Knowledge Management 101: Knowledge Management Cycle, Processes,

Strategies, and Best Practices

Regardless of industry or product, all companies rely on the knowledge of their employees
to be successful. Organizations must treat knowledge as an asset, but it’s not enough to
simply hire skilled employees. Instead, successful companies should build in processes to
store, grow, and share knowledge to increase the knowledge base of the overall workforce.
This concept is known as knowledge management.

In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about knowledge management: what
it is, types of knowledge, and the history and evolution of the field. Then, we’ll break down
the benefits and challenges of implementing knowledge management, and discuss multiple
models of the knowledge management life cycle. Finally, we’ll look at the rise of knowledge
management systems, and offer free, downloadable templates to get you started building a
knowledge management plan.

What Is Knowledge Management?

Knowledge management (KM) is the process(es) used to handle and oversee
all the knowledge that exists within a company. Knowledge management
relies on an understanding of knowledge, which consists of discrete or
intangible skills that a person possesses.
The field of knowledge management identifies two main types of
knowledge. Explicit knowledge is knowledge or skills that can be easily
articulated and understood, and therefore easily transferred to others (this is
also called formal or codified knowledge). Anything that can be written down
in a manual - instructions, mathematical equations, etc. - qualify as explicit
knowledge. Tacit knowledge, by contrast, is knowledge that is difficult to
neatly articulate, package, and transfer to others. These are usually intuitive
skillsets that are challenging to teach, such as body language, aesthetic
sense, or innovative thinking. (A third knowledge type is implicit knowledge,
which is information that has not yet been codified or transferred, but that
would be possible to teach. Implicit knowledge is different from tacit
knowledge, which is unlikely to be able to be codified. For this article,
however, we will primarily discuss explicit and tacit knowledge.)
You can break these knowledge types down further into four categories:
 Factual Knowledge is measurable, observable, and verifiable data.
 Conceptual Knowledge relates to perspectives and systems.
 Expectational Knowledge is knowledge rooted in expectations,
hypotheses, or judgments.
 Methodological Knowledge deals with decision-making and problem-
solving.
Knowledge management enables organizational learning, a concept where
companies are invested not only in the reliable, expert production of a product
or service, but in the knowledge that underlies these production processes.
Companies devoted to organizational learning are interested in maintaining
and building upon internal knowledge at an organizational level - not just
helping individuals accrue special skills, but ensuring that this knowledge is
available to and dispersed throughout the workforce.
As one Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) paper states, the core
goal of knowledge management is to connect “knowledge nodes” - those with
knowledge and those seeking knowledge - to ultimately increase the
knowledge within an organization. Within that goal, the authors identify four
objectives of KM: to capture knowledge, to increase knowledge access, to
enhance the knowledge environment, and to manage knowledge as an asset.
Ultimately, knowledge management is an integrated system of accumulating,
storing, and sharing knowledge within a team or organization. KM consists of
several components, as well as strategies to implement it successfully - we’ll
delve deeper into these later in the article.

Who Uses Knowledge Management?

Knowledge management can be implemented enterprise-wide across a
number of industries. However, the way you implement KM might change
depending on factors such as industry and company size.
KM is often used differently for small vs. large organizations, however. Small
(and/or young) companies must carve out a competitive market advantage
early on, and therefore benefit from KM by codifying and storing internal
knowledge from the get-go. Large organizations - even those with unwavering
strength in their market - use KM to act quickly in the digital age, where
business changes constantly and often without warning. Without a reliable
system to store existing knowledge and accumulate new knowledge, it would
be difficult to react to these market changes. However, both large and small
companies can benefit from KM because it treats the knowledge that every
individual brings as an asset, so employees feel respected for their skills in
the workplace.
For those looking to implement knowledge management in a specific
department, you can also tailor the practice to sub-fields. Other than
enterprise KM, knowledge management is most commonly implemented in
IT/information systems and science, organizational management, business
administration, human resources management, content management, or for
personal use.

