Articles by Month: June 2002

XML for Knowledge Managers

I breathed a big sigh of relief this week, as I've finally finished the last draft of my XML for Knowledge Managers handbook. This will be pubished by Standards Australia as a supplement to their Knowledge Management Framework.

I'll make an announcement when it finally gets to press (hopefully in the next month or so).

Posted by jamesr at 11:46 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Weblogs in the workplace

David Gammel has posted a small but illuminating case-study on the value of weblogging in a corporate environment. Titled Klog pilot notes, it outlines the use of a weblog within a web development team.

Posted by jamesr at 11:40 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

A Solid Intranet in Eight Steps

Theo Mandel has written an excellent article titled A Solid Intranet in Eight Steps.

This paper outlines a few very practical ways of ensuring the intranet works for its users:

• Forget about your Internet site.
• Eliminate frames from your design
• Create intranet guidelines and stand by them
• Put usability before consistency
• Start small and grow iteratively
• Use standard link characteristics
• Evaluate against measurable objectives and criteria
• Make your intranet accessible

All good stuff, well worth a read.

Posted by jamesr at 03:42 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management, Information architecture, Interface design, Intranets, Usability & user-centered design

WaSP

The Web Standards Project (WaSP) is in the news again. I love these guys, and I've been a quiet supporter since their establishment in 1998.

This is something that I'm passionate about: getting support for web standards in all commercial browsers. This will save users grief, developers a lot of hassle, and provide more options for consumers.

I encourage everyone to drop by the WaSP project, and see what they can do to help...

Posted by jamesr at 12:10 PM | Permalink
Categories: Web development

More usability resources

This is supposed to be a weblog on knowledge management, yet all I seem to be talking about this week is usability. Now, I think this is simply due to the lack of KM articles and news that has captured my interest.

(I'm always looking for simple, practical, and useful approaches, and I'm turned off by new buzzwords, grand theories, and the like.)

Anyway, Pamela and Steve Ellis have written an excellent article which summarises the different usability methods that can be applied. Well worth a read.

Posted by jamesr at 12:01 PM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Usability of searches

An article has been published by Jakob Nielsen and Kara Pernice Coyne on usability testing search interfaces.This walks the reader through the steps involved in assessing the the design of a website search tool.

This is something that I've done a bit of thinking about in the past. For example, see our case study Deploying an effective search engine. This looks at common design issues, and how we tackled them.

If there's one idea I think that everyone should implement in their search engine, it would be usage logs. These are an invaluable way of tracking ongoing usage, and provide feedback on both the design of the search engine, and the value of the information on the website.

(This is something that I would've like to seen mentioned in the Nielsen and Coyne article.)

Posted by jamesr at 11:50 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Classification schemes

I've just stumbled across a paper on faceted classification of information, which talks about applying multiple sets of indexes to a knowledgebase.

The paper argues that having only one classification scheme is insufficient in a business environment. Instead, a single page may be classified according to subjects such as: products, people, organisational structure, events, etc.

This is an interesting paper, although be warned: it is very academic in content, and could really do with some examples. For serious KM practioners only.

Posted by jamesr at 07:01 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Assessment, usability testing & KM

Workplace assessment uses a variety of techniques to determine the competence of a staffperson, looking at areas such as: skills, knowledge, interraction with the environment and other systems.

Usability testing uses a variety of techniques to determine how the staffperson interracts with their environment and other systems, to identify deficiences in these systems.

Knowledge management uses a variety of techniques to identify areas where more knowledge is required, or processes are lacking. (Amongst other goals, of course.)

Interestingly, they all use very similar techniques. It's just the goal of the activity which is different.

For example, the course I recently did outined a number of different workplace assessment techniques:

• workplace observations
• simulations / roleplays
• oral questioning
• written questioning
• portfolio of evidence

Does this sound familiar to the usability people amongst us? While the terms may be a little different, this is exactly the range of options used for usability testing.

In fact, the more I look at it, there greater the overlap is between training, assessment, usability testing and knowledge management.

