This is the first in a series of four blog posts about taxonomies. In this one, it’s my job to explain why what sounds like an incredibly dry topic really makes a difference. In succeeding posts, I’ll describe what makes a good taxonomy, provide a step-by-step approach to creating yours, and lay out some common […]
Technology
Implementing Technology: Cow Paths Bad; Goat Paths Good
At Dreamforce last week, conversations turned to good and bad ways of implementing a new CRM system—and really, any enterprise technology that’s helping automate business processes.
Knowledge Management vs. Content Management
Over the years, we’ve been asked frequently about the overlap between knowledge management (KM) and content management (CM). A recent spate of these questions had me revisit some work I’d done with a KM vendor some years ago to share it with you.
Technology Should Enable, Not Enforce
We spend a lot of time—an inordinate amount of time—talking with people about how to lock down permissions inside of knowledge management tools. How to make sure Contributors can’t publish. How to make sure Candidates can’t edit or approve. How to make sure Readers can’t write. It goes on and on. Why? Why this fixation […]
Summer Reading! Lessons Unlearned
Just because a book is full of really great information doesn’t mean it can’t be fun to read. For example, take John Ragsdale’s wonderful first book: Lessons Unlearned: 25 Years in Customer Service. John Ragsdale (@john_ragsdale). Unlike the books I’ve reviewed earlier. I’m not even going to pretend to be objective here: I’m a big […]
Hack Your Knowledgebase
We all hate our knowledgebase tools sometimes. We might like the people we work with at the vendor, and there are those really cool features, but…seriously? I can’t just get a list of all the articles Joe has written? I can’t use bullets without ruining the formatting? I have to hit “publish” three times after […]
Suggested New Years Resolutions for KM Vendors
Memo To: Knowledge Management Technology Vendors From: DB Kay & Associates Re: Suggested New Years Resolutions Vendors, I’ve been watching your customers struggle with your products. I have a few simple suggestions that might help. Streamline the interface. Here’s a question: how long does it take a user to do all the mousing and clicking […]
