SKMF Round-Table Zürich
14. April 2010
Subject: Improving Requirements Engineering in Dynamic Environments
Presenter: Dr. Samuel Fricker
The presentations and summary can be find at:
http://lams.epfl.ch/conference/round-table/summary/Summary2010_04_14/
SKMF Round-Table Lausanne
4. März 2010
The art and science of building knowledge with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™
The SKMF roundtables typically address various aspects of how existing knowledge is managed. The March 4th meeting explored how knowledge is created. The suggestion was that to be effective, managing knowledge creation or development is part science, part art.
At a meta-level, the session followed the usual format, starting with an initial presentation of the theoretical and scientific underpinnings of experiential learning, followed by a few related questions discussed at the not-so-round tables.
There was, however, one noticeable difference. In contrast with previous roundtables, pen and paper were replaced by LEGO bricks (lots of LEGO bricks).
Research shows that “experiential learning” is the most effective way for adults to learn. From flip-charts in a factory, to bricks in a board room, there are many ways to design a learning experience. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ was the methodology used to demonstrate the power of a facilitated learning experience.
The whole summary can be find at:
http://lams.epfl.ch/conference/round-table/summary/Summary2010_03_04/
SKMF Round-Table Lausanne
17. September 2009
Knowledge Base and Help Desk in the context of ITIL
Alain Mageux, senior consultant at Itecor described a recurrent problem with service desks, their frequent inability to provide rapid solutions to users. The participants were grouped in four tables. Each table worked on a solution to this problem independently of the other tables. The synthesis at the end of the event showed the need for service desks agents to quickly identify whether the user needs a quick fix or a longer term solution. If a quick fix is needed and is available, it should be provided immediately. If a longer term solution is required, it usually involves more elaborate investigation. A properly structured database can help the Service Desk agent with this investigation and hopefully lead to a quicker resolution of the incident.
SKMF Round-Table Olten
25. August 2009
Heterogene Teams – Erfolgsfaktor oder Hürde für das Wissensmanagement?
Diversität und Wissenstransfer
Welche Faktoren/Stellschrauben können den Wissenstransfer bei Diversität beeinflussen?
Teil 1: Diversität in Teams: Erfolgsfaktor oder Hürde für den Wissenstransfer?
Teil 2: Einflussgrössen für einen erfolgreichen Wissenstransfer bei Diversität
SKMF Round-Table Lausanne
2. Juli 2009
Planning a website migration
This is a summary of the Swiss Knowledge Management Forum (SKMF) round table held at EPFL Lausanne on July 2 2009. The subject was the migration of the EPFL.CH website to a new content management system and graphical design. The round table was facilitated by Natalie Meystre from the EPFL IT department in charge of this migration.
EPFL.CH is a huge web galaxy containing more than 1'000 websites representing EPFL units (research labs, administrative units, services, projects…). Each unit owns its website and manages it autonomously. Most units dedicate one of their members’ time to administering their website. There is little design unity between the websites. This may confuse visitors of the EPFL domain, resulting in rumors about its quality.
This can be seen as the direct result of academic freedom that is a basic value of an academic institution such as EPFL
The Knowledge and Information System group (KIS) within the EPFL IT department is in charge of web policies and tools. It was mandated to improve this situation. A study on users’ habits (focus group) was made. An update of the Content Management System (CMS) is planned, and new design guidelines (a new graphic & content Chart) are at work with an external agency.
The project is called Web2010.
Our challenge is to persuade the individual units to accept the new CMS and the design guidelines, and change their website accordingly.
The whole summary can be find at: http://lams.epfl.ch/conference/round-table/summary/Summary2009_07_02
SKMF Round-Table Lausanne
26. März 2009
Tools and strategies for managing knowledge at a personal level
The 8th Lausanne SKMF round table held on March 26 2009 was the most popular to date. About 30 participants gathered to discuss the issue of personal knowledge management. The presentation was given by Pascal Sartoretti. The individual table discussions were very animated with some people refusing to move to other tables because the discussion they were engaged in was too interesting.
In the days following the event, 6 participants contributed extensive summaries. These summaries and a few pictures are available at the following address: http://lams.epfl.ch/conference/round-table/summary/Summary2009_03_26
SKMF Roundtable Lausanne
13. Dezember 2008
On December 13 we had the third SKMF round table at the EPFL in Lausanne, co-organized by the Swiss Knowledge Management Forum, the EPFL School of Computer and Communication Sciences, and the UNIL School of Business.
We had 14 participants, which, just before Christmas is an achievement in itself. The SKMF has asked us to send them your email address so that they can send them their newsletter (and only for this purpose). If you do not want us to send them your address, please let us know.
The subject of the round table was: Keeping the know-how of a retiring generation, or "how to bring back people whose knowledge has been lost, as contractors and consultants"
Possible related questions were: Why/How should the organization address this issue? What could be/are the best practices of "knowledge recovery" methods? How to capture the knowledge in people's heads? How could IT help?
Here are some excerpts from the discussions we had:
Some capabilities become out of fashion and then return. Can organizations "deep freeze" them and be able to reuse them after 30 to 40 years for example? Can knowledge of retiring people be transmitted to younger generations by filming people? It is not clear that films can convey all the information needed for, say, finely machining a tiny mechanical part of a watch.
Storytelling could be a powerful way for transmitting the tacit knowledge of retiring baby boomers. Some organizations are setting up rituals for retiring people to tell their stories and thereby leaving this knowlege to rest so that the organization can move on.
Forgetting seems to be an essential capability for functioning (for both living organisms and organizations). What can safely be forgotten from the baby boomers generation?
If a person is indispensable in an organization, it is a management problem. Management must insure that several people hold the "same" knowledge so that an organization doesn't rely on just one. Problem is when several people retire within a short time interval. There are techniques that can help avoid such hurdles. Some CEOs, for instance, take long and regular leaves from their company so that they do not become indispensable. The identification of key people seems important but how do you know who is key?
How can the consequences of a lost piece of knowledge (or a person) can be quantified? In the consultant world a departure is considered to cost about one half of an annual salary.
The loss of knowledge from a the baby boomers retirement should be handled as a business continuity plan. There's the case of Cantor Fitzgerald that has managed to reconstruct itself from the total destruction of its World Trade Center offices and the loss of about two thirds of its employees during the 9/11 attack. A summary is available in Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantor_Fitzgerald. Just the title of the book written about this case is appealing: "Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11: A Story of Loss and Renewal" Tom Barbash 2003
Possible subjects for the next round tables may be:
- Do SME's need to care about Knowledge Kanagement?
- What is the role of a Chief Knowledge Manager, a rising position in large corporations
We are working on a plan for the round tables for 2008. If you have other topics that you would like to discuss in a future Round Table, please let us know.
Unless you tell us otherwise, we will keep you updated about future events. Best regards and Happy New Year.
Gil and Thierry