, but more difficult for machines
to use and process.
Forms of Knowledge

8. The Value of KM

9. CONFRONTING
TODAY’S KM
CHALLENGES
WHY KM MATTERS
EXPONENTIAL INCREASES
IN CONTENT AND DATA.
MORE BARRIERS TO
COLLABORATION AND
CONNECTIONS
(ORGANIZATION,
GEOGRAPHIC, ETC.).
PROLIFERATION OF
KNOWLEDGE AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS.
LESS STRUCTURE, MORE
SOCIAL.
THE GREAT RESIGNATION -
LOWER STAFF RETENTION,
HIGHER LEVELS OF
RETIREMENT.
SUDDEN REMOTE AND
HYBRID WORK.

10. CONFRONTING
TODAY’S KM
CHALLENGES
SUPPORTING DATA POINTS
TODAY, 80% OF BUSINESS
IS CONDUCTED ON
UNSTRUCTURED
INFORMATION – GARTNER
GROUP
KNOWLEDGE WORKERS
SPEND FROM 15% TO 35%
OF THEIR TIME SEARCHING
FOR INFORMATION – SUE
FELDMAN, IDC
FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES
LOSE ROUGHLY $31.5
BILLION A YEAR BY FAILING
TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE –
PAMELA BABCOCK, HR
MAGAZINE.
UNSTRUCTURED DATA
DOUBLES EVERY THREE
MONTHS – GARTNER
GROUP
EACH DAY IN THE U.S.,
10,000 PEOPLE RETIRE –
SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION
40% OF CORPORATE USERS
REPORTED THEY CAN’T FIND
THE INFORMATION THEY
NEED TO DO THEIR JOBS –
SUE FELDMAN, IDC

11. KM Outcomes
ENTERPRISE KNOWLEDGE
▪ Improved content findability and
discoverability, and therefore less
time waiting, searching, and
recreating knowledge.
▪ Increased use and reuse of
information.
▪ Decreased knowledge loss.
▪ Improved organizational awareness
and alignment.
▪ Enhanced quality, availability, and
speed of learning.
Business Outcomes
Improved productivity.
Decreased costs and cost avoidance
due to regulatory fines and lawsuits.
Increased employee satisfaction and
retention.
Faster and better up-scaling of
employees.
Improved customer satisfaction and
retention.
Improved delivery and sales.
Increased collaboration and innovation.
Future readiness.

12. Step 1
New Employee is
given a task, but is not
sure how to proceed
with it.
Step 2
They spend two
hours searching on
systems X, Y, and Z.
Step 3
The search results
are incomplete and
include somewhat
conflicting guidance.
Step 4
They email their
manager for
guidance and wait
an hour for a
response.
Step 5
The response directs
the employee to an
individual who has
completed this task
in the past.
Step 6
The employee emails
this individual and
receives a response
in an additional hour.
The response
includes an
attachment that
provides a template
for completing the
task.
Step 7
The employee
reviews the template
and emails the
individual back to
receive clarification
on how to complete
it. After an additional
30 minutes, the
individual responds
with the necessary
guidance.
Step 8
The employee
completes the task.
Total Time: 4.5 Hours

13. Step 1
New Employee is given a task, but is not
sure how to proceed with it.
Step 2
They search the new knowledge base
and find the template for completing the
task, examples of completed tasks, and
identification of individuals who have
completed this task in the past.
Step 3
They review the template and “chat” the
experienced individual via one-click link
from the search results for additional
guidance.
Step 4
They receive an immediate answer and
are able to complete the task
Total Time: 10 Minutes

14. Leverage Pilots
to Obtain
Metrics, and
Surveys to
Develop
Benchmarks
Best Practices to
Deliver the Real
Value of KM
Find Your KM
and ______
When Selecting
Pilots/Early
Adopters, Go
Where the
Money Is
Prioritize Clear
Measurables
(retention, RIFs)
Rather than
Intangibles
Focus on
Business
Outcomes, Not
KM Outcomes
Don’t Be Afraid
of Technology
as the Way that
KM Becomes
Real

15. Making KM
Clickable

16. ENTERPRISE KNOWLEDGE
• High engagement with
stakeholders.
• Iteratively test and prove the
value of KM.
• Drive business value and
adoption.
AGILE KM

