InfoToday 2001: The Global Conference and Exhibition on Electronic Information & Knowledge Management  KnowledgeNets 2001 — Conference Program

Jane Dysart, Program Chair, KnowledgeNets 2001
 

Tuesday, May 15th

West Ballroom
Welcome and Keynote
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Welcome
Tom Hogan, Information Today, Inc.

Managing Digital Objects on the Net
Robert E. Kahn, President, Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI)
See National Online 2001 program for description.

Beekman
Opening Session
10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m
Second Generation KM: Where to From Here?
Jane Dysart and Rebecca Jones, Dysart & Jones Associates
Now that the hype surrounding knowledge management has waned, where is it headed?  What will the next year bring for KM?  What are KM leaders thinking?  Where are they putting their energies?  This session opens the KnowledgeNets conference with a brief overview of what's on the KM horizon and on the minds of the conference presenters.
 

10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Coffee Break
A Chance to Visit the Exhibits

Tuesday, May 15th

Beekman
Track D — ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES AND PROCESSES
No one argues the fact that for the full power of knowledge management to be realized, KM processes and models must be embedded into an organization’s business processes. Yet the debate continues as to how to define and delineate KM processes and models and what KM strategies are really most effective for organizations. This track tackles this tough subject. Speakers from a broad range of organizations discuss the strategies they’ve embarked upon, the processes and models they have forged and adopted, and the competencies required for success, and they peel back the layers to reveal what’s working and what’s not.
Organized and moderated by Rebecca Jones, Dysart & Jones Associates
 

Session D101
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Organization Design for KM
Susan Albers Mohrman, Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
KM requires far more than an information technology infrastructure and a set of knowledge management activities. It requires the intentional alignment of all features of the organization to support the knowledge processes required for strategic success. Using data from a study of 10 major technology firms, Mohrman discusses the organization design elements that result in organization-wide focus on acquiring, generating, applying and leveraging knowledge that is essential for strategic success. Explicit KM activities are important. Far more important, however, are the culture and day-to-day behaviors that characterize how work is carried out in the organization. These result directly from the way the organization is designed.
 

12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Lunch Break
A Chance to Visit the Exhibits
 

Session D102
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Knowledge Management: Organizing the Chaos
Seth Earley, Earley & Associates
Knowledge is messy. Organizations are chaotic. Managing knowledge and knowledge processes requires dealing with complexity and applying principles from natural systems to bring chaos under control. Since businesses are more interconnected with partners, customers and competitors and the rate of change is increasing, managers need to create environments that rapidly adapt and appropriately react to opportunities and competitive threats. Learn how old models of top down control cannot anticipate every possible scenario and prescribe a course of action for each. Instead, networks of resources within the organization need to be given the capabilities to self-organize, create new opportunities for profit, and execute according to plan. In this session, you’ll learn the principles of non-hierarchical, self-organizing systems, along with practical guidelines for implementation.
 

Session D103
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
KM Politics and Leadership
Donna Scheeder, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress
Politics is the art of bringing people together to get the right things done.  It is the maximization of the human side of the KM equation.  Knowledge managers are perfectly positioned to fulfill this role but must be ready to be political.  Sharpening and exercising our personal leadership skills enable us to be the catalyst that brings knowledgeable people together to get the right things done for our organizations.
 

Session D104
4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
A New Competency Framework for the Knowledge Economy
Nigel Oxbrow, Founder and CEO, TFPL Ltd, London and New York
There has been considerable research and debate about the changes brought about by the emerging knowledge economy and all the technologies that are enabling it—but there has been little attention paid to the skills and competencies needed by people who are to work and thrive in this new economy. This presentation uses the results of international research together with case studies from major organizations to explore what new skills, attitudes and competencies are needed. It concludes by focusing on a new competency model developed from the information profession.
 

