Knowledge, and by extrapolation, Knowledge Management, does not stand alone. If it is to be useful it must permeate every aspect of any organized effort. Let's consider the role that Knowledge Management plays in something as common, yet exceedingly complex, as airline travel.

The pilot who will fly from Las Angeles to New York between 10:00am PDT to 4:00 EDT will likely begin his business day at about 5:00am PDT. That early start is needed so the pilot can begin his daily process of Knowledge acquisition, Knowledge assessment and validation, and Knowledge categorization, prioritization and availability. Then and only then can the pilot build the specific and detailed action plan for his transcontinental flight of today and make the ultimate and final decision as whether to fly or not to fly.

Knowledge acquisition will include the local and destination weather reports and all the major weather in-between. He will need to know the number of passengers and the estimated weight of the passengers and cargo. He will check to see if there are any notable exceptions such as runway closures or closed airspace that he may encounter on today's flight (NOTAMS, "notice to airmen"). Finally he will inspect the maintenance records of his aircraft to see if his airship is worthy of flight.

Knowledge assessment and validation will begin with the weather reports and additional live briefings from subject matter experts to help him better understand the data presented and to glean information that he can use. Taking the total weight of his aircraft including passengers, cargo and fuel along with weather information enroute, the pilot will decide exactly how much fuel to put on the plane including a sufficient reserve to allot for any change in plans or the environment. Runway or airspace closures will help him determine his approach into the destination, and aircraft maintenance will be assessed from a "go / no-go" perspective.

Knowledge categorization, prioritization and availability is the last step of this process which ensures that pertinent Knowledge is available to the pilot and others at the right time and place. Weight and weather are factored to determine the optimal takeoff configuration and airspeed. Before takeoff, the total passenger count has been used to determine the ideal food and beverage load for the flight. Prior to that, the passenger's baggage has been routed via the most expedient means to insure arrival at the aircraft's final destination. Finally, the weight of the aircraft and weather conditions at the destination are computed at many times during flight in order to determine the speed and configuration of the aircraft for landing.

Airline travel occurs hundreds of times a day, all over the world. And air travel is only possible because of the myriad of disparate yet synchronized Knowledge Management streams that exist to guide and serve all of the pilot's decisions. In other words just like "no man", Knowledge Management is not an island.

To summarize Knowledge Management is both an end to a means, and a means to and end. Good Knowledge Management is designed to provide timely, relevant, and useful information to key decision makers and doers. This Knowledge comes from a myriad of dynamic and disparate sources which must be available at any time and with guaranteed accuracy. The intended outcome should always be to provide agility and confidence when making plans or decisions. It does not matter if your goal is transcontinental flight, open heart surgery, or making ice cream. The principles, goals, and outcomes are largely the same.

More to follow...

Braun Tacon