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2006, Aptima, Inc. 1
Engineering the Community of Practice Engineering the Community of Practice for Maintenance of for Maintenance of
Organizational Knowledge Organizational Knowledge
Daniel [email protected]
Presented at the Knowledge Management Forum
June 15th, 2006
* Presentation based in part on a paper by Lintern, Diedrich, & Serfaty,
IEEE Conference on Human Factors and Power Plants, 2002
www.Aptima.com
2006, Aptima, Inc. 2
Challenges from the Field
An Admiral wants to structure his command staff to maximize its adaptability to likely mission changes
A hospital CIO needs to manage the dynamic knowledge about patient status, nurses staffing, and surgeon availability in its operating rooms
A nuclear power plant manager is concerned about the loss of domain expertise if his retiring workforce is not adequately replaced
A US Company Commander wishes to share his leadership experiences directly with other Commanders that might replace him in the battlefield
2006, Aptima, Inc. 3
21st Century Workplaces
21st century workplaces are far more than social or economic organizations. They are sociotechnical systems — complex organizations of highly skilled individuals interacting with information and other people through advanced technology
2006, Aptima, Inc. 4
Key Challenges in Human-Centered Engineering
Human Decision Makers
Structures
MissionTechnologyCapabilities
Social &Organizational
Structures
Mission, Tasks & Work
Processes
Congruence … or ...
Disruption
Human Agents
Complex Socio-technical SystemComplex Socio-technical System
Create organizational structures that “fit” the mission, the technology, and the people
Enable decision-makers to perform their mission, “aligned” with the technology and the organization
2006, Aptima, Inc. 5
Aptima, Inc. Human-Centered Engineering products and services Founded in 1995; 50% compounded annual growth Clients: 33 government, 41 commercial Partnerships: 71 commercial, 20 university Offices in Woburn (Boston), MA and Washington, DC Highly interdisciplinary staff
Mission: Maximize the performance of complex sociotechnical systems — military operations centers, operating rooms, air traffic control centers, etc. Combine social science theory with quantitative, computational methods to:– Engineer organizations to make the best use of new technology– Design automated systems for effective use by people– Deliver training systems for tomorrow’s skills – Demonstrate measurable results
2006, Aptima, Inc. 6
How should we organize to optimize our performance? How can I detect, understand, and disrupt a terrorist network?
Will automation improve performance enough to justify the investment? What info should I put on a large display that is visible to the whole team?
How do I train effective leaders for multi-national, multi-cultural teams? How do I prepare my teams in advance of high-fidelity training?
What competencies are required for the job, and where are we falling short? Did my training program improve performance?
Our Customers Ask Us…
2006, Aptima, Inc. 7
A Motivating Example:“Malicious Procedural Compliance”
At one plant, operators would not always follow the written procedures when they went to the simulator for re-certification. …(they) would deviate from the procedures because the desired goal would not be achieved if the procedures were followed. … The people who were evaluating the operators criticized (them) for “lack of procedural compliance”.
The operators decided …. they would do exactly what the procedure said --no matter what …and became stuck in an infinite loop… repeating the same set of actions several times. … the evaluators criticized the operators yet again, this time for “malicious procedural compliance.”
Kim Vicente (1999), Cognitive Work Analysis, p xv What’s wrong with this organization?
2006, Aptima, Inc. 8
Presentation Outline
About Aptima
“New” Science of Adaptive Organizations
Maintenance of Organizational Knowledge
2006, Aptima, Inc. 9
Virtual,Virtual, Human-in-the-Human-in-the-
Loop ExperimentsLoop Experiments
ConstructiveConstructiveSimulationSimulation
FieldField Applications, Applications,
LiveLive Assessment Assessment
EVENTS
TEAM LEADER'SWORKSTATION
MULTI-CHANNELCOMMUNICATION LINK
"WORLD"EVENTS
JAOCJAOC
WOC AWOC A WOC BWOC B WOC CWOC C
ElectronicElectronicTriadTriad
ElectronicElectronicTriadTriad
DM0
Sea-Mines& General Defense (Sea + Ground):artillery+hostile air+frog-launchers+etc.
