"This book ... spans the crevasse between KM and IT and does so with considerable flair. ... this is a very good overview of the importance of integrating KM and IT and should be on the desktop of all KM managers, especially in larger organisations with complex IT infrastructures. The experience of the authors is evident throughout and they write in an engaging style which makes for a very readable book." (Martin White, intranetfocus.com, June 30, 2022)
1. Knowledge Management Primer.- Part I: Knowledge Management Transformation Strategy and Planning.- 2. Assessing Your Organization’s KM Strengths and Weaknesses (Current State).- 3. Understanding Your Organization’s Future KM Needs (Target State).- 4. Creating the Target State Vision.- 5. Getting from Here to There (KM Transformation Roadmap).- Part II: Understanding KM Systems.- 6. Content Management Solutions.- 7. Collaboration Suites.- 8. Learning Management Systems.- 9. Enterprise Search.- 10. Taxonomy Management.- 11. Data Catalogs and Governance Tools.- 12. Text Analytics Tools.- 13. Graph Databases.- 14. KM as a Foundation for Enterprise Artificial Intelligence.- 15. Integration Patterns for KM Systems.- Part III: Running a KM Systems Project.- 16. Project Phases.- 17. Common KMS Project Challenges and Mistakes.- 18. Foundational Design Elements.- 19. Content.- 20. Operations and Iterative Improvements.- 21. Envisioning Success: Putting KM Solutions and Outcomes Together.
Joseph (Joe) Hilger has over thirty years of experience leading and implementing cutting-edge, enterprise-scale IT projects. He has worked with an array of commercial and government clients in a wide range of industries. He was an early pioneer in the use of agile techniques for knowledge management systems design, implementation, and integrations projects. Joe is an expert in implementing enterprise-scale content, search, and data analytics solutions. He consults on these areas with organizations across the world and is a frequent speaker and instructor on topics including enterprise search, enterprise content management, agile development, and knowledge graphs.
Zachary (Zach) Wahl has over twenty years of experience leading programs in the knowledge and information management space. He has worked with more than 200 public and private organizations in over forty countries to successfully strategize, design, and implement knowledge management systems of various types. Zach has developed his own taxonomy design methodology, has authored a series of courses on knowledge management, and is a frequent speaker and trainer on information governance, knowledge management strategy, and taxonomy design.
Joe and Zach founded Enterprise Knowledge (EK) in 2013 and presently serve as COO and CEO respectively. EK has been listed on the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in the US every year from 2018 to 2021. EK is now the world’s largest dedicated knowledge management consultancy, having won a myriad of awards.
This book bridges the gap between knowledge management and technology. It embraces the complete lifecycle of knowledge, information, and data from how knowledge flows through an organization to how end users want to handle it and experience it. Whether your intent is to design and implement a single technology or a complete collection of KM systems, this book provides the foundations necessary for success. It will help you understand your organization’s needs and opportunities, strategize and prioritize features and functions, design with the end user in mind, and finally build a system that your users will embrace and which will realize meaningful business value for your organization.
The book is the culmination of the authors’ collective careers, a combined sixty years of experience doing exactly what is detailed in this book. Their guidance has been honed by their own successes and failures as well as many others they have researched in order to provide a comprehensive study on KM transformations and the technologies that help to enable them. They have successfully applied this knowledge as the founders and leaders of the world’s largest dedicated knowledge management consultancy, which runs these projects for many of the world’s most complex organizations. They are writing as practitioners directly to other practitioners with the intent to enable them to apply and benefit from their knowledge and experience.
“Compelling reading for KM practitioners looking to ensure their technology decisions support their business and organizational objectives.”
- Margot Brown, Director of Knowledge Management, World Bank Group
"We are two years into our KM Transformation and if I’d had this book beforehand, it would have made the journey smoother and faster! This is a great playbook for how to plan, organize, and execute a KM transformation."
- Stephanie Hill, Senior Director, Global Customer Services, PayPal