Setember 2009 Feature Article

Implementing a Knowledge Management Program for the U.S. Army

By Art Schlussel, CKMŪ, CDIA, ECMs

 

Editor’s Note:  For the AIIM community, the term Knowledge Management has not been used very much because of perceived lack of consistency in the definition and use of the term.  However the term is now used by the Federal Government and military and has been adopted in very specific situations with a concrete, meaningful definition.  I believe it is time for AIIM to reevaluate the term and embrace its use in a standardized manner. This article is an excellent example of how the term is used in a working program.  Mark Mandel, editor.

 

The Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff signed a memorandum titled Army Knowledge Management Principles (http://www.army.mil/ciog6/docs/AKMPrinciples.pdf ) on July 23, 2008. The memorandum clearly states that KM principles have implications for all Commands and Army organizations.  All soldiers (including National Guard, reserve, and civilians) will now have to understand KM competencies and how to apply them. The first of the 12 Army KM principles is to train and educate KM leaders, managers, and champions, but on what body of knowledge do you base KM training and education?

 

Army KM Principles

People/Culture

1. Train and educate KM leaders, managers, and champions.

2. Reward knowledge sharing and make knowledge management career rewarding.

3. Establish a doctrine of collaboration.

4. Use every interaction whether face-to-face to virtual as an opportunity to acquire and share knowledge.

5. Prevent knowledge loss.

 

Process

6. Protect and secure information and knowledge assets.

7. Embed knowledge assets in standard business processes and provides access to those who need to know.

8. Use legal and standard business rules and processes across the enterprise.

 

Technology

9. Use standardized collaborative tool sets.

10. Use Open Architectures to permit access and searching across boundaries.

11. Use a robust search capability to access contextual knowledge nd store content for discovery.

12. Use portals that permit single sign-on and authentication across the global enterprise including partners.

 

Research the KM professional literature and you will find volumes of information on KM concepts and theories, KM approaches and methodologies, KM tools and resources, KM case studies, KM best practices, and even KM tips and tricks. All good stuff, but what is missing is definitive KM competencies; those subject areas critical to an organization’s adoption and use of KM principles and practices. What is evident is that most KM competencies are also “knowledge work” competencies.  In today’s Army, as is true in virtually all labor categories in work forces around the world, most work today is knowledge work. As such, KM competencies must be considered core work competencies that knowledge-sharing organizations embrace and instill throughout their workforce.  Additionally, a culture of trust and willingness to share must accompany these competencies.  Knowing what to do and how to do it is only half the solution.  Individuals must be willing to learn and share on a personal basis, and the organization must support individuals’ abilities and attitudes with a cultural atmosphere that encourages knowledge sharing.  To some extent these attitudes are in contrast to the Army mind-set (a mind-set which can be found in many commercial organizations as well) where a strict chain-of-command hierarchy can stifle knowledge sharing, so allowances must be made in situations where the need to share supersedes strict discipline and adherence to protocol.  If an organization is serious about implementing KM throughout the enterprise, and KM is to be woven into the organizational DNA, then there must be a body of knowledge, or a baseline understanding of KM principles and the accompanying cultural shift for there to be widespread and effective adoption and use.

 

The U.S. Army is currently developing a KM Competency Model. It will serve as the foundational body of knowledge for all Army KM training and education. These competencies apply to both KM professionals (those that serve in some KM leadership or stewardship capacity) and KM practitioners (all active, reserve, National Guard, and civilian personnel).  The competency model imparts a common understanding of the essential skills and knowledge necessary to effectively promote proven KM practices. It provides a basis for professional development, and is intended to guide future training and curriculum development efforts. It is not expected that an individual will have to be an expert in all of the competencies in order to effectively adopt and use KM.  The depth and breadth of competency depends on where an individual is in their career, their duties and responsibilities, and their domain (KM professional or KM practitioner).  The competencies will be disseminated through Professional Military Education (PME) and the Army Civilian Training, Education, and Development System (ACTEDS), as these systems can help change the Army culture by infusing the competencies within professional training and education from accession through retirement.

 

 

What are the competencies and how did they evolve? In the spring of 2008 Dr. Robert Neilson, Knowledge Management Advisor to the Army's Chief Information Officer, Army CIO/G-6, introduced the notion of Army KM Competencies in a briefing titled Army Knowledge Strong; Army Wide Knowledge Management Community of Practice. These competencies have since been included in The Army CIO/G-6 Human Capital Strategic Plan for 2008-2015. These eight competencies introduced the breadth of subject matter needed to develop an Army KM educational program.

 

It clearly illustrates that people, process and technology components are equally important, and that a base level of KM foundational education is necessary across the enterprise to assure KM adoption and use.  The model boldly moved KM beyond IT by calling attention to the organizational, cultural, and relationship aspects of KM competencies, and included the elements of assessment and measurement to underscore the notion that what gets measured gets done.  Though these concepts are basic KM fundamentals, they have never before been codified within the Army as the essential elements of Army KM education and curriculum development.  Additionally, they directly relate to the Army KM Principles by furnishing the competencies needed to make the principles actionable.

 

The model is now being vetted throughout the Army KM professional community as well as external governmental and commercial entities.  It is being modified and enhanced as feedback is collected and synthesized, with the goal of improving the model and gaining consensus on its adoption and use. Currently there are nine general competency areas in respect to Army KM, as shown in Figure

2.  These competency areas must be well covered to create a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing in the Army. 

 

The Army KM Competency Model is much more that just these nine competency area subject headings. Behind each competency area are goals that characterize the desired outcome, suggested actionable approaches to meeting the goals intent, and suggested methods to enable the approach.  These goals, approaches and methods will then be used by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and other Army organizations to design core KM training and educational strategy that will ultimately lead to curriculum development delivered by the Professional Military Education and Army Civilian Training, Education, and Development Systems.

 

The U.S. Army is serious about KM and believes that efforts must be grounded in enduring principles and sound competencies. Ultimately the Army will endorse a KM Competency Model that will serve as the foundation for enterprise-wide KM adoption and use, and create a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing in the Army where personalized and contextual information and knowledge is “pushed and pulled” from across the enterprise to meet mission objectives , where good ideas are valued regardless of the source, where knowledge sharing is recognized and rewarded, and where the knowledge base is accessible without technological or structural barriers.

 

Art Schlussel is a Knowledge Management Consultant at the U.S. Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership. He may be reached at artschlussel@gmail.com.