If nothing else, this suggests that workplace assessment can combine together several goals in the one activity:

• Assessing the skills and knowledge of the candidate
• Identifying usability problems with the systems they are using
• Identifying knowledge gaps, and process problems

In training terms, this is known as holistic assessment, and is very much encouraged. (In other words, getting the best "bang for your buck".)

Posted by jamesr at 04:56 PM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

A rose by any other name...

I received a comment today from Donna Maurer, who said:

"Everything you do under the heading of 'knowledge management' is similar to a lot of things I do as an 'information architect/interaction designer/user-centred designer'"

She then went on to say that she tries to avoid having a title, as it only causes confusion for her clients. Instead, she just explains we she does, and how it's useful.

I couldn't agree more. This highlights one of our key challenges as a field: our identity.

This is a two-edged sword:

• Many people now avoid using terms like "knowledge management" or "information architecture", as they are often not understood. Worse, they may be perceived as "buzzwords" or "trendy labels", thus devaluing the skills and experience of the person in question.
• Without a name and identity, how are we to market ourselves? Potential clients need to be able to say "I need the services of an {x}", and be able to easily find such a person.

I think all of this has been brought into sharp focus with the downturn of the IT market. Hopefully, though, when we come out the other side of this slow patch, it will have given us an opportunity to clarify our identity and role in the marketplace.

Perhaps the answer is:

• consistent terminology
• less hype
• more professionlism
• educating clients
• more business focus

Your thoughts?

Posted by jamesr at 02:49 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

More browsers, more use

There is a story making the rounds at the moment, highlighting a small (but significant) drop in marketshare for Internet Explorer. The winners? Apparently Opera, Netscape and Mozilla are all on the increase.

According to one survey, that makes current usage at:

Why am I mentioning all of this? Well, I for one would be very happy to see a return to the "browser wars" days. Only then will then be a chance that all browsers will fully implement web standards. Which would make everyone's life easier...

Posted by jamesr at 02:25 PM | Permalink
Categories: Web development

An open letter to CMS vendors

Joseph Martins has just posted a very eloquent message to the cms-list. This is a wake-up call to the CMS vendors, and it struck a real chord with me. Since I can't improve on his message, I'll quote a sample:

Do yourselves a favor and tell your prospects exactly what you can and cannot deliver [out of the box, and via custom development] using plain English. Don't confuse them with jargon or mislead them with half-truths...let your competitors do it for you. Deception is a short-term strategy. Even if your competition wins an account... in 6 to 12 months, when they fail to deliver (despite 20 new enhancements and 92 new software builds), and their client is fed up with their performance, you will get a knock on your door.

I remember one Fortune 500 office supply giant that got so fed up with hearing the same old crap from CMS vendors, they began tossing them out 20 minutes into two-hour long presentations. Why? They could tell when a vendor was full of it. And I know of at least 4 publicly traded CMS vendors paying for their marketing/sales sins right now. Dissatisfied customers are very vocal. One minute you've got 25% of the market, the next minute 2.5%.

(Unfortunately, the cms-list archives seem to be about 10 days out of date, so you'll just have to wait to see the full message.)

Posted by jamesr at 12:37 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

KM & call centres

One of my main interests at the moment is knowledge management in call centres, so it's nice to see others writing about it as well.

The CallCenter magazine has published an article titled The Power Of Knowledge Management Software. I'm not sure they 100% understand what KM means, but it's a useful article nonetheless.

Posted by jamesr at 11:52 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Doing a content inventory

I've just come across a link to an article by Jeff Veen titled Doing a Content Inventory.

Upon visiting the page, the eye is drawn by the smirking photo of Jeff in the top-left corner. My first thought was: "hey, I met Jeff just last week, at the drinks after the Jakob Nielsen conference. He's a really friendly guy".

Then I read the article, and my next thought was: "hey, this is a really good article". It works through the very practical process of identifying what is on your current website, and provides useful tips and tricks.

Even better, Jeff provides an Excel spreadsheet, already setup for a content inventory. Now that's what I call useful!