Tuesday, May 15th

Sutton North
Track E — TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE ARCHITECTURE
The structure, alignment and fusion of technology with business objectives are keys to successful knowledge management initiatives. Knowledge-enabling tools and technologies, from intranets to portals to data warehousing and ERP solutions, are evolving rapidly. These technologies promise to dramatically alter the landscape of organizations as well as the potential for the knowledge organization. Yet how close are they to delivering these promises? This track examines the tools on the market today, how these are being deployed within organizations, and the types of technological solutions we can expect in the near future.
 

Session E101
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Future of Knowledge Technology
Alan D. Marwick, Senior Consultant, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, IBM Corp.
The use of technology can help organizations overcome barriers of space and scale. With the appropriate technology, people can more easily find others with needed expertise or common interests. Once connected, they can work together to share knowledge in virtual spaces, allowing for the discovery of valuable insights and the building of relationships. Using numerous examples of IBM Research Division projects and labs, this presentation will review the progress and future of the key areas of technology that support KM now and will continue to support it in the future.
 

12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Lunch Break
A Chance to Visit the Exhibits
 

Session E102
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Landing the Raven—Positioning the Lotus KM Implementation in the Enterprise
Wendi Pohs, Principal Taxonomy Specialist, Iris Associates, a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM/Lotus
Lotus is now offering an integrated KM solution combining automated taxonomy generation, expertise location, and threaded and real-time collaboration in a customizable framework. This session positions the offering in a vendor-neutral architecture, highlighting and contrasting capabilities to overall industry offerings and giving real-world analysis and examples of Raven implementation.
 

Session E103
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Business Strategy and Information Architecture
Peter Morville, CEO, Argus Associates Inc.
The way that companies structure and organize information is becoming increasingly interwoven with business strategy, corporate culture, and brand image. In the emerging world of eBusiness, it’s not enough to align your information architecture with existing business strategy. Your organization’s goals, strategy, and tactics should be informed by the opportunities and constraints of your information architecture. The labels and categories in your Web site and intranet embody corporate decisions about your company’s identity and strategic direction. The integration of your taxonomies and controlled vocabularies with search engine, automated classification, and content management technologies will define your ability to remain flexible and responsible to the evolving needs of customers and demands of the marketplace. In this advanced session, Morville will explain how you can leverage your information architecture to achieve a nearly invisible competitive advantage.
 

Session E104
4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Knowledge Architecture: A KM Case Study
Jerry Gschwind, Knowledge Project Manager, VisionCor
John Schneble, Business Manager, VisionCor
There is no "one size fits all" knowledge management product. Businesses need to integrate best-of-breed approaches to meet their knowledge management objectives. This presentation follows the development and deployment of a knowledge management solution implemented at Cisco Systems. The presentation describes an innovative knowledge architecture, addresses the development and organization of knowledge objects, and shows how this flexible approach can help organizations maximize the usability and leverage the capabilities of any knowledge management or portal software.
 

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East Ballroom
Special Breakfast Presentation
8:15 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
Meanwhile, back in the real world ...
Ron Dunn, CEO, Academic Group, Thomson Learning
Now that much of the hype about the Internet has finally subsided, it's time to take stock of what we've learned and figure out how to put the real strengths of new information technologies to work in practical ways.

In this breakfast session, Ron Dunn will reflect on life in the post-Internet information world and explore what the future may hold for information service providers, information professionals and users.

Keynote Speech
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Innovation, Knowledge Management, and Corporate Success
David Snowden, Director, Institute for Knowledge Management, IBM
Innovation is one of those things that all companies want, but few are prepared to tolerate the ambiguity and uncertainty on which its effective management depends. It is also a word that is often confused with creativity, which is a necessary but by no means sufficient condition for innovation.

Snowden discusses approaches that are the opposite of rational behavior, that need organizations to manage a complex, but not complicated portfolio of methods and environments. He draws on ideas from complexity theory and gives concrete examples of how to improve the flow of knowledge within organizations.

