Creating and developing knowledge support in practice

Creating and developing knowledge support should always start with an analysis of the starting points. When there is a clear understanding of the tasks, and the challenges these

tasks create, it is easier to present and target the support correctly so that the knowledge available in the organization can support the employees in their everyday work. The users should always be involved in the analysis, as they are the experts in their own work. Kasvi

& al. (2000b, 154) has presented a three phased model for the analysis which includes the analysis and description of the work process, the work task, and the knowledge re- quirements. The model helps to create job descriptions, determine knowledge needs and identify cognitive requirements. The model is pictured in Table 2 below and comple- mented with questions that can help to make the analysis. (Kasvi & al. 2000b, 153-156)

Table 2. The phases of knowledge support planning (adapted from Kasvi & al. 2000b) Work process analysis →

Communication & Infor- mation flow analysis →

Task analysis → Cognitive task analysis

- How is the work done?

- What are the most critical phases of the process?

- How and where is infor- mation used?

- How is communication or- ganized?

- What task are done?

- What actions are needed?

- What characteristics do the tasks have?

- What kind of information is needed?

- In what format is infor- mation needed?

- What kind of skills and know-how is needed?

In the work process analysis, the whole work process is described so that the operation that leads to the final product or service is clear. In this phase it is especially important to note the most critical points in the process so that these can be properly supported to en- sure the best possible quality. At this point it is also good to map out the information and communication flows to get a general view of when and from where employees get infor- mation during the different phases of the work process, and to examine wheatear the communication and information flow is adequate or are decisions made without proper knowledge. The second step is task analysis, which includes a closer look at the tasks within the work process. The tasks are described and the categorized to better understand the character of them. The tasks can be for example simple physical tasks or complicated mental tasks that require problem-solving, they can require experience-based know-how, or they can be based on strict rules or standards. Different kinds of tasks usually require different kinds of support. The third phase concentrates on analyzing the knowledge need for these tasks. If the needed knowledge is for example based on experience-based know-how, it can often be revealed by talking to new employees, or if the needed

knowledge requires more holistic understanding, it can perhaps be provided by databanks that have information available for further studying in addition to the just-in-time support.

At this phase it is also good to acknowledge the different skill levels, as the new employ- ees often need more detailed support than the more experienced ones. (Kasvi & al.

2000b, 153-156.)

When the analysis is done, and the knowledge support is created it requires maintenance and administration. The tasks and responsibilities of the supporting system needs to be clearly defined. The responsible persons should be familiar with the system, but also with the operational environment where the system is used. Often the first thing that needs ad- dressing is that changes and adjustments are needed even after the initialization as test- ing and analyzing never reveals all the problems. The usage of the system in real life of- ten brings forth necessary development subjects. In addition, the creating and updating of information should be an easy and fluent, clearly defined process with designated persons in charge. The information base needs to be kept up to date all the time so that it stays ef- fective and reliable. If the updating is not clearly designated, or if it is complicated, re- quires too much work, or involves too much hierarchy, the smaller changes and improve- ments are often disregarded or used but not documented, which severely damages the credibility. The same thing happens if feedback and development ideas and suggestions are not handled promptly. As the point is to also create and collect knowledge from the authentic environment, it is important to encourage people to give feedback and to react to that feedback accordingly. (Kasvi & al. 2000b, 158-164.)

3 The research process

The research process moves usually forward in stages and goes from familiarization with the topic, and planning the research to conducting the research, and reporting the find- ings. Usually, the different stages interact with each other along the way, so that the later phases can specify or sometimes even change the earlier phases. This is especially true in qualitative research that is a cyclic process. (Kananen 2017, 52-53, Koppa 2010.)

This was the case also in this research that was conducted mainly during the beginning of the year 2021, even though the familiarization and planning of the research had started already much earlier during 2019 and 2020. The familiarization and planning included mapping of the problem field and the information available about the subject, but also de- fining the scope and getting to know already existing studies in the field. Moreover, it in- volved formulating the research questions, defining the theoretical framework, assembling material, selecting the research approach and methods, and making a research plan. The reporting was also started already in this phase alongside with the other steps. After this phase the gained information caused though some changes to the original research plan, and the objective and the research questions needed to be specified and revised. The ex- isting theory about knowledge management and knowledge support for example made it clear that it would not be sufficient to study only the knowledge supporting elements and technological aspects that were causing the most obvious problems, but that it was in ad- dition essential to have a look at the social aspects and the knowledge management pro- cess as whole. When the needed changes were made the following phase was then to ac- tually conduct the research. Conducting the research involved obtaining and gathering re- search material, analyzing the material, interpreting it, and deriving results and conclu- sions from it. After this the final phase was to finish the already earlier started reporting and complementing it with the findings and conclusions, and moreover with reflections on the process itself.