Options for Action

Options for Action are suggestions generated by an automated rule system contained within the Knowledge Study Tool (KST). They are intended to be options to be considered by a knowledge expert and should not be treated as recommendations.

The options generated for this Knowledge Structure Map are as follows:

Rule Category :- Staff development
Rule Option :- Formal training provided internally using internal experts and resources
Rule Description :- Training provided by internal experts may be worthwhile in certain areas of high knowledge risk. It can help protect and deploy critical company specialist knowledge and also help experts to review and develop this knowledge.
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Should be considered for
Knowledge Node :- Diagnostics fault finding methods
Knowledge Node :- Site survey
Knowledge Node :- Diagnose faults
Knowledge Node :- System configuration
Knowledge Node :- manpower capabilities
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Rule Category :- Staff development
Rule Option :- Work structure training such as an apprenticeship or work shadowing scheme
Rule Description :- Although an apprenticeship or work shadow scheme can be seen as an inefficient staffing option, it remains the best way to pass on important and complex corporate knowledge. It can also be seen as a way to reduce the risk that such knowledge will be lost to an organisation.
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Should be considered for
Knowledge Node :- PC architecture and Operating System details
Knowledge Node :- Customer Services
Knowledge Node :- System diagnostics
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Rule Category :- Staff development
Rule Option :- Work group cooperation such as communities of practice to share and develop knowledge
Rule Description :- It can be useful to introduce a community of people with a common knowledge interest to each other. In addition, if those people can be provided with resources to facilitate good and easy communication and shown how to use this and also introduced to ideas such as best practices etc, the community can work effectively for the organisation.
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Should be considered for
Knowledge Node :- Site survey
Knowledge Node :- Diagnose faults
Knowledge Node :- System configuration
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Rule Category :- Increasing Knowledge Accessibility
Rule Option :- Making sources of expertise visible and experts contactable
Rule Description :- A directory of staff along with their areas of expertise and their contact details would fulfil this need. However, a paper directory may not be easy to produce and distribute and all experts may not be contactable anytime. A more appropriate version of this idea could be implemented through an intranet.
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Should be considered for
Knowledge Node :- PC architecture and Operating System details
Knowledge Node :- Site survey
Knowledge Node :- Diagnose faults
Knowledge Node :- System diagnostics
Knowledge Node :- System configuration
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Rule Category :- Preserving Knowledge
Rule Option :- The formal learning, documentation and integration of lessons during and on completion of work
Rule Description :- Conduct a session to carry out a formal review of issues concerning the knowledge in question. The knowledge may be applied in several projects and lessons may be learned from any of them so the people invited to the review may have diverse backgrounds. Use the formal lessons learned approach but concentrate on the knowledge item rather than on a specific project.
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Should be considered for
Knowledge Node :- Company products and services
Knowledge Node :- Relevant health and safety
Knowledge Node :- Invoicing procedure
Knowledge Node :- Customer database
Knowledge Node :- Service levels
Knowledge Node :- How products work
Knowledge Node :- Preferred suppliers
Knowledge Node :- Commissionning Procedure
Knowledge Node :- Pricing structures
Knowledge Node :- Calculate Margins
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Rule Category :- Preserving Knowledge
Rule Option :- The capture and publishing of the decision making process
Rule Description :- The decision making process can embody knowledge, it can inform subsequent applications of that knowledge and it can record the justifications for the application of knowledge. Decisions can be broken down into a series of discrete choices at various stages of decision maturity.
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Should be considered for
Knowledge Node :- Customer Services
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Rule Category :- Protect, Develop Deploy
Rule Option :- The formal study and analysis of knowledge using Knowledge Structure Mapping
Rule Description :- The knowledge element in question can be taken as the initial investigative question for a further knowledge study using KSM. The results can be treated separately and also combined with the current study in an integrative manner considering all learning dependency links.
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Should be considered for
Knowledge Node :- Diagnostics fault finding methods
Knowledge Node :- manpower capabilities
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Rule Category :- Developing Knowledge
Rule Option :- The creation of knowledge development groups with responsibility for specific knowledge areas
Rule Description :- Putting experts in charge of knowledge development can be a useful way to ensure that core knowledge remains up to date and secure. This involves focusing on the knowledge rather than simply on the processes where the knowledge is used. There needs to be a scheme for recording development and a place for records to be placed. There also needs to be dissemination.
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Should be considered for
Knowledge Node :- Site survey
Knowledge Node :- Diagnose faults
Knowledge Node :- System diagnostics
Knowledge Node :- System configuration
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