17. Year
Workstream Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12
Develop Content Governance Plan
Design and Validate
People Profiles
People Profile Information Gathering
Design and Validate Taxonomy Launch Taxonomy MVP Develop Taxonomy
Governance Plan
Design Content Types
Content Audit and
Clean Up
Capture Enterprise Search Requirements Design Enterprise Search Engine
Design and Validate Ontology Launch Ontology MVP Develop Ontology
Governance Plan
Ontology Information
Gathering
Launch People Profiles
Implement Enterprise
Search Engine
Design Search Hit Types Implement Search Hit Types
Implement Content Types and
Content Governance Plan
Select Ontology Platform Conduct
Ontology Training
Conduct Taxonomy
Training
Evaluate and Adjust Taxonomy
Evaluate and Adjust
Ontology
Select Search Platform
Select Taxonomy
Management Tool
Content
Readiness
and Quality
Enterprise
Search and
Findability
Content Tagging Tool Selection Content Tagging Implementation
Design Content Tagging
Approach
Taxonomy
Information
Gathering
Users will be able to find the content
they need, when they need it, and
will be given recommendations for
new tailored content.
The organization will understand its
employees’ search pain points and
needs.
Users will have a structured taxonomy
and ontology that will improve
findability across the organization and
enhance their search features.
End users will be trained on
how to effectively use and
maintain the taxonomy.
The organization will understand
where its content resides as well as its
content strengths and areas for
improvement.
Content will have a consistent
structure which makes it more
findable and reusable.
End users will now find and connect with other
experts across the organization.

18. ENTERPRISE KNOWLEDGE
1 Year Roadmap
Q1: Content Cleanup Complete: Old and
risky content has been archived,
resulting in improved findability and
trust, with decreased risk of regulatory
issues based on outdated information.
Q4: Core technology set selected and designs in
process. New content structure and templates
deployed, improving consistency, readability, and
maintainability of all core content.
Q2: Findability redesign pilot complete,
demonstrating value of improved
taxonomy and introducing faceted
navigation.
Q3: Expert finder launched, ensuring all
employees can better find and connect
with experts from whom to learn and
with whom to innovate.
Q4 (EOY): Leading edge semantic
search tool deployed. Employees are
finding and discovering more
content, improving learning,
productivity, and collaboration.

19. KM
Technologies
and Solutions

20. Content Management System
Used to author, organize, manage, and publish content on a web interface
Knowledge Portal
Repository Layer Web Content
Management
Enterprise
Search
Learning
Management
Analytics Layer
Taxonomy
Management
Document
Management
Instant
Messaging
Findability Layer Ontology
Management
Collaboration Layer
Content Creation Layer
Document
Sharing
Annotation /
Feedback
Chat Bot
Team
Workspaces
Reporting Usage Metrics Content Metrics
Governance Layer Workflows Records Schedule Access Controls Information Audit
WYSIWYG Editor Digital Asset Editing
Alerts /
Notifications
Recommendatio
ns
APIs
Displayed below are the layers needed for a best-in-class Knowledge
Management and Information Management Platform.
Knowledge
Graph
Customer
Relationship
Management
Digital Asset
Management
Component
Content
Management
Metadata Layer Auto-Tagging / Auto-Classification Auto-Categorization
KM Platform –
Logical Architecture

21. KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS
TAXONOMY
MANAGEMENT
ONTOLOGY
MANAGEMENT
ENTERPRISE SEARCH
Architecture and data models to
enable machine learning (ML)
and other AI capabilities. Drive
efficient and intelligent data and
information management
solutions.
Examples:
• Expert Finder
• Recommendation Engine
• Customer 360
WEB CONTENT
MANAGEMENT
DOCUMENT &
RECORDS
MANAGEMENT
DIGITAL ASSETS
MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS CONTENT
MANAGEMENT
Used to author, organize,
manage and publish content on
a website.
Examples:
• SiteCore
• GraphCMS
• CloudCMS
• Drupal
• WordPress
• Contentful
Designed to manage, secure,
and control documents across
an enterprise.
Examples:
• Alfresco
• Documentum
• Box.com
• OpenText
• GoFileRoom
• M365 / SharePoint
Designed to manage digital
products like videos and images.
Most frequently used by
marketing and publishing
departments.
Examples:
• Adobe Experience Manager
Assets
• Bynder
• Iconik
Content management tools built
for a specific business purpose
like customer or contract
management.
Examples:
• Apttus Contract
Management
• SalesForce
• Dynamics 365
• Learning Management
Search tools designed to query
across multiple KM systems.
Examples:
• Sinequa
• Lucidworks Fusion
• Elasticsearch
• Solr
Empowers the creation and
management of complex
relationships between various
sources of data.
Examples:
• Stardog
• Neo4j
• Neptune
• Ontotext
Enables organizations to
maintain and expose their
business taxonomies to KM
systems.
Examples:
• PoolParty (SWC)
• Cambridge Semantics
• Semaphore (SmartLogic)
• Synaptica
COMPONENT CONTENT
MANAGEMENT
Manages content at a granular
level so portions of a piece of
content can be reassembled and
used for other content.
Examples:
• Marklogic
• EasyDITA
• SDL Tridion
COLLABORATION
Tools designed to enable users
to share content and collaborate
using instant messaging or video
conferencing.
Examples:
• M365 / Teams
• Slack
• ShareFile
• Firmex
Core KM Technologies

22. FOLKSONOMY CONTROLLED
LIST
TAXONOMY ONTOLOGY KNOWLEDGE
GRAPH
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
Free-text tags. List of predefined
terms. Improves
consistency.
Predefined terms &
synonyms.
Hierarchical
relationships.
Improves consistency.
Allows for parent/child
content relationships.
Predefined classes &
properties. Expanded
relationships types.
Increased
expressiveness.
Semantics. Inference.
Capture related data.
Integration of structured
and unstructured
information. Linked data
store. Architecture and
data models to enable
machine learning and
other AI capabilities.
Drive efficient and
intelligent data and
information
management
solutions.
Semantic Solution Maturity Continuum
@EKCONSULTING

23. Use Case-Driven Design
Emphasize user-driven design,
defining specific use cases,
personas, and applications, so that
solutions are relevant and
measurable, driving executive buy-
in and adoption.
Agile
Implementation
Designs and implement solutions
end-to-end by use case, ensuring
that there is visible incremental
progress and results that users can
validate and adopt while working
towards a defined target state
and vision.
Semantic Web Standards
Standards-based design (i.e. SKOS,
OWL, RDF) so that semantic
models are implementable and
interoperable across systems and
use cases.
USE
CASE
1
USE
CASE
2
USE
CASE
3
Design &
Modeling
Ingestion &
Enrichment
Configuration
Testing &
Validation
Working
Model
Working
Model
Working
Model
As a ___, I would like
to ___, so that ___
Relevant Systems,
Applications, and
Sources
Business Value
User-Centered Iterative Interoperable
Keys to KM Technology Solutions

24. Knowledge Portals and Advanced Search
⬢Integrate multiple
repositories via a single front
end and search.
⬢Leverage taxonomies and
ontologies to maximize
findability and
discoverability.
⬢Use content types and
search hit types to make
results actionable.

25. Knowledge Graphs
Employee:
Alice Reddy
Company:
Consult, Inc
Employee:
Bob Jones
Consultant:
Kat Thomas
Company:
Widgets, Inc
Project:
Sales Process Redesign
Working on
Working on
Works for
Works for Reports to
Works for
Has a contract with
⬢Harness graph databases
and ontologies to connect
multiple types of content
with context.
⬢Used to power Enterprise AI
applications including
chatbots, recommendation
engines, and expert finders.
⬢Able to identify relationships
that are otherwise not
readily apparent.

26. Content Assembly
⬢Build on content
management capabilities to
deconstruct and
automatically assemble
content.
⬢Leverages taxonomies for
customization and
recommendations.
⬢Drastically reduces
administrative burden while
improving governance and
content quality.

27. Recommender Systems
Data Management &
Quality
Auto-tagging
Taxonomy & Ontology
Development
Standardization and
Dereferencing
Natural Language and
Semantic Search
Data Visualization and
Reporting Dashboard
Data Governance
@EKCONSULTING
Enterprise Applications and Use Cases

28. ENTERPRISE KNOWLEDGE
Zach Wahl
@zacharywahl
zwahl@enterprise-knowledge.com
QUESTIONS?
https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/3030923843/