C-6. KM Stories

Purpose

The KM Stories Special Interest Group was established to develop a repository with good and successful KM practices and lessons learned. This SIG collects "stories" concerning Knowledge Management (KM) practices. Use of the term "best practice" is avoided since that usually infers the practice cannot get any better. Likewise, the term "bad practices" infers those efforts that may have failed or were not very successful. The purpose of collecting KM Stories is for all practitioners to learn from each other's efforts.

Every quarter the SIG sends an email to all members of the Federal CIO Council's KM Working Group requesting stories. However, stories may be submitted at any time to Mrs. Ronnie Gerstein, gersteir@ncr.disa.mil. Stories of efforts throughout an agency are submitted using the template below (Indication is to be given if an individual is NOT willing to have names published for reference by other users). When using these stories or applying lessons learned from them, it is requested that some feedback be provided on the experience. The SIG gives out awards based on this feedback. KM newsletters, websites, or KM mailing lists should also be submitted for reference. KM links from educational institutions, KM associations, or industries with stories to tell are welcomed, though permission (if required) must be obtained to reference or use a site from such organizations.

Many organizations need to evaluate programs and choose strategic directions based on their value. Determining value and effectiveness is hampered by unknown factors, such as how people really use knowledge to make decisions, and when knowledge sharing is and is not useful to specific tasks. Later sections of this CD provide examples of Success Stories as a way to document and convey the results of KM efforts.

The use of stories in organizations can build descriptive capabilities, increase organizational learning, convey complex meaning, and communicate common values and rule sets. Analogies are often used to aid in the transfer of particularly complex information and knowledge to give the human mind something to relate to. This form of learning has been used throughout human history to transfer complex concepts and core values. Because stories communicate common values and rule systems, they provide a mechanism to build organic organizational response to emerging requirements.

The World Bank is a leader in the use of story telling to accomplish their mission. See http://www.worldbank.org/knowledgebank/home.html for more on World Bank knowledge sharing.

SIG Chair

Mrs. Ronnie Gerstein
gersteir@ncr.disa.mil

Tools

• Knowledge Management Stories Template: stories of efforts throughout any Government agency can be provided to the SIG via the template provided below.

Related Resources

(see Attachments section below to download #1-3):

1. Strategic scenario planning at CA International (PDF) (Download Adobe Acrobat here): Robert Neilson and Christopher Wagner explain why scenario planning in the next generation in storytelling.
2. Storytelling: The Thread of Humanity (PDF): This paper explores the unique relationship of man and his stories, looking at various aspects of storytelling and differences between written and oral stories.
3. White paper - The Use of Storytelling in DON (PDF): This paper explains how storytelling, the construction of fictional examples to illustrate a point, can be used to effectively transfer knowledge.

---

KM Stories Template

This SIG collects “stories” concerning Knowledge Management (KM) practices.We're avoiding the term “best practice” since that usually infers that the practice can’t get any better.“Bad” practices are those efforts which might have failed—or weren’t very successful.The purpose is for all KM employees to learn from each other’s efforts.

Each quarter, we will send an e-mail to all members of the Federal CIO Council's KM Working Group requesting their stories; however, you can send stories any time to Mrs. Ronnie Gerstein, gersteir@ncr.disa.mil.You can provide stories of efforts throughout your agency following the template belowYou should indicate if you are NOT willing to have names published for reference by other users. If you use any of these stories or apply the lessons you learned from them, please provide some feedback on your experience.We will give out awards based on this feedback.KM newsletters, websites, or KM mailing lists should also be submitted for reference.KM links from educational institutions, KM associations, or industries with stories to tell are also welcomed though you must have permission (if required) to reference or use the site.

Address any questions to Mrs. Ronnie Gerstein at gersteir@ncr.disa.mil or 703.696.3009.

Please complete the following template for each KM story.Furnish details wherever possible.

Subject:

Agency KM Exchange, e.g., Grants, Health, Law Enforcement______________

Communities of Practice______________

Content Management_________________

Customer Relationship Management_____

Education/Training___________________

Public Policy and Outreach_____________

Technology_________________________

Other______________________________

Story:

Why did you start this initiative?

What did you attempt to do?

What were the costs (dollars/number of people involved/time/facilities/materials/ contractors)?

Did you partner with:

Another agency_______________

Educational Institution__________

Industry______________________

What tools did you use, e.g., website, portal, newsletter?

What is the status of this initiative (timetable and milestones)?

New start______________

Existing_______________

Continuing_____________

Short Term_____________  

Long Term_____________

What problems did you encounter and how were they resolved?

What was your marketing effort?

How was success or failure determined?What were your performance measurements?

What was the outcome?

What were the key lessons learned?

Remarks:

Submitter______________________ 

Agency__________________

Telephone Number_________________  

E-Mail___________________________________

(May the submitter’s name be shared and published on the KM.GOV web site?)

Feedback from other users of this story.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recommended Stories from KM Newsletters (include web sites and links)

+ Add Comment [Reference e-mail: ]

Attachments (Hide)

File Size(Kb) User Date Version Storytelling_Thread_Humanity.pdf 129 Karl Hebenstreit Mar 01, 2008 8:50 PM 1 Strategic_Scenario_Planning.pdf 63 Karl Hebenstreit Mar 01, 2008 8:50 PM 1 Storytelling_in_DON.pdf 16 Karl Hebenstreit Mar 01, 2008 8:50 PM 1 Ronnie_Gerstein.jpg 8 Karl Hebenstreit Feb 27, 2008 8:39 PM 1