Redesigning the Enterprise Knowledge Management Experience

The outcomes: 

I identified the need, completed the research to develop the business case and led the team that built and launched a new knowledge management platform with modern UI and search experiences powered by the organization's enterprise taxonomy. Measurements immediately after launch indicated that users were exceeding the target necessary to achieve redeployable hours goals by nearly 2x. System usability scores were over twice as high as the scores for the baseline system. This system, built on the Akumina platform, provides an important foundation for the organization's overall enterprise digital transformation.

The background:

The organization had a static SharePoint-based knowledge management system that had not been actively or centrally maintained for a number of years. At the same time, the organization sought to become a more digital organization and transition the storage and delivery of knowledge assets to a more effective digital experience.

The problem:

The knowledge management system consisted of individual sites, independently owned, designed and maintained. Initial research activities highlighted that the user experience was disjointed and judged by most users as “broken” and the system was not to be trusted. The IT team maintained the technology but there was no governance or team within the organization that took ownership of the singular experience.

The solution:

I presented the organization with a vision of the future - encouraging them to consider the potential of a modern knowledge management experience. The organization funded the development of the initial proof of concept through the digital product innovation team. I had led the development of the enterprise taxonomy and have significant background in knowledge management. I developed the business case based on the research findings for the initial expenditure. Once launched, I led the team responsible for growing and evolving the platform and experience.

How I did it: 

I developed initial requirements/user stories and the first pass of the wireframes which outlined the highest-priority features. These analog sketches were circulated to build interest and identify internal partners as the team I assembled developed our initial product roadmap.

Executive leadership gave us the imperative to leverage the Akumina platform for this effort. It took significant effort to get Akumina up and running smoothly with SharePoint. While the technical specialists were addressing this work stream, we created the initial static comps which were then circulated around the organization for feedback and initial approvals. At the same time, I continued with feature definition and more refined user stories and requirements.

Once the architectural details were stabilized, we began development in earnest. It took roughly 90 days to complete the first collection of features, with major work streams in front and back end development, design, and content development.

Content owners are aligned through a central governance process whereby they can request and learn about new features and collaborate to create a singular content consumer experience across the platform.