Knowledge management is concerned with how we collect information that is available to various subject matter experts and other employees in a company, how we categorize, tag and store this information and how we distribute this information to other employees within the company and to our customers. Knowledge management concerns itself with anything to do with the handling of the intellectual property and marketing messages of a company.
As technical communicators, we are in a unique position to provide companies with Knowledge Management services. We have unique skills for gathering information, categorizing and reformatting this information into a standardized and usable format, indexing it and providing various mechanisms for review and distribution of information within the company and to customers.
This article discusses ways in which technical communicators can contribute to the management of intellectual property and information in a company.
Identifying Categories of Information
The first stage of any knowledge management task is to identify the categories, usually running along departmental lines, in which corporate information is organized/produced. Based on my industry experience, I have identified the following categories as pertaining to most corporations:
The acronym for this information is TEMPORARY. The knowledge contained within a company is by its very nature temporary, since employees leave a company or forget quickly issues that were important today. Unless this information is recorded in a way that makes it easily accessible to someone else afterwards, the information will be lost. For knowledge management to be effective, it’s implementation must be immediate.
Collecting Information
Information can be collected by a number of methods:
Interviewing employees
Interviewing is a skill well used and mastered by technical communicators, since this is part of our job description. We are experts at extracting important information from reticent or uncommunicative SMEs and rephrasing, organizing and formatting this information in a way that makes it easy for our end users to find information and comprehend it.
However, our activities need not be restricted to interfacing with end users. We are also capable of interviewing employees to gather other types of information of benefit to our company.
Having Employees Complete Documents
Since it is unlikely that many companies will have the resources to interview all of its employees, technical communicators can assist by providing methods for SMEs and other employees to record the information that they know. One way in which this could be done could be by implementing targeted document templates or structured documents, containing headings, under which SMEs can fill in information.
Standards bodies such as ISO (International Standards Organization) have developed standard templates for system specifications, testing and other types of documents. Using these templates, employees can fill in the information they know for each category.
Technical communicators can play an important role in assisting SMEs to complete structured documents, either by advising them on the type of information required under a section and helping them phrase this, or by editing the document to make sure that it is clear and comprehensible.
Translation and Editing Services
In our modern, global economy, many companies have a mixture of employees, from different cultural backgrounds, many of whom do not speak English as a native language. Since language is the prerogative of our field, and many of us have expertise, not only in English but also in other languages, we are in a unique position to assist non-native speakers of English, helping ensure that the written information they communicate is clear and understandable.
Storing and Distributing Information
Once the corporate information has been collected, there are a number of ways in which a company’s information can be stored. Mechanisms should be in place for implementing the storage and organization of each of information:
Database archives
These are archives that contain backups of all email correspondence, software code and documents produced in the company. These archives are located on various severs on the network. The problem with these is that information is simply dumped, without any attempt to organize or tag it. This makes retrieval of information from an archive rather like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Within the development world, systems such as Visual SourceSafe (VSS) are popular tools for version control and storage of computer code and documentation. When employees wish to work on an available version, they need to check it out of the VSS database. Once they have completed a version, they check it back in to VSS, under a different version number. This is an effective method of obtaining version control and ensuring the integrity of the data.
Tagged databases
Systems such as Lotus Notes enable users to enter documents into predefined categories, and create brief heading tags for these documents, with information such as the author, title, version and creation date. Such systems can be effective if organized properly. It is also important that employees in the company are made aware of available databases, for these to be of value to the company.
In my role as documentation manager, I implemented a Manuals database, devoted to end user guides, technical manuals and release notes. The documents in the database were organized according to product, document category and release version. The documents were made available only in PDF format. Other departments in the company had their own separate databases, devoted to their own needs: Sales, engineering, marketing, Marcom, R&D.
For reviewing of documentation, we had a review database, which enabled documents to be attached and email notification sent to the required recipients, with links to the document in the database. Reviewers could enter their comments directly into the database, allowing us to keep track of reviewers history.
