Sixth Stop: Identify resources.

The question we’re exploring: If you were given the task of starting KM in your organization, how would you begin? Several good responses have come in to the LinkedIn Knowledge Managers Group, where the question was first posed.

Let’s continue with our strategic road map:

By now, we’ve all learned that the fundamental planning tool is resource allocation. So an early question to management asks what resources are available for the initiative you’ve been tasked to develop. In project management, activities cannot be scheduled unless they can be matched against available resources (or – at the very least – against estimated resources).

In most planning situations, project resources are not limited to financial support, although most of us seem to focus there first. Time and labor are equally important, and for you to proceed with your task, thought must be given to not only how much time is available from staff (or external temporary knowledge workers) but to the scope of the initiative as well – that is, how “big” is the task and what is the time frame for getting to the endpoint. Of course both labor requirements and project scope impact decisions about financial resources, so in the long run all three planning elements (personnel costs, project scope, and finances) will come into the picture as you plan your KM start-up initiative.

As you (and your team, if others are working with you) begin to think about how you’ll move forward,  brainstorm with other knowledge workers about what “pieces” will be required to reach your goal:

1. State the established goal or objective. (Don’t make this too big – this isn’t “strategic planning” – that comes later).

2. Review personnel available to work on the initiative, including both internal staff available to work with you and any external contractors, consultants, or temporary workers you might require. If you’re unsure about whether you have the internal staff to fit the initiative into the current workflow, include a “placeholder” to remind you that additional staff might be required.

3. Unless there is a specific deadline established by management, try to “spec out” how much time the project might be expected to take. If the overall scope of the project has not been established, again provide an estimate, and be prepared to pull back or expand your estimate as you have more information. Don’t fall victim to “we’ll get around to it” or offer some vague time schedule that doesn’t realistically take into account what is required. Be as specific as you can with the information you have.

4. When you have collected this information, share it with management so you can come to decisions about scope, time, and financial resources required. You and your managers have to agree on what you’ll be working with before you can move forward with starting your KM/knowledge services initiative.

Next Stop: Develop a corporate knowledge strategy.

- Guy St. Clair