History of Knowledge Management

Efforts to formally manage knowledge have been in place for most of the past
half century. In the late 20th century, however, with the evolution of
computers, organizations began implementing more reliable storage systems.
In the 1990s, the Swedish financial service provider Skandia created the first
Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) position, which paved the way for other
companies to treat knowledge management as an integral part of their
structure.
In fact, several academics have formalized the topic, and knowledge
management is now regarded as a scientific discipline. In the mid-1990s,
Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi published the first academic research
on knowledge management, and coined the SECI model (socialization,
externalization, combination, internalization) as a path of knowledge transfer.
Since then, Nonaka and Takeuchi have studied several other aspects of
knowledge within a company, as have other academics. The knowledge
management life cycle, which details how to store and disseminate knowledge
throughout an organization, was also set forth by business academics in the
l990s and early 2000s; the four most popular models are Wiig (1993), Zack
(1996), Bukowitz and Williams (2000), and McElroy (2003).
In general, knowledge management has evolved from a loose tendency to
accumulate, store, and teach (and therefore increase) knowledge within a
team or organization into a prioritized method of building a knowledgeable
workforce - all with the goal of gaining a competitive advantage. As we will
discuss later on, there are several theories of how to best store knowledge
and stimulate knowledge transfer within an organization. Skeptics say that
today’s knowledge management is simply a “fad,” while others argue that its
principles are here to stay: its strategies, methods, and implementation
systems will simply continue to evolve as technology and business does, too.

What Is the Primary Benefit of Knowledge Management?

While it may not seem directly related to the tactics of knowledge
management, the primary goal is to increase company efficiency to improve
business decision-making. The idea is that building expertise into your
organization - and dispersing it amongst employees - empowers you to make
more informed, faster, and ultimately more profitable decisions.
Of course, there are several secondary benefits. Successful KM will enable
you to:
 Increase collaboration and idea generation
 Optimize a culture of knowledge sharing
 Protect intellectual capital
 Treat human capital as an asset (which makes employees feel
respected for their knowledge)
 Capture and store knowledge for the future workforce

Kevin D. Murray, CPP, CISM is a technical surveillance countermeasures

(TSCM) specialist with an extensive career in information security and
counterespionage consulting for business and government. He breaks the
benefits of KM into four value areas:
Control: Not knowing where your information is is the first step to losing it.
Security: ‘You gotta keep the bait in the bucket, not in the pond.’
Access: When you need your information, you will get it faster.
Responsibility: With all the eggs in one basket, one is forced to carry the
basket more carefully, meaning you provide better protection for your
information.
 
RELATED: [Infographic] How Much Time Are You Wasting on Siloed
Information?
 

What Are the Challenges of Knowledge Management?

There are many challenges that businesses face when implementing
knowledge management. Here is a list of some of the most common ones:
 Creating a culture of flexibility and collaboration: This is one of the
most significant and enduring challenges of KM. Companies already
struggle to implement new policies, because people naturally tend to
resist change. However, KM can be especially difficult because
employees might want to protect their skills and knowledge, or be
reluctant to learn from their peers.
 Security: You have to design a knowledge transfer system that makes
it easy for the appropriate people to access information, while
protecting sensitive or private  intelligence from outsiders.
 Measuring knowledge: It can be difficult to define metrics to measure
the knowledge within your organization, especially for tacit knowledge
that cannot be easily quantified. To overcome this, some experts
recommend focusing on the purpose of knowledge, rather than the
efforts or results (which are often also unquantifiable).
 Identifying an expert: There won’t always be a single “keeper” of
every knowledge type, but you will still have to identify who within the
company possesses certain knowledge, and use them as the base
level of knowledge from which you want to build. This process is
difficult tactically, but can also be delicate among employees who might
feel competitive about their skill levels.
 Document storage and management: While not all knowledge
makes for straightforward documentation, it will have to be stored and
organized in some form. Document management is a challenge for
many companies, but organization is a vital aspect of KM - otherwise, it
will be impossible to locate and use the knowledge you have stored.
Consider using a dedicated document management system to keep
everything organized.
 Disseminating knowledge throughout an organization: You’ll need
to devise a process where, once you store the knowledge, other team
members can access it. This is complicated both theoretically and
tactically, so many organizations opt for a software system designed
specifically for this purpose. We’ll take a closer look at KM systems
later on.
 Continual improvement: Like most process-driven strategies, you
should continually improve upon the knowledge management system
 you implement. Stage periodic reviews or, if possible, dedicate
resources to continually optimize your process.
 Determining where KM is housed: If KM serves your entire
organization, decide which department will “own” the strategy.
Companies most commonly house KM in HR or IT. Remember, this
department is not only responsible for effectively managing the
knowledge itself, but also for maintaining the community of knowledge
sharing and organizational learning.