Posted by jamesr at 05:59 PM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture, Intranets

Competency standards

As part of the training course, we were all encouraged to browse the Australian National Training Authority (www.anta.gov.au) website. This contains a huge number of Training Packages, which outline the competencies required across a broad range of industries.

How is this relevant to knowledge management? Let me use call centres as an example.

The ANTA site lists a training package specifically for the telecommunications and call centre industry. This provides considerable detail on what working at a call centre involves, and the skills and knowledge required.

For example, the competency standard contains main units such as:

• Provide quality customer service
• Use specific enterprise systems to satisfy customer requirements
• Process sales of complex product/service and where customer is unsure of available solutions
• Resolve customer complaints
• Lead, participate in and facilitate the activities of a call centre work team

(And the list goes on.)

Within each unit, the competencies are further broken down. For example, within "Provide quality customer service", there are specific elements, including:

• Receive an inquiry from the customer
• Determine customer requirements
• Respond to customer requests in a timely and effective manner

Each of these elements are then supported by a detailed description of the actions and knowledge involved.

As a whole, this is a complete and detailed description of the "day in the life" of a call centre. This offers many benefits for knowledge management:

• Provides the basis for task and process analysis.
• Specifies the skills and knowledge required by call centre staff.
• Provides a bridge between training (developing skills) and knowledge management (providing information).
• Acts as a checklist for identifying inadequacies in training, knowledge and IT systems.

The amazing thing is that there are these "competency standards" for almost every industry, from hospitality to mining. This is a goldmine for knowledge management professionals, and most of the information is freely available on the web.

(If you are in Australia, you can sign up for the free quarterly Australian Training Magazine, which will keep you up-to-date with the latest developments in vocational training and certification.

Posted by jamesr at 06:36 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Networking with information architects

The Jakob Nielsen usability conference was in town all of last week. While I wasn't able to make the conference itself, I did make it to the social drinks on Thursday evening. This was an excellent opportunity to chat and share ideas with other information architects and usability people.

The first topic on everyone's lips was the state of the industry. It was universally agreed that business was slow across the board, and that with the squeeze of IT budgets, the so-called "non-essential" activities such as usability were the first to go.

There was also much talk about the level of confusion regarding the role and identity of information architecture and usability. While client's seem to be slowly recognising the value of these fields, many highlighted the need for further education, promotion and visibility.

This is, I think, the real challenge. Once a client has been introduced to usability, they can immediately see its relevance, and the direct business benefits it brings. The question is: how to best increase the status of the field, so that more people can discover its rewards?

I also had a good chat with Lou Rosenfeld, the well-known author of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (I know I certainly have a copy on my shelf). He was a great pleasure to talk to, knowledgeable, and very approachable.

He questioned me about my focus on knowledge management, and related the general feeling in the US about the field. It seems that many practioners are distancing themselves from the "knowledge management" term, as it has been tarnished by hype and industry confusion.

I agreed with Lou that the same is happening here. Even more so than usability, knowledge management needs to define itself clearly, and start delivering consistent benefits. At present, with so many different things being called KM, there is the real chance that the field will be killed off before it is even finished being born.

PS, Lou Rosenfeld has an excellent weblog on information architecture, which I encourage you all to visit.

Posted by jamesr at 05:16 PM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture, Usability & user-centered design

Learning to teach

Apologies for the lack of entries over the last few days. Instead, I've been doing the first few days of a Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training, which is the nationally-recognised course for certified trainers.

Over my last six months in knowledge management, I've increasingly encountered training as a critical issue. Recognising my lack of knowledge in this area, I decided to do something about it. Thus the course.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not only useful, but a lot of fun. There are also a lot of interesting parallels to be drawn with KM in general, and usability in specific.

This is something that I'm going to be thinking more about over the next week, and I'll post my thoughts and observations on this weblog. Apologies in advance for those of you with a strong training background (I'm sure I'll be stating the obvious in a lot of cases).

The course I've just completed was focused on assessment in specific: that is, indentifying whether someone has gained a sufficient level of competence, as a result of training or experience. (I'm apparently now an "nationally-recognised accredited asessor", which I'm sure will be handy at some point.)

