Knowledge management systems - Editorial

EDITORIAL - January - March, 1998
by Richard N. Stover, Editor & Publisher
Contact Information

Document Management, knowledge management, information management: what do these terms mean? We have spent many years defining and spreading the word about DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT and now along comes the term Knowledge Management with plenty of confusion about what it means. One of the letters that we have received from our many readers probably answers the confusion from the standpoint of a reseller that delivers solutions and tries to satisfy customer needs. We have repeated that no-nonsense letter here (see Letters to Editor) so that you can get an idea of the solution sellers' frustrations. THE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT NO ONE HAS A WORKING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRODUCT. IT IS ONLY A CONCEPT OR A PRACTICE THAT MUST BE DEVELOPED WITHIN THE USER ORGANIZATION!

The reinforcement to my statement comes from a January 16, 1998, News Release from The Delphi Group, Inc., Boston, MA, http://www.delphigroup.com, one of the companies that has been advocating the KM wave. Under the title "Emphasis On Data/Information Management Oversimplifies Knowledge Management Challenge," I quote the following excerpts from the News Flash:

"Summary: Trade press articles, which tend to focus on tangible products more than they do on concepts, typically imply that knowledge management is something you "buy" rather than something you "do." This emphasis on product over practice threatens to flatten our thinking by REDEFINING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT strictly in light of WHAT CURRENT AND EMERGING PRODUCTS CAN DO, AS OPPOSED TO WHAT WE NEED THEM TO DO." (My bolding)

"Frank acknowledgment of the full scope of organizations' knowledge management challenges today--including cultural deprogramming, incentivization, and collaboration issues--reveals that the most ambitious software solutions ARE BARELY SCRATCHING THE SURFACE OF THE MANAGEMENT PROBLEM.

VENDORS HAVE TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO TELL CUSTOMERS THAT THEY HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION." (My bolding)

To summarize, knowledge management is a concept or a corporate culture that must be developed. And to paraphrase another statement from Delphi, there is no "silver bullet" KM application or product that you can buy.

Today, the knowledge or intellectual assets that provide value to organizations, are buried in documents and in people's minds. THERE ARE NO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS THAT AUTOMATICALLY EXTRACT THAT VALUE. BUT THERE ARE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS, GROUPWARE PRODUCTS AND OTHERS THAT CAN MAKE DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FOR HUMAN EXTRACTION OF THE VALUABLE INFORMATION. THESE PRODUCTS ARE HERE TODAY.

Letters to Editor

It's silly season again. The latest DM coinage "Knowledge Management" is presumptuous. Does this industry now have the capability to take "information" and turn it into "knowledge" I think not. Where are the expert systems that apply logic to documents, databases and indexes etc and produce knowledge? This is just another marketing ploy to jump start a rudderless industry. Buyers and end users will be further confused. The term "Knowledge Management" is self serving, coined it appears by an entity that has no responsibility to actually deliver such products. Vendors who dressed their employees in ludicrous costumes and put on asinine vaudeville side shows at AIIM 97 did nothing but make the whole industry look stupid. You can add "Knowledge Management" to that list.

Colin McAllister, President DataTrade, Inc. (via internet)

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