How Does Knowledge Management Work? Basic Components

and Strategies
As we’ve discussed, the theory behind knowledge management is that in
order to make the best business decisions, the workforce must be as
educated and skillful as possible. One way to ensure an educated - and
continually learning - workforce is to stimulate organizational learning, which
companies can do by implementing knowledge management. This practice
ensures not only that existing knowledge (both explicit and tacit forms) is
codified and stored, but that it can be dispersed among other employees so
that people can continue to amass skills. Another benefit is that KM evenly
distributes knowledge so no one is contributing in silos.
As Nonaka and Takeuchi first stated in their seminal academic papers, there
are three main ways that people approach knowledge management:
1. People-centric: Centered on people, relationships, and how people
form learning communities and other informal ways of knowledge
sharing. This idea is also known as ecological KM theory.
2. Tech-centric: Focused on the technology that facilitates knowledge
storage and transfer, and aims to create technology systems that
encourage knowledge sharing.
3. Process-centric: Interested in how the organizational structure and
processes accommodate and encourage knowledge sharing and
organizational learning. This concept includes the production
processes, the organizational hierarchy, and the cultural framework.
The approach you take will depend on how your company currently functions.
Organizational structure, politics, management style, and existing processes
all create parameters around what kind of KM implementation is workable.
Regardless of the approach you choose, however, implementing KM will
inevitably affect your organization’s people, technology, and processes.
Therefore, it’s best to keep all three in mind when enacting a knowledge
management strategy.
Theoretical approaches aside, there are some common tactical ways of
handling knowledge. The common strategies include:
 Storing knowledge vs. sharing knowledge: Storing knowledge
involves accumulating, codifying, and maintaining knowledge in a
reliable storage system. This is a good first step, but successful
knowledge management also requires a system to disperse that stored
knowledge.
  Codification vs. personalization: The difference between these
strategies are similar to the previous example. Codification is any
activity where you are collecting knowledge (creating and maintaining
databases, content architecture, training to support software storage
systems), and creating awareness of these collection systems.
Personalization, is connecting people to this codified knowledge by
forming learning communities, promoting active discussion and
knowledge transfer, and facilitating group interaction.
 Push vs. pull: These represent two opposing strategies. In a push
strategy, individuals actively encode their knowledge to make it
available for others. In a pull strategy, team members seek out experts
to request knowledge sharing, so you only transfer knowledge on an
as-needed basis.
 SECI model: This is the knowledge transfer and strategy model first
proposed by Nonaka and Takeuchi in 1996, and is considered the
cornerstone of knowledge management theory. It outlines the four
different types of knowledge transfer:
 Socialization: Tacit to tacit, where knowledge is transferred intuitively
through observation, guidance, and practice.
 Externalization: Tacit to explicit, which codifies intuitive, intangible
knowledge in order to be taught. This type of knowledge transfer is the
most difficult because tacit knowledge is extremely difficult to break down
into digestible directives.
 Combination: Explicit to explicit, where codified knowledge is transferred
or combined with other codified knowledge. This type of knowledge
transfer is the simplest.
 Internalization: Explicit to tacit, where an organization follows and
practices codified knowledge so that it becomes intuitive.
Data mining is a process of discovering data patterns based on algorithms,
and is another common element of sophisticated knowledge management
programs. Because codifying all of your internal knowledge will result in a
huge knowledge library, data mining can help identify patterns and extract
data. It still uses qualitative methods of data analysis, but automated
programs will likely rely on algorithmic work.

