# Presentation: 201901

## What is Knowledge Management at the Census Bureau?

- Presented By:
- Carla Buczinski
- Computer Assisted Survey Research Office
- Bea Parker
- Systems Support Division

## Agenda

- Introductions
- Definitions of Knowledge Management
- Knowledge Management at Census
- Challenges to Implementation
- Current Project Examples
- Summary
- Questions

**Notes:**
Good afternoon and welcome.  I hope you are all enjoying the first Census Bureau SEPG Conference.  As you already know, there is an impressive number of Census employees here sharing their knowledge and experience on many aspects of software development today.  I think this is pretty exciting.  The presentation Bea and I have in store for you this afternoon is a little different.  We want to share with you, this afternoon, our thoughts on knowledge management at the Census Bureau. We’ll start with some definitions of knowledge and knowledge management.  Then we’ll share with you a definition of knowledge management developed by the Census Bureau Knowledge Management Working Group and a model of the Census Bureau’s Knowledge Life Cycle based on the model developed by Mark McElroy and the Knowledge Management Consortium International.  Next, we’ll introduce what we believe to be the challenges to making knowledge management happen at Census and follow with some successful examples of KM implementations you are probably familiar with.  We’ll end with what we believe to be successes and continuing challenges for knowledge management at Census.

## What is Knowledge?	It’s More Than Information

- Information = Data + Meaning
- Knowledge =Internalized information 				     +Ability to utilize the information
- Keith Devlin, _Infosense - Turning Information into Knowledge_
- Information is “know what”
- Knowledge is “know how”
- Nancy M. Dixon, _Common Knowledge - How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know_
- Properly understood, knowledge is paradoxically both a *thing* and a *flow*
- Dave Snowden, “Complex acts of knowing – paradox and descriptive self-awareness”

**Notes:**
So what is knowledge.  First, it’s more that just information.  Keith Devlin who is a well known mathematician and author of several books including Infosense, describes “Information” as data with meaning added, and “Knowledge” as internalized information and the ability to use it – which suggests that a person must be involved in order for knowledge to exist.  For example, if I were to provide you with the numbers 99, what would those numbers mean to you?
Numbers represent a string of data which have very little meaning by themselves.  Now if I were to say 99 Loring Drive, Framingham,MA, then you would probably recognize right away that I’m referring to an address.  Now you have some information.  If I were to mention that this is the address of the MCI-Framingham correctional institution for women, you can immediately create a mental picture in your mind of the kind of place this must be; and if you were working on the 2000 Decennial Census, you might also know that the inumation process for the inhabitants of this group quarters would be different from that of a single family home.
Nancy Dixon, author of a very good book called Common Knowledge, has simplified the difference between information and knowledge.  Information, she says is “know what” – which can be easily captured and codified – while knowledge is “know how” – suggesting it has more to do with the ability people to take some kind of action.  And Dave Snowden, Director for the Cynefin Center for Organizational Complexity, says that “Properly understood, knowledge is paradoxically both a thing and a flow...”  By knowledge as a thing – he is referring to that which we can identify, codify and store in a database for example.  In describing what he means by ‘knowledge as a flow’, Snowden points out that “We only know what we know when we need to know it...” suggesting that knowledge is actually contextual and is triggered by circumstance. 

## What is Knowledge Management?	There’s no consensus

- ... the identification, optimisation and active management of intellectual assets, either in the form of explicit knowledge held in artefacts, or as tacit knowledge possessed by individuals or communities. [2nd generation KM]
- Dave Snowden, *A Framework for Creating a Sustainable *[KM] *Programme*
- ... what ‘knowledge management’ should achieve is not a static management of information or existing knowledge, but a dynamic management of the process of creating knowledge out of knowledge.
- Ikujiro Nonaka, et al,  *Emergence of “Ba”  A Conceptual Framework for the Continuous and Self-transcending Process of Knowledge Creation*
- Knowledge management is ... a conscious strategy of getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time and helping people share and put information into action in ways that strive to improve organizational performance.
- Carla O’Dell and C. Jackson Grayson, Jr., _If Only We Knew What We Know_

**Notes:**
[If I use this page, need to update credits.]

## Knowledge Management at Census

- Knowledge Management is a systematic approach to making available to every employee, the information and know-how they need to do their work effectively and efficiently.
- Census Bureau Knowledge Management Working Group

**Notes:**
About a year ago, a group of people interested in knowledge management at Census got together and formed a working group.  This group was and remains, completely self selected and participation is voluntary.  Right now, it represents about 10 Divisions including almost all of the Directorates.  