DDG-003S M C-007
DM5
Hill + Beach A + Port
IN F ( A A A V )CA S
INF (M V 22)
DM4
Beach B + Airport
INF (A A A V )CA S
IN F ( M V 2 2 )
DM3
Medevacuation
M E DM E D
LHA -004LPD-005
DM2
lead-vehicle+Bridge+ground mines+SAM sites
CA S
E NG
S OF
S A T
B A S E -008
DM1
Defend North& DefendSouth
V F
S D
CG-001V FV F
FFG-002
CV -000
A A A VA A A VM V 22
M V 22
M E D
Rigorous human modeling– Performance– Social Networks
Simulation-based experimentation
Live Performance Assessment Operational Applications of Results
Understanding Work Organizations: From the Lab to the Field... And Back…
The “New” Tools
2006, Aptima, Inc. 10
On Organizational Size and Workload
(1/N)
Organizational Size (N)
Opera
tor
Work
load
Task Load
(N-1)
Coordination Load
Optimal Staffing
How to reach and keep the “sweetspot”?
2006, Aptima, Inc. 11
Today
Proven Solutions for High-Reliability Organizations
Redistributing task load– Static: function/role design matched to the task– Dynamic solutions: workload sharing
Reengineering coordination load– Team communication & coordination training– Emphasize implicit coordination & anticipation– Efficient sharing and maintenance of
knowledge in organization
2006, Aptima, Inc. 12
Organizational Knowledge
Collaborative and social processes– Knowledge development – Knowledge maintenance
Community of Practice– Robust, working knowledge is developed and
maintained within a community of practice, one in which the integral social interactions within a workplace serve multiple, often unacknowledged functions that are essential to productivity
Can’t become an expert by reading through a database, only by doing the work
2006, Aptima, Inc. 13
On the Difficulty of Storing All Organizational Knowledge
in a Database Most knowledge of operators is predominantly know-how and not facts that are
amenable to storage in a database (Vicente & Burns, 1996); Mumaw et al (2000); Roth (1997))
”In one nuclear power plant, operators are required to recognize a fluid leakage of more than 50Kg/hr (Vicente & Burns, 1996). What does that mean? Is it a slow drip, a steady flow, a gush, or a torrent?”
2006, Aptima, Inc. 14
Explicit & Implicit Knowledge
Organizational knowledge is captured in a "core competency" made up of:– Explicit knowledge (e.g. facts, rules, procedures,
instructions), and – Implicit knowledge (that tacit capability to transform
explicit knowledge into a competent or skilled act).
Typically, explicit knowledge is the “tip of the iceberg”
Approach: Building implicit knowledge on the “skeleton” of the early, explicit knowledge
2006, Aptima, Inc. 15
Shared, Collaborative Practice
Implicit knowledge is shared– It is both created out of, and revealed in, collaborative
practice– It is therefore properly characterized as organizational
knowledge
Emergence of “virtual teams” throughout the organization– Organizational collaborations are not confined to persons
who are proximate in space and time
2006, Aptima, Inc. 16
The Nature of Shared Knowledge
Transactional view Dynamic memory
– Versus a storage view of memory– Physical analogy of Bernard convection
A fluid when appropriately heated in a container will exhibit convection rolls. Those convection rolls dissipate when the heat is removed but reappear when the heat is reapplied in the same manner.
Explicit/Implicit interplay between:– Know-what (explicit), and – Know-how (implicit): Ability to put know-what into practice– Critical in making knowledge actionable and operational
2006, Aptima, Inc. 17
Development, Use, & Maintenance of Organizational Knowledge
Apprentice-Master style relationships Legitimate Peripheral Participation
– Developmental process in which apprentices are permitted to participate initially in peripheral activities and, as they become more skilled, to assume responsibility for more central activities.