Wednesday, May 16th

Beekman
Track D — KM AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Session D201
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Content Management: Cornerstone of Today’s eBusiness
Nazhin Zarghamee, VP, Marketing, Documentum
To remain competitive and profitable in today’s dynamic eBusiness environment, organizations are trying to capture, configure, and manage content and business know-how. Without the ability to coordinate people, content, and processes, organizations are ill- equipped to harness the Internet and realize competitive advantage. Without content management, organizations cannot compete successfully in the Internet economy. This session addresses the issues surrounding content management—what kinds of content management organizations need in this eBusiness environment, how to turn content into competitive advantage, and what complete content management solutions are out there in the marketplace to address issues eBusiness faces today.
 

Session D202
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Tools for Managing Content
Stephen E. Arnold, President, Arnold Information Technologies
Content management has become a key issue with the constant and diverse streams of information being pumped out these days. The three drivers most important to the content management process are the constant updating by different people from different locations and keeping the approvals and changes synchronized; the exploding demand for rich media, including audio, video, and dimension-simulating functions within dynamic content; and the usage tracking for copyright and security purposes. What tools are available to assist? Hear this veteran of the information industry as he focuses on the challenges for content management as well as technology components and software solutions.
 

12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Lunch Break
A Chance to Visit the Exhibits
 

Sessions D203 & D204
1:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Taxonomies of Knowledge: Uncovering Hidden Themes in Existing Corporate Data
Wendi Pohs, Principal Taxonomy Specialist, Iris Associates, a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM/Lotus
Vivian Bliss, Knowledge Management Analyst, Knowledge Network Group, Microsoft Corp.
Marjorie Hlava, CEO, Access Innovations
Claude Vogel, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Semio
Pohs discusses the processes and tools necessary for taxonomy creation—from defining meaningful categories to using automatic document clustering techniques—and how to build a carefully crafted content map to enhance your users’ search experience and enable you to uncover hidden themes in existing corporate data. Vogel focuses on how to ensure quality taxonomies using quality metrics to deal with adverse factors such as update frequency, the meeting of multiple users’ needs, and the growth of information mass. Bliss discusses her experience with taxonomies and provides tips on getting the most out of them.
 

Session D205
4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Content Management Solutions in Action
Bob Friedenberg, President, EQUIENT
This session focuses on case studies of publishers with large amounts of content to manage.  It shares the challenges, issues, benefits, and steps for the future as well as some strategies for managing content in KM initiatives.
 

Wednesday, May 16th

Rendezvous Trianon (3rd Floor)
Track E — KM TECHNOLOGY & APPLICATIONS
The second day of focus on technologies for KM includes some real-world examples and case studies of KM initiatives.
 

Session E201
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Web-Based Knowledge Management: Customizing a Bottom-Up Structure
Seth Earley, Earley & Associates
One challenge in implementing a knowledge management system is the need to serve a broad audience while maintaining enough consistency to make things work. A “top down” approach in which a KM system is designed to address all needs of users (for example: the intranet to end all intranets) will inevitably fail because of the changing corporate knowledge landscape. Learn the better approach that allows for customization and adaptation of systems at the local level (business unit or department) with a central set of design and data rules. Explore how business units solve their unique problems while accessing and feeding into a larger knowledge network. Hear an illustration of these points with a case study based on a Fortune 100 organization.  Research on KM practices will also be reviewed.
 

Session E202
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Knowledge Sharing within Organizations
Yvette C. Burton, Senior Consultant, Global Knowledge Management Consulting and Solutions
The sharing of information and knowledge is a key to successful KM.  This  session focuses on the implications for knowledge sharing in business environments as well as the dynamics and strategic considerations necessary to make any KM initiative successful.  It discusses the intervention challenges and design considerations for developing and implementing a knowledge sharing system and/or strategy.
 

