More KM Questions...

More people on the KM-India community are asking good questions ....! Keeps me thinking and out of trouble - Imagine the kind of meaningless posts I'd otherwise generate. Does that mean I am claiming that these KM posts are meaningful? Go figure! ;-)

Question(s):

What are the Do's and Don'ts while charting the KM Roadmap for the enterprise?
How comprehensive should it be ?
Is roadmap something that matures over course of time or is a robust blueprint crucial before embarking on KM initiatives?

===========================
My response:

This is a question that demands a longish answer. Actually, a proper discussion and understanding of the context etc. Anyways, here are my immediate thoughts.

DOs and DON'Ts:

Do:
1. Involve the business leaders in creating the roadmap
2. Consider the existing organizational culture and vision/mission (along with the broad business objectives)
3. Consider a pilot team(s) for trying out your ideas when in the initial stages
4. Consider the fact that even though the overall business objectives do not differ significantly from one business unit to another, the challenges that the individual business units face may be quite different (therefore needing different solutions)
5. Consider adopting a framework, theme and methodology
6. Identify the key stakeholders and KM champions (with the help of middle and top managers) and involve them as early in the project as possible
7. Make room for course corrections and change of objectives and new ideas
8. Consider technological innovation apart from the impact of the organization's existing technologies (including Intranets)
9. Process maturity and how much scope it gives for KM-based improvements
10. Use mind-maps, workbooks, word documents etc to demonstrate it

Don't:
1. Force your views on business leaders and champions. Try convincing them...if it doesn't work, be patient. There will come a time when they will begin to see things from the "KM" perspective. But, sometimes, you might have to be prepared to discover that you were not right after all! ;-)
2. Blindly follow a standard bookish KM roadmap or a roadmap adopted by another organization - however similar the organization happens to be to yours.
3. Assume that people will understand it without your having to explain it
4. Stick to it stubbornly, as it is bound to have to change with changing circumstances, business objectives, technologies and so forth
5. Leave it at the bird's eye-view - 'roadmap' - level. Zoom in. You may have to break it down into smaller pieces and elaborate on each piece as well how the smaller pieces will then come together to form the complete picture

Comprehensive?: Depends on how well you understand the organization and its culture. If you're new, then you will have to be patient. You can only take one step at a time.

I think a roadmap will definitely evolve and mature over a period of time. May change frequently in the initial few weeks/months and then change at a slower pace depending on how much you engage the other folks in the organization.