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Special Report
DNA of Knowledge Management

Special Reports:

• Information Assets Management

• Records Management Systems

• Backbone of a Successful System

• Classification Technology

• Desktop Productivity

• DNA of Knowledge Management

• Enterprise-wide Solutions

• Retention Scheduling

• Merging Records

• Planning a KM Program

Information Assets Management  Series

• Overview
• About IAM
• Industry Standards
• Manager's Perspective

By Lowrie McIntosh

If we take a close up look at Knowledge Management we would see that it is composed of a complex array of interdependent components. We could think of these interdependencies as being conceptually similar to the structure of DNA. In continuing with this analogy then, different sections of this Knowledge Management DNA strands, will define different elements of knowledge and different aspects to how that knowledge is managed.

Our Uniform Subject Classification (USCS^TM) System supports Knowledge Management at the lowest and most basic level. In this way it very much conforms to this DNA model. The graphic below shows different aspects of USCS and how it supports Knowledge Management. In the graphic, USCS is shown in the middle of a three-dimensional box where different data elements and Knowledge Management functions flow in and out of USCS through different faces of the box.

Much like DNA, each classification is a macro of the entire structure, such that each Cost Center is identical to the nucleus of the overall DNA. Its components are a unit that, when brought together, contain the whole multi-dimensional picture.

At the backbone of the system is the Cost Center, which defines the File Series available to the user. The maintenance of the system is coordinated with changes in the Chart-of-Accounts. At the same time, security features follow the changes without interruption.

Only with special access rights can one Cost Center retrieve another Cost Center's records, although the subject matter may be the same. This makes security another key element in the make up of Knowledge Management. It is a total element in itself, having all the components equivalent to a whole.

With a tie-in of USCS elements, components of the Chart of Accounts, security, and Cost Centers, are brought together to form a complete engine for Knowledge Management systems.