The Knowledge Management Life Cycle

As we’ve discussed, the process of knowledge management follows general
steps. Today, this progression has been formalized by several scholars, along
with how knowledge should be stored and disseminated throughout an
organization. This how includes the processes, tools, and technologies that
make up the knowledge management life cycle.
While each life cycle differs in specific steps, this infographic shows the basic
steps.
There are multiple, semi-competing theories of the knowledge management
life cycle. However, despite the nuanced theoretical and syntactical
differences, the top four all follow a similar pattern. Here are the top four KM
life cycle models:
1. Wiig Model (1993): This model relies on the principle that in order for
information to be useful, it must be organized. Therefore, this model is
primarily concerned with organizing all data once it is codified, but also
outlines how knowledge is built, stored, pooled (with other stored
knowledge), and then extended into the organization. The phases of
the Wiig model are creation, sourcing, compilation, transformation, and
application.
2. Zack Model (1996): While the phases here are similar to the Wiig
model, the Zack model prioritizes a logical, standardized process when
advancing to each new stage. The phases of the Zack model are
acquisition, refinement, storage/retrieval, distribution, and presentation.
3. Bukowitz and William Model (2000): This model builds upon the
previous two by expanding the definition of knowledge storage to
include the infrastructure that supports this learning community (such
as communication, hierarchy, and working relationships). Bukowitz and
William also emphasize the need for not only maintaining your
knowledge repository, but also building it over time. The phases here
are: get, use, learn, contribute, and assess.
4. McElroy Model (2003): Building upon the process focus of the
Bukowitz and William model, McElroy is concerned with knowledge
production and integration. It creates ways for team members to submit
“claims” when they fail to receive or understand knowledge, all in an
effort to improve group learning. The phases in the McElroy model are
learning, validation, acquisition, integration, and completion.
Here’s how all the different phases of these model relate to each other:
The integrated knowledge management cycle, proposed by Kimiz Dalkir,
Ph.D., combines several of the concepts we’ve discussed into one general
framework. Dalkir identifies three key stages in her model: knowledge capture
and/or creation, knowledge sharing and dissemination, and knowledge
acquisition and application. In this model, Dalkir emphasizes the cycle aspect
in order to ensure continual improvement - not only in the amount and quality
of knowledge stored, but of the underlying processes, as well

How to Improve Knowledge Management

Even with an understanding of the KM life cycle, knowledge management can
be difficult to implement. Below are a few tips on how to improve knowledge
management:
 Understand the flow of knowledge in your organization: While the
various KM life cycle models list phases to follow, they are merely a
blueprint. Knowledge management will only be successful if you
understand how your organization already naturally gains, stores, and
 shares knowledge, so use the existing flow of information to structure
your formal knowledge management process.
 Clearly define your goals and how you will measure them: Just like
any project, you won’t be able to judge your success without clearly
defined goals. Choose objectives and how you will measure them
before you implement KM.
 Encourage socialization: One way to foster an environment of
knowledge transfer is to let it happen naturally, by talking and casually
sharing. Allow team members to talk and form relationships in-office,
which will make them more likely to turn to each other for information or
advice, or to learn new skills.
 Generate new knowledge: Remember that knowledge management
is not only concerned with storing existing knowledge; rather, you need
to create processes to manage the ongoing stream of new information.
Actively generate new knowledge within your organization not only to
create a robust knowledge stream, but also to show your employees
that you treat new knowledge - and their knowledge - as an asset. This
will make workers more apt to adopt KM.
 Employ technology: Technology can play a huge role in standardizing
and organizing the KM process. However, remember that technology
itself is not knowledge management, but simply a tool to enhance your
processes. We’ll discuss knowledge management technology in depth
in the next section.

What Is a Knowledge Management System?