12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Lunch Break
A Chance to Visit the Exhibits
 

Session E203
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Establishing Knowledge Communities: Case Studies
Dan Wright, Director, AskMe Corporation
Historically, human interactions in business were conducted in face-to-face meetings or through phone conversations.  But the globalization of business and the advent of more sophisticated technologies have moved the same place same time model to a much more dynamic model that has roots in an anyplace anytime schema. Our speaker focuses on real-life examples of how collaborative relationships are formed across departments and times by setting up systems that enable interactions in this new business environment.  The session explores examples of knowledge communities at industry leading companies, focusing on their efforts to meet specific business needs by enabling knowledge communities with technology.
 

Session E204
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Developing a Knowledge-Creating Organization: A Case Study in Process
Melinda J. Bickerstaff,  Chief Knowledge Officer, Bristol Myers Squibb
Renee A. Massoud, Director, Research Strategies, KPMG International
Let's face it: Knowledge Management has become the global business buzzword for the 21st century! Everywhere we are or look, we see ourselves being surrounded by words such as "intellectual assets," "human capital," "knowledge-sharing" and "something about knowledge or knowledge management." And as professionals, we're all trying to figure out what this "emerging business model" means to us and to the sustainability of our organizations. Come and learn from and about the journey of one global professional services company that is committed to, engaged in and in the process of integrating knowledge management as the "way of doing business." You'll hear lots of practical tips about "getting people to move from hoarding to sharing" and/or ideas about "measuring the value of your intellectual assets."
 

Session E205
4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Knowledge Networks@IBM
Rod Cowan, Director, KM, IBM Global Services
An organization’s people, their know-how, experience and abilities are its greatest assets. But how does an organization leverage these assets—harnessing its knowledge across a diverse, worldwide organization? The answer: knowledge management and its essential element—Intellectual Capital Management (ICM). ICM is the framework for identifying and reusing an organization’s best work and ideas. It includes committed people, structured processes, a value system that places a premium on reuse, and technology to enable global information sharing. This session is designed to share the lessons learned in transforming IBM Global Services and your own organization, into a knowledge-based business. It helps you know how to utilize your employees’ knowledge assets and transcend this information into an effective knowledge-based environment.
 

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West Ballroom
Keynote Speech
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Knowledge Management and Beyond
Tom Davenport, Director for Strategic Change, Accenture and author of the forthcoming book, The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business
Knowledge management is just beginning to penetrate the fabric of many businesses. The early, flashy-but-insubstantial applications—best practices and lessons learned, for example—have given way to broadly focused initiatives that are transforming the way organizations work. Davenport describes the types of organizations that are in knowledge management for the long haul, and that are becoming destinations for high-powered knowledge-based solutions.  He then discusses how the handling of enormous amounts of business information has pushed downsized staffs to the brink of an acute attention deficit disorder. To achieve corporate goals, business leaders need their employees’ full attention on critical knowledge-based tasks — and that attention is in short supply. Davenport has studied how companies manage the attention of their employees and their site visitors. He analyzes the components of attention management through three lenses — economic, psychobiological, and technological — and offers guidelines for going beyond knowledge management and keeping employees focused on crucial corporate tasks.

Thursday, May 17th

Beekman
Track D — KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND eLEARNING

Session D301
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Microsoft Case Study: Portals as Communities for Knowledge Sharing
Mary Lee Kennedy, Director, Knowledge Network Group, Microsoft Corp.
With over 2.5M intranet pages, approximately 2000 websites, and people in over 60 countries, Microsoft's intranet plays a key role in enabling the connection of people, information and knowledge. The case study will focus on the intranet knowledge capture, organization, access, and delivery strategy to put what we know at our fingertips.
 

Session D302
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Where Communities of Practice and Purpose Intersect: A Model for Addressing the Cultural Divide
Ann Noles, Knowledge Champion, Capital One
Learn how a financial services company identified and conquered some of the hurdles to initiating its KM initiatives. Discover how they developed partnerships and strategies to overcome the difficulties in dealing with their culture. Determine how Communities of Practice and Communities of Purpose can work together.
 