Embedded in Work Activities– Process is situated within ongoing work activities where
new apprentices have numerous opportunities to observe and to assist masters and other apprentices
– Many “false apprenticeships” don’t offer natural progression from peripheral to central activities
2006, Aptima, Inc. 18
Xerox Example: Copy Machine Technicians
Xerox Example:– Technicians who repair copy machines at customer sites. These
technicians, who work on their own when they visit customer sites, are trained in copy-machine repair by their company and then supplied with repair manuals that were thought to be comprehensive. This information was inadequate for all but the most routine repair tasks.
– Technicians often encounter repair problems that fall outside the formal instruction and repair manuals.
– They have, however, developed an informal support network in which they share information about unusual repair problems. They meet often in social gatherings outside work hours where stories about challenging repair problems almost invariably dominate the conversation.
2006, Aptima, Inc. 19
Xerox Example: Building a Community of Practice
Reinforce communication links between technicians by providing them with two-way radios
Knowledge base that drew directly on technicians' insights and their sense of what they needed– Peer review was implemented to ensure that ideas were
scrutinized before they were added to the knowledge base– Knowledge base became an important element in the social
processes that bound these technicians into a community of practice
– Generated an aura of professionalism by demonstrating that technicians’ expert knowledge (and their ability to create knowledge) had value beyond resolution of a local repair problem
– Those who contributed to the knowledge base earned respect and social recognition from their peers.
2006, Aptima, Inc. 20
Another Example:CompanyCommand.com
guest (Read)EST DST
CompanyCommand.com is company commanders-present, future, and past. We are in an ongoing professional conversation about leading soldiers and building combat-ready units. The conversation is taking place on front porches, around HMMWV hoods, in CPs, mess halls, and FOBs around the world. By engaging in this ongoing conversation centered around leading soldiers, we are becoming more effective leaders, and we
are growing units that are more effective. Amazing things happen when committed leaders in a profession connect, share what they are learning, and spur each other on to become better and better.
Watch excerpts from the Army Innovation video
Username
Created by a Company Cmdr to share experiences and tips from the front… Later institutionalized by the US Army
2006, Aptima, Inc. 21
Summary:Community of Practice
Development and maintenance of organizational knowledge occurs seamlessly in a vibrant community of practice.
Natural social processes of negotiation, communication and collaboration are central
KM technology insertion must support social processes rather than storage and retrieval
Processes must be fostered in a work place where the continuity of organizational knowledge is at issue.
2006, Aptima, Inc. 22
“Malicious Procedural Compliance”Revisited
At one plant, operators would not always follow the written procedures when they went to the simulator for re-certification. …(they) would deviate from the procedures because the desired goal would not be achieved if the procedures were followed. … The people who were evaluating the operators criticized (them) for “lack of procedural compliance.”
The operators decided …. they would do exactly what the procedure said --no matter what …and became stuck in an infinite loop… repeating the same set of actions several times. … the evaluators criticized the operators yet again, this time for “malicious procedural compliance.”
Kim Vicente (1999), Cognitive Work Analysis, p xv
2006, Aptima, Inc. 23
“Malicious Procedural Compliance” Practical Solutions, (1/2)
Community of practice – Operators collaborated in the development and sharing
of knowledge. – Process was not accorded legitimacy by management
Legitimacy– Note the enlightened attitude of Xerox who did legitimize
this sort of thing when they found out Perceived Overhead
– Sharing of the sort undertaken by operators inevitably has an overhead
– Danger that cost cutters will see that process as one that should be eliminated
2006, Aptima, Inc. 24
New Knowledge Development– Workers are always developing new knowledge and will
always know things management does not– Enable social sharing between management and work force– Get used to it, Management….
Mutual Trust– Need to enable more mutual trust at work– Not trust building exercises, rather develop trust through
collaborative practice in the workplace Simulation Use in Practice
– Opportunity for management to learn something– Opportunity for operators to explore their system
“Malicious Procedural Compliance” Practical Solutions (2/2)
2006, Aptima, Inc. 25
Conclusions
Successful High-Reliability Organizations– Adapt their work processes and structures to fit
the mission demands and resource availability – Enable the formation of communities of practice
“virtual work teams”– Augment explicit knowledge management tools
with implicit knowledge development and retention procedures
Workplaces as Complex Socio-Technical Systems…