A knowledge management system is any technology that is used to store and
manage knowledge - essentially, a tool to oversee knowledge management.
However, a successful knowledge management system also taps into the
underlying goals of KM: codifying knowledge, retrieving knowledge, improving
collaboration, and stimulating overall organizational learning.
Knowledge management systems have evolved from a useful tool to optimize
KM processes to an integral component of KM itself. Today, organizations rely
on KM systems to perform many of the functions of knowledge management -
data storage is an obvious example, but technology systems can also help
foster collaboration and group learning, among other objectives.
There are several emerging features in contemporary knowledge
management systems. Here’s a look at some of the most prominent ones:
 Content and document management: This is a critical component
because codifying knowledge almost always results in documentation
(or another form of created content). When choosing a KM system,
make sure the platform can support the file size, type(s), and volume
that you need. This is especially important for enterprise companies
who will need to store massive amounts of data, and scale regularly.
(For this functionality, look for enterprise portals.)
 Lessons learned databases: These are systems that aim to make
intangible (often tacit) knowledge clear and available to other users.
 The focus with lessons learned databases is as the name implies: on
lessons learned by experts that others should follow (think of it as best
practices). The key here is to find a database that can house this kind
of qualitative information and make it accessible.
 Groupware: As we’ve discussed, collaboration is a key component of
KM. Groupware refers to any collaborative work platform, and is
usually intended for workers who need to communicate remotely.
Groupware is broken down into two categories: synchronous
groupware (collaborate and update in real time) and asynchronous
groupware.
 Artificial Intelligence (AI): The adoption of AI (as telepresence) into
KM systems replaces the human consultants that had been analyzing
the data and monitoring the KM processes. Today, cognitive
computing, adaptive technology, and intelligent filtering tools, in
particular, have huge implications for codifying knowledge, and will
likely be adopted by more KM systems. However, the importance of
human quality assurance (QA) in much of today’s data work has raised
concerns about AI’s ability to fully take over this space.
Although KM systems can help automate and standardize knowledge
management, there are several challenges when implementing a system.
Security, data accuracy, and changes in technology (cost, implementation,
usability) are focused difficulties that you should keep in mind from the get-go.
A much more pervasive and ongoing challenge, however, is creating a culture
of collaboration and knowledge sharing via technology. People may already
be reluctant to share information with their peers, and technology can create
even more barriers for doing so. Therefore, you’ll need to build in processes
that support and stimulate this type of knowledge transfer.
Kevin Murray offers four key things to look for when choosing a KM system:
1. Security: Information is valuable. Like any other valuable, there are
people who will steal it.
2. Accountability: Information is valuable only when it is accurate. Limit
access. Log intensively. Test for accuracy.
3. Backup: Everyone knows the value of backing up. Not everyone
knows how to do it. Hiding a backup drive in the CEO's desk won't help
if the building floods or burns. Creating, maintaining, and correctly
storing back-ups should be an automatic functionality.
4. Ease of Use: If the system is too difficult or demanding to use, people
will take shortcuts. Shortcuts usually reduce security and the integrity
of the information you're managing.
When discussing the future of KM systems, many critics claim that knowledge
management itself is a fad. However, others think that KM and KM systems
will simply evolve to meet the demands of today’s business world - likely
incorporating more AI-driven systems. Murray agrees with the latter camp.
“It's no fad. It's an imperative. The amount of information being created grows
each year. It has to be managed, if you want it to be useful,” he says. “KM
systems will continue to increase in popularity, functionality, and ease-of-use,
just like the evolution of typewriters and word processing software. Artificial
Intelligence (AI) will blend into the mix even more.”

A Collaborative Knowledge Management System With

Smartsheet
Implemented correctly, a knowledge management system will bring together
disparate teams and workers to share their knowledge, which boosts
efficiency and improves decision-making. Rather than simply storing and
tracking the knowledge itself, consider a knowledge management system that
supports and stimulates communication among employees. One such tool is
Smartsheet, a collaborative work management platform that enables
enterprises and teams to work better.
In Smartsheet, you can organize and manage the knowledge management
cycle and gain insight into personnel and work getting done across your
organization. Create individual sheets for specific projects, departments, or
workflows and track progress at every operational level. Information stored in
Smartsheet is easy to locate and edit - filter columns to search for specific
entries, track cell history to see changes, and attach documentation directly to
the rows in your sheets. Smartsheet also supports in-app collaboration with
comments, and real-time editing, so there is always one record of the truth.
Plus, share your sheet with relevant stakeholders and adjust editing
permissions so everyone stays informed and up to date.