12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Lunch Break
A Chance to Visit the Exhibits
 

Session D303
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
People-Centric Approaches to KM
Jim McKinley, Director of Knowledge Solutions, Net Perceptions, Inc.
Stephen Abram, VP, Micromedia, an IHS company
It’s no accident in our knowledge-based society that collaboration environments are a key KM trend. This
session provides case studies of people-centric approaches to KM. It provides the details on how organizations can enable individuals to benefit from the relevant learning, experiences and knowledge of others in those organizations and discusses the goals, challenges, implementation and results of various technologies and approaches.
 

Rendezvous Trianon (3rd Floor)
Closing Keynote
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
All Aboard!  Take a Knowledge Journey
Nick Bontis, CKO, Knexa.com and Director, Institute for Intellectual Capital Research, DeGroote School of  Business, McMaster University
The process of assigning value to organizational learning, intellectual capital and KM begins with a framework. A leading researcher in the field of intellectual capital takes you on a journey through key concepts and methods for capturing the value of knowledge. He discusses how to begin to implement intellectual capital measurement strategies today.
 

Thursday, May 17th

Rendezvous Trianon (3rd Floor)
Track E — MEASURING, VALUING & KM CASE STUDIES
The questions so often posed by those about to embark upon knowledge programs and processes are: Is it worth it? How does all of this fit with eBusiness? Those who have immersed themselves in KM for the past few years have learned the answers to these questions and more. Speakers discuss the most effective processes for managing information, content, taxonomies, and knowledge life cycles, the models and methodologies for measuring and valuating, and the strategies for realizing the true value of these in the realm of eBusiness.
 

Session E301
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
How to Define a “Best Practice”
Michael J. Spendolini, President, MJS Associates
This session introduces a new approach and methodology for defining “best practices.” The development of a “best practices” information set is one of the underlying constructs of most knowledge management systems. However, a consistent definition of what constitutes a “best practice” is lacking in the current KM and benchmarking environments.  Based on interviews of leading benchmarking and KM authorities, including internal organizational specialists in Fortune 500 companies, consultants, and academics, five “dimensions” were identified that can be used to define, in an objective manner, the construct of a best practice.  Spendolini discusses this definition as well as a new scale, the “Best Practice Index” (BPI), which can be used to evaluate a set of information and determine how it “rates” on a measure of best practices rigor. This research and its recommendations represent the first attempt on this scale to propose an explicit and objective methodology for defining and promoting the construct of a best practices data set.
 

Session E301
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Ten Myths About KM Processes and Implementations
Tim Powell, Managing Director, TW Powell Co., The Knowledge Agency
“Knowledge is power.” You’ve heard that expression. Did you know that it was coined by the philosopher Francis Bacon over 400 years ago? More importantly, did you know that it is one of the 10 key misperceptions about KM that are undermining the development of that discipline? As a knowledge leader, you are probably laboring under the influence of one and probably several of these myths. Your KM efforts will gain in effectiveness when you learn these pitfalls and how to avoid them after hearing specific real world examples.
 

12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Lunch Break
A Chance to Visit the Exhibits
 

Session E303
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Creating Human KnowledgeNets: Storytelling and KM
David Snowden, Director, Institute for Knowledge Management, IBM
Knowledge cannot simply be “captured,” it must be shared dynamically within the business context, through stories. Snowden explores the use of story telling as a cross-cultural technique for knowledge disclosure and effective communication, illustrating through case studies how this applies directly to the practice of eBusiness, customer relationship management, and the new generation of management.
 

Rendezvous Trianon (3rd Floor)
Closing Keynote
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
All Aboard!  Take a Knowledge Journey
Nick Bontis, CKO, Knexa.com and Director, Institute for Intellectual Capital Research, DeGroote School of  Business, McMaster University
The process of assigning value to organizational learning, intellectual capital and KM begins with a framework. A leading researcher in the field of intellectual capital takes you on a journey through key concepts and methods for capturing the value of knowledge. He discusses how to begin to implement intellectual capital measurement strategies today.
 

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