Posted by jamesr at 04:59 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

In progress: a Java API for content repositories

I've just had my attention drawn to JSR 170 (Content Repository for JavaTM technology API). This is a "work in progress" that aims to develop a standard API for accessing the content in a CMS.

In their words:

"This API proposes that content repositories have a dedicated, standard way of interaction with applications that deal with content. This API will focus on transactional read/write access, binary content (stream operations), textual content, full-text searching, filtering, observation, versioning, handling of hard and soft structured content."

I have no idea whether this will eventuate to anything of practical use, but the goals are unarguably good. I am encouraged that the expert group contains participants from a diverse range of organisations, including: Apache, IBM, Interwoven, Documentum, Oracle, Stellent, Vignette, and more.

Posted by jamesr at 03:58 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Buy or build?

There has been a lot of discussion recently on whether it is better to buy an "off-the-shelf" content management system, or to custom-develop a solution in-house. This has been provoked by a number of reports from the research firms, pointing one way or another.

One recent article by David Walker provides a reasonable summary of the state of play.

My take on this: it's irrelevant. I don't believe there is "you should buy" anymore than there is "you should build".

Instead, it all comes back to the business requirements (when doesn't it?). I personally believe that companies are getting into hot water with their CMSs because they didn't have a clear idea of what they wanted and needed from the start.

If a business sits down, and properly plans a CMS project, they will have the information needed to make an informed choice regarding "buying vs building". It's this simple: what's the best way to meet the business goals?

The flip side of the coin is implementation. It doesn't matter which option that you choose if the project is not properly managed. This means addressing:

• involving all stakeholders throughout the design & development
• managing change
• providing sufficient training
• managing the content

At the end of the day, the technology is the least important part of "content management".

Posted by jamesr at 01:39 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

More excellent weblogs

In my enthusiasm for getting my own weblog up, I missed a few excellent sites in my list of other KM weblogs. So I'm going to correct that omission now:

• Intranet Focus blog (Martin White)
• Gurteen KM (David Gurteen)
• Camworld (Cameron Barrett)
• WebWord (John Rhodes)
• Drop.org (community site)
• IAslash (community site)
• MetaKM (community site)
• SynapShots (news blog)

Posted by jamesr at 11:59 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Is standardised XML harmful for businesses?

Walter Perry has written a very interesting article which questions whether defining standard languages for communicating between business is such a great idea after all.

He argues that by providing a dumbed-down medium for communication (one that has it's own rules and loopholes) it opens the way for "the problem of misstatement, of misdirection of naive interpretation, and the potential for fraud".

This is a very thought-provoking article, which highlights the need to have a real understanding of business issues when implementing technical standards. You may agree or disagree with his argument, but it is definitely worth a read.

Posted by jamesr at 04:29 PM | Permalink
Categories: XML

Update to technical documentation standard

The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) was developed by IBM as a powerful way to store and publish technical documentation in XML form. It has gained quite a following, and competes with other industry standards, such as DocBook and TEI.

Using Darwin, technical writers can write individual "topics", and assemble them into different published formats. (This is the concept of "single sourcing".)

DITA has recently been expanded, to encompass even greater flexibility and extensibility. If you are in the business of technical writing, I would encourage you to look at this standard.

More information can be found at the XML Cover Pages (be warned, it gets pretty full on, even in Robin's summary).

Posted by jamesr at 04:17 PM | Permalink
Categories: XML

Metadata for images

A new standard has been released that describes consistent metadata for still images. This has been produced in draft form by NISO (US National Information Standards Organization) and AIIM International.

The data dictionary "defines a standard set of metadata elements for digital images. Standardizing the information allows users to develop, exchange, and interpret digital image files. The dictionary has been designed to facilitate interoperability between systems, services, and software as well as to support the long-term management of and continuing access to digital image collections."

This has relevance within any organisation that manages large amounts of images (such as graphic arts and marketing departments). I haven't had a chance to read through it yet, but any standard that defines workable metadata is a "good thing" in my book.

You can read more at the XML Cover Pages.

