Friday, July 19, 2002

What if knowledge management actually is a technology problem?

KM as a technology issue. Current thinking holds that knowledge management's problems come from too much focus on technology when the key problems are about organizational processes and practices. I've said as much myself on many occasions. But this formulation risks perpetuating the myth that problems are either organizational or technological. We know the real world isn't that simple, of course. We shouldn't contribute to the confusion by oversimplifying our discussion.

...To me K-Logs represent the most interesting recent effort to address this need with a simple solution available right now. They offer a starting point that a knowledge worker can understand and build from.

[from McGee's Musings]

I have to agree. Technology and organization go hand in hand. When it is adopted and subsequently (mis)used, technology tends to shape organizational practices. If it's introduced at the right time in the right way, you get a kind of symbiosis between the newly introduced technology and the innovative organizational practices that emerge from its use. But too often technology is designed with idealistic assumptions. The result is a gap that is too wide between current and wished-for practices. Most people are cautious. They won't try to jump long gaps, especially if they have yet to see anyone do it.

So proper design of technology is a problem because of this need take existing practices into account. Making the best possible tool is useless if users won't adopt it. The challenge is to make a tool that is simultaneously compatible with current and future practices, and bridges between the two. It's not easy.