Overview
Learning, and successfully implementing the skills associated with a Knowledge Management (KM) process takes time and practice. To use a metaphor, remember when you were first learning to drive a car. You first got a learner's permit, and had a licensed driver along to teach you how to drive. Initially, you devoted a great deal of attention to all the nuances of driving; however, over time your proficiency increased and you became more comfortable with driving. Eventually you pass a test and received your drivers license granting you new rights and privileges and enabled you to drive on your own.
To ensure your success with Knowledge Management we have adopted a phased approach to the introduction of KM and have split the up the skills and responsibilities into distinct learning groups. These are Candidate, Contributor, Publisher, and Trainer. The chart below highlights the knowledge, skills, abilities, and requirements associated with each level.
Note
The levels of KM are not linked, or related, to any specific job, or position within the organization. Instead it is based upon individual skill, experience, and progression through the KM training process. Within each team, it will not be uncommon to have individuals with a mix of knowledge competencies.
In this article:
Knowledge Candidate
The individual responsible for authoring knowledge articles, and ensuring it contains all the relevant information.
Skills
- Able to search for and find existing KB articles
- Able to recognize relevant information in the Knowledge base
- Able to exercise judgment in their interaction with existing knowledge
- Able to determine if they understand a KB article, and if they do not to not use or recommend it until they do
- Link relevant KB articles to ticket
Abilities
- Add Articles
- Address Feedback
- Edit Owned Articles
- Create/Modify Shortcuts
- View Knowledge Base
Requirements
- Ability to read and write English
- Must complete Knowledge Candidate training
Knowledge Contributor
A Contributor competencies are incremental to those of the Knowledge Candidate. They have a strong understanding of the importance of context of the audience, the content standard, and the Knowledge processes. They should be able to work independently in creating well-structured KB articles, and be adept at enhancing others' articles to make them available to a wider audience.
Skills
- Able to search for and find existing KB articles
- Able to recognize relevant information in the Knowledge base
- Able to exercise judgment in their interaction with existing knowledge
- Able to determine if they understand a KB article, and if they do not to not use or recommend it until they do
- Link relevant KB articles to ticket
- Able to review articles for content, and make actionable recommendations for improvements
- Able to review articles for style/formatting
- Able to approve article content
Abilities
- Add Articles
- Address Feedback
- Edit Articles
- Edit Owned Articles
- Create/Modify Shortcuts
- Review and Publish Drafts
- Review Articles
- View Knowledge Base
Requirements
- Must have written at least 50 approved KB Articles (mix of "how-to" and "informational")
- Must complete Knowledge Contributor training
- All requirements of Knowledge Candidate
- Understanding of Service Catalog & Service Owner
Knowledge Publisher
A Publisher competencies are incremental to those of the Knowledge Contributor. They have a strong understanding of the technical implications of the knowledge being published, has an understanding of what material is priority information, and has an understanding of copyright and trademark polices enforced by the university. Additionally, they understand, and are responsible for ensuring that articles are appropriately addressed to internal, or external audiences, and ensuring it is accessible to the intended audience(s).
Skills
- Able to search for and find existing KB articles
- Able to recognize relevant information in the Knowledge base
- Able to exercise judgment in their interaction with existing knowledge
- Able to determine if they understand a KB article, and if they do not to not use or recommend it until they do
- Link relevant KB articles to ticket
- Able to review articles for content, and make actionable recommendations for improvements
- Able to review articles for style/formatting
- Able to approve article content
- Able to identify correct knowledge audiences (Public, Internal)
- Able to publish articles, and drafts
- Able to identify articles for archival
Abilities
- Add Articles
- Address Feedback
- Edit Articles
- Edit Archived Articles
- Edit Owned Articles
- Create/Modify Shortcuts
- Review and Publish Drafts
- Review Articles
- Publish Articles
- View Knowledge Base
Requirements
- Must have reviewed at least 50 KB Articles
- Must complete Knowledge Publisher training
- All requirements of Knowledge Contributor
Knowledge Trainer
A Knowledge Trainer's competencies are the pinnacle of Knowledge Management. They have a thorough understanding of the Knowledge Management process having authored, reviewed, and published an extensive quantity, and quality of KB articles. They are focused on the success of the organization, and the customer.
Skills
- Able to search for and find existing KB articles
- Able to recognize relevant information in the Knowledge base
- Able to exercise judgment in their interaction with existing knowledge
- Able to determine if they understand a KB article, and if they do not to not use or recommend it until they do
- Link relevant KB articles to ticket
- Able to review articles for content, and make actionable recommendations for improvements
- Able to review articles for style/formatting
- Able to approve article content
- Able to identify correct knowledge audiences (Public, Internal)
- Able to publish articles, and drafts
- Able to identify articles for archival
- Thorough understanding of KM Service
- Able to train all levels of Knowledge roles
- Able to write Knowledge Management KB articles
Abilities
- Add Articles
- Address Feedback
- Edit Articles
- Edit Archived Articles
- Edit Owned Articles
- Create/Modify Shortcuts
- Review and Publish Drafts
- Review Articles
- Publish Articles
- View Knowledge Base
Requirements
- Must be KM Publisher for at least 6 months
- Must have written at least 50 KB Articles
- Must have reviewed at least 100 KB Articles
- Must have published at least 100 KB Articles
- Must complete Train the Knowledge Trainer
- All requirements of Knowledge Publisher
Need additional help or have issues
For support, requests may be submitted anytime by Requesting Support for the Enterprise Service Management service. Support Requests are worked by Priority based on the Impact and Urgency of need as well as the order they are received by the IT Employees with the knowledge and permissions to assist with the request.
For immediate assistance please review the Contact Us page for ways to contact the appropriate support group.