Posted by jamesr at 04:05 PM | Permalink
Categories: XML

Open Publish 2002 (Sydney, Australia)

I've just received final details for Open Publish 2002, which will be held in Sydney, Australia.

I've been signed up to run a half-day tutorial, and to present a paper:

Online Usability Techniques
Half day tutorial, Monday 29th July
This will look at usability guidelines, tips and techniques for ensuring that publishing systems meet user needs. Real world examples will be used with an emphasis on practical problem solving approaches that are both useful and fun. Reference will be made to standards such as the W3C Web Accessability Initiative and ISO standards.

How to select a content management system
Presentation, Wednesday 31st July
Many organisations are now purchasing an enterprise-wide content management system (CMS) to manage their intranets and corporate websites. Implementing a CMS is often runs into millions of dollars. Choosing the right CMS package is critical to the success of the project. The CMS market is now saturated with vendors and products, and comparing them is extremely difficult. This talk outlines a process for selecting a CMS, along with tips and tricks. This structured approach ensures that both your managers and users are happy with the final solution.

The only downside is that this conference is being held at exactly the same time as the IIM 2002 conference in Brisbane. This means my schedule looks like: Monday, Sydney; Tuesday, Brisbane; Wednesday, Sydney. Oh well, at least the plane flight is only an hour.

Posted by jamesr at 03:30 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

It's a *world-wide* web

I am constantly surprised at the wide range of people that visit our site, from all across the globe.

For example, a quick trawl through the Papers-announce list members, reveals over 29 countries. Purchases of the Content Management Requirements Toolkit have been equally global, from countries such as: Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Sweden and Denmark.

Finally, there are over 70 countries listed in our web usage statistics, from the large (US, UK, etc) to the small (Mauritius, Luxembourg).

It just goes to show...

Posted by jamesr at 06:22 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

IIM 2002 (Brisbane, Australia)

I have just booked my flights for the IIM 2002 conference in sunny Brisbane, Australia.

I'm presenting a talk on Tuesday 30th July, on the following topic:

Knowledge Management for Call Centres
Call centres are a growing business, and many organisations are looking to use them as the primary wayof interacting with customers. While call centres offer many organisational and efficiency benefits, they are confronted with considerable challenges. These challenges include: high staff turnover, pressure to reduce call-handling times, and legal exposure (to name but a few). The primary challenge is ensuring that customers receive the correct information, in a timely fashion. It is here that knowledge management has much to offer. This presentation explores practical ways in which KM can reduce training times; improve response times; enhance staff & customer satisfaction; and improve efficiency. The presentation draws on real-world lessons gained by developing frontline KM systems for the NRMA and RTA.

(This talk is based on the paper of the same name.)

Unfortunately, I will only be in Brisbane for the day, but I would still like to meet any local KM practioners for a social chat. Drop me a line if you are interested.

Posted by jamesr at 04:46 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Knowledge fairs

There has been an excellent discussion on the KM-Framework list regarding knowledge fairs.

The basic idea is that different groups within an organisation showcase their KM efforts in a public forum. This increases the visiblity of KM projects, and generates greater enthusiasm.

One list member suggested running this as a competition (like a "battle of the bands"). This motivates the different teams to be creative, and encourages them to spend the extra effort preparing for the fair.

I love the idea of a knowledge fair, particularly within a large organisation pursuing a global KM strategy. I'll definitely add this to my "toolbox" for the next project...

(I would encourage you to browse the archives of the KM-Framework list to see the full posts, as there some very good suggestions being discussed.)

Posted by jamesr at 11:07 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Running a tiny usability test

Last week, we ran a budget usability test for one of our clients. This was the first in a series of tests in a website redesign project.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much the usability testing activities can be streamlined, down to the following:

1. I sat down with my co-worker Kim, and we scribbled down on a single A4 sheet all the details of the test, such as:

   What will be tested
   Reasons for testing
   Participants
   Length of test
   Test dates
   Test site
   Equipment required
   Activities

2. I then spent an hour-and-a-half writing this up, and expanding out the "activities" into a full script.
3. On the appointed day, we turned up at the client site, and ran the first user through the test. Total time spent testing: 1 hour.