The advantage of this system was a relatively cheap and effective means for organizing corporate information, for a middle-sized company with 400+ employees and several international branch offices. Information on the master server at the main office was replicated on a regular basis to servers at the branch offices. In addition, off-site employees could access the databases from their laptop computers, an essential component for traveling sales personnel.
One of the disadvantages of this system was however, the difficulty in finding information. Since there were so many different databases, set up to meet the interests of different departments, many employees were not aware where the latest information was available. This system was also highly dependent on the efficiency and reliability of those creating the documents for the databases. This was not always the case.
A further disadvantage was the fact that these databases were unsearchable and run with proprietary technology, which required installing client software on the remote user’s computer.
Knowledge Base
A knowledge base is similar in many ways to a tagged database, the main difference being that it is fully searchable. Most modern Knowledge Base systems are web-based and are accessible from the Internet. The advantage of this is that no proprietary software or client needs to be installed to access the database. Almost anyone, from any point in the globe, can access the Knowledge Base over the Internet (provided of course that they have a user name and password).
Since a web-based Knowledge Base is universally accessible, most companies find this an ideal solution for providing customers with up-to-date, online information.
A knowledge based system can run on HTML or XML. A system can also be set up for automatically transferring and tagging documents created and stored in a tagged database, into the Knowledge Base.
Users are able to find information by navigating through the categories in the Knowledge Base or by searching, using a key word.
XML-based Systems
XML-based solutions provide the ideal means for implementing a knowledge base and knowledge management system.
Users can be trained to enter appropriate tags, which categorize documents and provide information about the document, or alternatively, these tags can be embedded within customized documentation templates, assigned to each department. In this way, information is tagged as it is created. The tagged information, together with the source information – produced in different formats using different tools (Word, email, Framemaker, HTML) – can be automatically converted into XML.
Technical communicators are used to dealing with structured, tagged information (usually through the use of templates and style sheets).
Training
Training is a method by which information is passed on from existing employees to new employees, customers and to other employees in the company.
Most companies have set up training departments, dedicated to gathering information from various sources and presenting this in formal training programs.
There is some overlap between training and technical communications staff, both of whom are dedicated to gathering information about a company’s products, solutions and procedures, and passing this information on to end users. Many training departments will re-purpose technical and other documentation for their own purposes, tailoring it to suite the needs of their audience. On the other side, technical communicators benefit from the input and feedback received by trainers, who are in direct contact with users.
Technical communicators are in a unique position to provide added value to trainers, by coordinating our efforts with theirs.
Printed Documentation
In our modern, online offices, we sometimes forget the time, not so long ago, when all information was available only in hard copy format. Printed documentation still has its attractions and is indispensable to many business transactions. Sales personnel still need some printed collateral, to show to customers at trade shows or on site and most employees and customers still print out online copies of manuals and other documents on a local printer, for reading at their convenience.
Many companies have gone through the cost-benefit analysis of print production, swinging from one extreme to the other. Most have come to the conclusion that some form of hard copy is a necessity and that printed information provides added-value to the customer and to employees, despite the cost.
As technical communicators, we have experience with print production and are in a unique position to offer our services in this respect.
Some Guidelines
Irrespective of the methods that are used to collect and distribute information in your company, a few guidelines should be applied to using them:
Conclusion
Technical communicators have an important role to play in the management of knowledge within a company. Currently, the documentation provided by most technical communicators provides vital information about a company’s products and services, which is of value not only to external customers, but also to employees within the company.
Sales people can learn about a company’s products by reading the manuals, intellectual property managers can use the documentation to explain a technology when applying for patents, and new employees can gain an understanding about the company.
In addition to creating formatted information that is of benefit to the entire company, technical communicators also have an important role in determining how this information is stored and distributed, and of coordinating our efforts with other departments, to ensure the smooth flow of information within the company.