Spotlight on ‘standards’: 2004 update Sue Halbwirth University of Technology Sydney 5 th Annual Conference ACTKM Forum 14 October 2004 Standards Australia KM Committee Assoc Prof Helen Hasan University of Wollongong

The Australian KM Standard will be released by the end of News flash!!

There were many who said that it could not, or should not, be done but we have managed to bottle the fog

Standards in Australia What is a standard? “a published document … specifications and procedures … to ensure that a material, product, method or service is fit for its purpose and consistently performs the way it was intended to.” (Standards Australia International)  the peak non-government standards body in Australia  international responsibilities  development of technical and business standards

Trends in standards - “first generation” ABOUT Technical rules Compliance Prescriptive TO Universality Conformity Specific desired outcome

Trends in standards - “new generation” ABOUT Small “s” standard Guidelines Descriptive Improve quality Describe ‘good’ practice Voluntary code of practice Guidance and clarity TO

Thoughts Standards Australia has embarked on an initiative to develop some standards from the point of view of performance by bringing all of the pieces of the puzzle together rather than conformance Standards are one tool for: defining, aggregating, sharing practice

‘Bottling fog….’ KM 2003 Interim standard AS Consultation KM: a guide 2004 Standard AS-5037 Feedback

The interim KM standard Key messages: Alignment with strategy Understand of culture and capability Understand knowledge gaps Balance “elements” Balance enablers “one size does not fit all” Aim: Describe and clarify NOT constrain or limit diversity

The journey continued…  Feedback ? declaring assumptions ? examples and case studies ? developing/discarding ?? the model ? organisational readiness ? more on implementation ? thought leadership ? shared language  Supporting documents Guide to KM Vocabulary

The Controversies no matter what definitions were adopted there would be those who would disagree with them. unnecessarymeaningless potentially harmful makes KM too rigid would reduce KM to the lowest common denominator exclude legitimate approaches to KM Is the next step certification?”

A definition ?… Knowledge management is “ a multi trans disciplinary approach to achieving organisational objectives outcomes and learning, by making the best use through maximising the use of knowledge.” ( AS )

Key messages of the Standard l The knowledge eco-system l Readiness l A cyclical approach l From alignment to transformation l Balance l Increasing the range of enablers l Emerging issues and trends

AS 5037 – Knowledge Management: A Guide Contents l Scope and general l Introducing the concepts l Mapping context and capability l Building experience and linkages l Operationalising initiatives and capabilities l Enablers l Evaluating and Measuring l Issues and trends l Appendix

Knowledge eco-system

Map/Build/Operationalise Cycle

Challenges  Process Building collaboration and consensus Collecting public feedback  Product Target audience? Format and style Limits on acknowledging intellectual inputs  Content Trans disciplinary nature of KM Tensions – what and how, diversity and complexity

The highlights l The team l Trust l Mutual respect l The celebrations l KM in action

Where to now???  Is Australian KM at a crossroad? Can the Standard contribute to the future directions of KM practice and research in Australia? l The Standards process like KM itself is continually evolving l Future handbooks …. l Please get involved eg: ActKM, state forums …..

The KM Standard is about: l innovation and sharing behaviours, l managing complexity and ambiguity through knowledge networks and connections, l exploring smart processes and deploying people-centric technologies. How and when you apply it depends on the context of your organisation!!