Risk Mitigation through Knowledge Management

1. Topic 4 Risk Mitigation through Knowledge Management JoAnne Rocker NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program Chair, AIAA Technical Information Committee

2. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics • Discussion Topics • Risk mitigation • Knowledge management • Communities of practice • Lessons Learned • Portals • Technology and cultural change • Conclusion

3. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics Risk Mitigation • Risk Management (RM) is an organized, systematic decision-making process that efficiently identifies, analyzes, plans (for the handling of risks), tracks, controls, communicates, and documents risk • Purpose: increase the likelihood of achieving program/project goals • Risk mitigation depends upon risk analysis • Many useful sources of information should be compiled to provide input for risk analysis, for example: • Test data • Expert opinions • Hazard Analyses, Failure Modes and Effects Analyses • Lessons learned data and historical information from other programs/projects • Software verification and validation • Risk data generated in other steps in the process Risk mitigation is a process involving information analysis from a variety of data sources Risk Management Procedures and Guidelines, NPG 8000.4

4. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics Knowledge Management • Knowledge management refers to strategies and structures for maximizing the return on intellectual and information resources • Tacit form (human education, experience and expertise) • Explicit forms (documents and data) • Creates new value by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of individual and collaborative efforts to organize and use information resources • Increases innovation and improves decision-making From: “Defining Knowledge Management”, destinationKM.com, http://www.destinationkm.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=949

5. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics • Why does the aerospace industry need KM? • Aerospace is a competitive knowledge-based industry • Continual learning and re-using information to be competitive, respond to change, stay innovative, and discover new products and processes • Long-term life cycle for technology development and knowledge can be lost or forgotten if no KM process is in place (KM provides continuity as information is captured, stored, and made available for use) • Virtual workforce (national and internationally located) need to share resources and information for collaborative work • Cyclical hiring practices hinders knowledge sharing between experienced employees and new hires

6. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics • Knowledge management strategies and structures • Communities of practice • Lessons learned databases • Portals

7. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics Communities of Practice • “Definitions of community of practice vary somewhat, but are usually taken to mean a group of practitioners who share a common interest or passion in an area of competence and are willing to share the experiences of their practice.” • Communities of practice can also be known as: • Thematic groups (World Bank) • Learning communities or networks (Hewlett Packard) • Best practice teams (Chevron) • Communities exist within companies and as well as across company boundaries From: “Communities for knowledge management,” by Stephen Denning, article found at http://www.stevedenning.com/communities_knowledge_management.html

8. Ultimately, all companies seek sustainable competitive advantage -- in processes as well as in products and services. Many people see this as tied to a process of continuing innovation. In turn, innovation depends on human qualities such as curiosity, insight, ideas and determination. In the last analysis, innovation depends on people applying knowledge in ways that yield new solutions to old and new problems. Much of what people do in organizations occurs in the context of Communities of Practice. There is where best practices and innovations first emerge and where the solutions to shared problems are first identified. For this reason, many companies are determined to encourage, promote, and support CoPs, especially in areas, processes and functions where an edge in performance provides a competitive advantage (whether it be financial, operational or in the eyes of the customer). It takes time for CoPs to emerge, to flourish and to become productive. More important, they can't be mandated or managed in a heavy-handed way. CoPs, then, are an investment in the organization's future, not a quick fix to be applied for the sake of short-term gain. Most important, many will exist whether or not management chooses to encourage and support them; they are a natural part of organizational life. And that means they require a minimal investment on the part of the organization. The business case for CoPs is this: for a quite modest investment in terms of today's resources, organizations can reap huge rewards in terms of tomorrow's results. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics • Common traits of communities of practice (CoP) • Strong sense of identity with the group - members often from the same line of work (salespeople, technicians, engineers, webmasters, etc). • Practice is not captured in formal procedures – people learn how to do the work and are seen as competent or not based on working with others • Use the same the same tools, methods, techniques • Express themselves in a common language • Cross-disciplinary not attached to organizational chart • Differ from projects or teams • Groups are self-selecting • Emphasis sharing knowledge and experiences Source: Fred Nickols, “Communities of Practice: Definition, Indicators & Identifying Characteristics,” http://home.att.net/~discon/KM/CoPCharacteristics.htm

9. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics Lessons Learned “Lessons learned is a narrative account of an actual experience providing an analysis of what happened, what was expected to happen, an understanding of why there were differences, and what was learned.” Source: Schlumberger http://www.slb.com/oilfield/index.cfm?id=id27859

10. http://llis.nasa.gov/llis/plls/index.html

11. http://llis.nasa.gov/llis/plls/index.html

12. http://llis.nasa.gov/llis/plls/index.html

13. http://llis.nasa.gov/llis/plls/index.html

14. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics Portals “A portal is a site featuring a suite of commonly used services, serving as a starting point and frequent gateway to the Web (Web portal) or a niche topic (vertical portal). Web portal services often include a search engine or directory, news, email, stock quotes, maps, forums, chat, shopping, and options for customization.” From: Marketing Terms.com,http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/portal/

15. Example: aerospace portal (http://aerade.cranfield.ac.uk/)

16. Example: aerospace portal (http://aerade.cranfield.ac.uk/)

17. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics Technology but part of process to implement knowledge management but changing culture is essential to KM success • Gartner Inc. conducted a survey on how well organizations utilize knowledge management and found: • Survey participants scored from high of 78% to low of 2% • Worst offender was the government with 2% • Government workers didn’t understand what knowledge management was and how to use it • Effective knowledge management means information sharing and collaboration and agencies are not used to doing that • French Caldwell, Gartner Research Director, "Knowledge management is a business process that has to be approached with discipline. It is not a technology. You can't buy it in a box." Source: William Matthews, “Knowledge management's 'worst‘” Federal Computer Week, April 25, 2002, http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0422/web-know-04-25-02.asp

18. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics • No KM technology or tool will be successful without a fundamental paradigm shift in corporate culture • KM initiatives need acceptance and be seen as a way to do things differently • Means user training, emphasizing the benefits of the new way of working • KM is not a one-time investment but rather an ongoing process • Top level management are the champions of KM initiatives • Success or failure depends on a company's ability and willingness to make real cultural changes Source: Henry Newberry, “Knowledge Management and Corporate Culture,” Lotus Advisor Magazine, November 2002, p6, http://businessintelligenceadvisor.com/doc/11262

19. Risk Systems Engineering Engineering Technology Economics Technical Information Multidiscipline Design Product Development Management Tracking the Constant of Change History Management Legal Aspects Society Supply Chain Logistics Conclusion • Risk Mitigation and knowledge management • Purpose of managing risk is to increase the likelihood of achieving program/project goals • Way to mitigate risk is through process of risk analysis which draws upon many different types of data and information sources • Knowledge management provides the structure for collecting, organizing, and making information available for use (communities of practice, lessons learned, portals) • Leverages corporate knowledge and creates a collaborative work environment • Business process - not a technology - that needs top-level support to be effective • Knowledge management should be a business practice in the aerospace industry • Knowledge-based industry • Highly specialized technologies and processes making it vital to capture and retain corporate knowledge • Innovation and knowledge creation are keys to survival in competitive marketplace and knowledge management is about getting the right information to the right people at the right time