Knowledge Management at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

1. Knowledge Management at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. Jay Liebowitz Knowledge Management Officer NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

2. Importance of KMto NASA • Knowledge bleed due to retirement eligibility • Changing perspectives on work • Knowledge loss is escalating

3. Knowledge Sharing Tenets for Success • Enhance reward and recognition system to include learning and knowledge sharing competencies • Acquaint people with knowledge sharing and its benefits • Share the message that with creativity comes failure and we all benefit from talking about our successes and our failures • Integrate knowledge sharing into everyone’s job • Educate people about what types of knowledge are valuable and how they can be used • Make sure the technology works for people, not vice versa

4. KM Components PEOPLE PROCESS Systematically Capturing and Sharing Critical Knowledge Building and Nurturing a Knowledge Sharing Culture TECHNOLOGY Creating a Unified Knowledge Network

5. People: KM Activities • Building and nurturing a knowledge sharing environment • Online communities • MyExperts directory • Mentoring Program • Emeritus Program • APPL knowledge sharing forums/APPL Knowledge Sharing Initiative • Creative Learning Groups • Shadowing • Leadership Alchemy Program • Knowledge management education/awareness programs • Agency Learning Initiative • Storytelling career workshops • Knowledge sharing proficiency development)

6. PBMA

7. Online Community via PBMA

8. myExperts

9. Process: KM Activities • Systematically capturing and sharing knowledge • Knowledge gap and culture survey • Knowledge preservation project • Records retention project • Case studies • LLIS/NGLLIS • Exit interviews • Center-wide mini-courses/tutorials/colloquia webcasts • Active involvement with GRAA

10. Capturing and Disseminating GSFC Knowledge

11. Webcasts of Colloquia

12. LLIS (http://llis.nasa.gov)

13. Technology: KM Activities • Creating a unified knowledge network • myGoddard intranet portal • Multimedia asset management system and network infrastructure • Web-based knowledge and record repositories

14. myGoddard Intranet

15. KM Research Topics Develop “active” analysis and dissemination techniques for knowledge sharing and searching via “intelligent” agent technology (i.e., where “learning” takes place) --Apply knowledge discovery techniques (e.g., data/text mining, neural networks, etc.) for mining knowledge bases/repositories --Improve query capabilities through natural language understanding techniques --Develop metrics for measuring value-added benefits of knowledge management --Develop standardized methodologies for knowledge management development and knowledge audits --Provide improved techniques for performing knowledge mapping and building knowledge taxonomies/ontologies

16. KM Research Topics (cont.) --Develop techniques for building collaborative knowledge bases --Develop improved tools for capturing knowledge from various media (look at multimedia mining to induce relationships among images, videos, graphics, text, etc.) --Develop techniques for integrating databases to avoid stovepiping, functional silos --Build improved software tools for developing and nurturing communities of practice --Develop techniques for categorizing, synthesizing, and summarizing lessons learned (look at text summarization techniques) --Explore ways to improve human-agent collaboration --Explore human language technologies for KM (input analysis, extraction, question-answer, translation, etc.—see S. Staab, Nov/Dec 2001, Intelligent Systems)

17. LLIS • Over 1,100 lessons captured from 13 sites over the past six years • Grew out of a graduate student’s thesis

18. Trend: Increasing Submission of Lessons Learned

19. Trend: Increasing Lessons Accessed

20. Lesson Learned Template • Subject/Title/Topic(s) • Description of the Driving Event • Lesson(s) Learned • Recommendation(s) • Applicable NASA Enterprises • Applicable Crosscutting Processes • Additional Key Phrases • Author/Submitting Organization/Lesson Date/etc.

21. Challenges Facing the LLIS • Maintainability • Expandability • Usability

22. Proof of Concept Developed for NGLLIS • “Push” feature completed and implemented • NGLLIS functional requirements developed • NGLLIS design document/development plan/work breakdown structure developed • Section 508 compliance issues researched and tools being purchased • Visual prototype/proof of concept developed • Tracking management function (will be included) • Lesson Value Rating System (will be included)

23. NGLLIS Prototype Screen Shot

24. Summary • KM is one of the hottest topics in industry & govt today • Need to have methodologies, processes, techniques, and tools for KM • 90% is building the culture • Need to apply concepts from AI and other disciplines to advance KM

25. References to Get Started • Rumizen, M. (2002), The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Knowledge Management, CWL Publishing. • Liebowitz, J. and T. Beckman (1998), Knowledge Organizations: What Every Manager Should Know, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. • Liebowitz, J. (ed.)(1999), The Knowledge Management Handbook, CRC Press. • Liebowitz, J. (2000), Building Organizational Intelligence: A Knowledge Management Primer, CRC Press.

26. Other References • Davenport, T. and L. Prusak (1998), Working Knowledge, Harvard Business School Press • Cortado, J. and J. Woods (1999), Knowledge Management Yearbook 1999-2000. • Davenport, T. and J. Beck (2001), The Attention Economy, HBS Press • Journal of Knowledge Management/Journal of Int. Capital (MCB University Press) • Journal of Knowledge and Process Management (John Wiley) • KMWorld; Summer 2001 Journal of MIS; km.gov