Neil CouttsPM Consultant| KPMGAlloa, United Kingdom
Long time listener, first time caller (err, poster..)
Well I thought that might get some attention. The most common problem I have in KM terms is getting the 'super users' (those with god-like understanding of, mostly, in house processing systems) to continually document or at least explain what they know in a repicatable format. The current project I'm working on i have been tasked with developing a plan to migrate client data from one system to another. Simple enough - however getting to the bottom of the table structure is a nightmare - because very little of it is documented properly. So the question(s) 1) Any ideas on how to get valuable 'how-to' info from users? (without a gun) and 2) Any suggestions on how to present table structures (interdependencies etc) in a non-techie way? (I'm workng with Visio...). Thanks. Saving Changes...
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Michael WoodProject Manager / Business Analyst / Business Process Improvement Guru| Independent ContractorGig Harbor, Wa, United States
Neil, I doubt you will ever get programmers to document their knowledge. However with good table structures and well articulated workflows and business rules the actual programs become less important to the KM endeavor. As for simple representations of table structures. First always place natural hieratchies vertically. Always center the main subjects. Use only a one way arrow to denote a one-to-many relationship. Get rid of as much syntax as possible. I have attached a Data Model as an example. Notice how free of syntax it is and how it minimizes crossed lines. Each box is a table in the dictionary. People tend to understand natural hierachies when they are presented vertically. The eye follows top to bottom well. Hope this helps. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Michael. Thanks for the data model. Saving Changes...
"This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy."