   Kim wrote notes in a notepad, while I typed into my laptop. (We decided that using a video camera would be overkill.) The test went well, and revealed several "ah ha!" and "doh!" issues. The user also enjoyed doing the test.

4. Kim and I debriefed after the test, and indentified about a dozen major issues, and the same number of actions.

Nothing outstanding in any of this, but I was still pleased that we could get so much useful results, from so little effort.

Posted by jamesr at 12:13 PM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Australian CMS solutions?

One idea that I'm considering at the moment is writing an article (or pack) which showcases local (Australian) content management systems.

Considering the push, particularly within Government, to "buy local", I thought this could be a very handy resource.

Now, the challenge is to find all the excellent local businesses which have developed a CMS solution. Particularly the smaller vendors...

So, could you help out, and send me an e-mail, listing any vendors you have come across? (I already have quite a good list, but I'm sure I've missed some.)

(They must be Australian owned and produced. Local arms of multi-nationals need not apply.)

Posted by jamesr at 03:36 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Two excellent KM mailing lists

While I've subscribed to almost a dozen different KM lists, there are only two which really stand out for me.

Both of these lists are very practical, with excellent discussions between people "in the field". Thankfully, there is a minimum of linguistic argument, and a maximum of feedback and ideas.

The two lists in question are:

• KM-Framework@yahoogroups.com
• act-km@yahoogroups.com

The easiest way to join these lists is to visit the YahooGroups site, and do a search on the list names.

Happy reading...

Posted by jamesr at 03:27 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Other KM weblogs

This seems a good opportunity to "tip the hat" to those that have already setup weblogs on knowledge management, including:

• a klog apart (Phil Wolff)
• Steven's weblog (Steven Vore)
• How do you know that? (Chris Smith)
• McGee's Musings (Jim Mcgee)

Posted by jamesr at 03:58 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Open-source CMS sites

I've recently come across a couple of excellent sites on open-source content management systems, and I thought I would share them with you:

cmsinfo.org

This is probably the most comprehensive of the websites, listing every open source CMS I've heard of, plus quite a few more that I haven't.

Products by Technology: PHP

This is an excellent list, provided by Clueful Technology. While not all products listed are necessarily open-source, they are all built using PHP, which is a good start.

Posted by jamesr at 02:57 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

So where is the content in CRM systems?

I've been to a few trade shows recently, and have browsed through the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) stands. From an outsider's point of view, these systems seem to be progressing in leaps and bounds, with many reaching quite a mature level.

One question I've been asking the vendors: what information does your system provide frontline staff about the company's product line? Let me explain this question further.

CRM systems are designed to capture a lot of information, and provide it to frontline staff in an easy-to-digest form, including:

• customer details
• transaction history
• sales opportunities
• cross-selling suggestions
• previous customer feedback

The goal of all this information is improve customer services, and at the end of the day, to increase sales. What seems to be missing is any sort of "knowledgebase" of corporate information.

This should provide details such as:

• key details on relevant products and services
• sales support materials
• important processes, policies and procedures
• answers to common customer questions

Now of course, this doesn't necessarily have to be stored within the CRM system itself. An existing content management system would do the job as well, or better.

What I am saying is that this information needs to be integrated into a seamless interface, so that the frontline staffperson has the information they need to help the customer, or to answer their questions.

Perhaps I am just not using the right sort of language, because this concept seems to be a complete mystery to the sales reps that I've talked to at the trade shows...

Posted by jamesr at 05:36 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Upcoming NSW KM Forum evenings (Sydney, Australia)

Well, the last KM Forum evening went well, with a presentation by Dale Chatwin from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

For those of you in Sydney (or nearby), you will definitely want to schedule the next few evenings into your calendar. The dates for these will be:

Thursday 4 July 2002

Thursday 1 August 2002

More details on speakers, etc will be posted here when finalised.

(For more information on these evenings, visit the Standards Australia site.)

Posted by jamesr at 05:27 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management