One of the first things the group did was to develop a definition of KM at Census, and start work on a model of what knowledge management should look like here.  This process is not finished yet, but our current working definition of KM is:

“... a systematic approach to making available to every employee, the information and know-how they need to do their work effectively and efficiently.”

## Challenges to KM Implementation at Census

- Top process – Organizational Learning
- Bottom process – Integration and Use of Existing Knowledge

**Notes:**
We are still struggling with the development of a working model of KM at Census.  In the meantime, for the purposes of our discussion this afternoon, I’ve borrowed and adapted the Knowledge Life Cycle developed by Mark McElroy and the Knowledge Management Consortium International (which, by the way, is one of several organizations that provide certification programs for knowledge managers within organizations).
The bottom half of this model addresses management and use of existing knowledge in an organization, while to top half represents organizational learning and addresses knowledge creation and integration.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle at Census

**Knowledge Management Life Cycle at Census**

- Solutions

**Business Processes**
**Employees doing**
**their work**
**(Knowledge Use)**

**Organizational Knowledge**
**           “****Containers”**
**  ****Individuals and Groups**
**  ****Artifacts & Codifications**

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

**Notes:**
You can start talking about knowledge management from any point in the model.  I’d like to start with the Business Environment where existing knowledge is being used by employees doing their work.  
The blue rectangle to the left represents Census Bureau employees doing their work with the knowledge they have readily available to them.  When an employee needs the knowledge of others, or when there is a need for information that is not on hand – say, in the employees head – the employee may go to one of the “Organizational Knowledge ‘Containers’”.  These ‘Containers’ may include fellow employees with more or different experience, groups which act as stewards for certain bodies of knowledge such as the Community of Practice for Project Management or the Software Engineering Process Group; or it may refer to databases, repositories and tools such as the Project Management Repository or a shared drive.  All of these containers provide access to the Distributed Organizational Knowledge which is represented by the graphic on the bottom right.  Let me point out, before I go any further, that the “organization” may refer to a Branch, a Division, a Directorate, or the entire Bureau. It’s important to note, then, that the organizational knowledge available to an employee may not include all the relevant or useful knowledge in existence at the Bureau since an employee in the Demographic Directorate would not necessarily have access to the knowledge base in the Economic Directorate for example.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle at Census

- Internal/External Events

- Feedback
- (including the
- detection of
- Problems)

- Knowledge Creation

- Solutions

**Business Processes**
**Employees doing**
**their work**
**(Knowledge Use)**

**Notes:**
If an employee finds that she/he must respond to a situation and cannot find the appropriate information or knowledge in the available knowledge base, that employee may generate feedback indicating that new knowledge is required.  Ideally, that feedback would be the employee’s entre into the top half of the process where he/she may acquire information from outside the normal knowledge containers.  For example, the employee may take a class, or request access into anther organization’s distributed knowledge base.  After acquiring new knowledge, the employee may create a knowledge claim which is represents a new solution to the instant situation.  This could be an improvement in an existing process, or a new process entirely.  That potential solution, is then tested – in a pilot program for example.  If the new knowledge does turn out to be of value to the organization, it is confirmed as new organizational knowledge and is then integrated into the distributed knowledge base of the organization.  This can happen through training, publicizing in some way or informal sharing.  
Ideally, this cycle is continuous, but the process of integrating new knowledge into the distributed organizational knowledge comes with some challenges, we believe, when it is applied here at Census.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle at Census

**Notes:**
We know, that organizational learning – the top half of the process – is occurring at Census.  However, because the “organization” may be defined at various levels, making sure that we are applying all that we learn to the bottom half of the process can be a challenge.  We believe that we are probably reinventing the wheel many times simply because the right people don’t necessarily have access to the right information and knowledge.

## Challenges to KM Implementationat Census

- 1.	Improving the consistency of organizational knowledge

- Solutions

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Feedback

**2.**

**3.**

- Internal/External Events

**Notes:**
For instance we believe that:
The consistency of organizational knowledge needs to be improved so that communication can cut across stovepipes, and more existing knowledge can be reused.  This can take the form of the adoption of a common language and common formats for documentation – for example the “Red Notebook” for PM or the Process Asset Library for software development.

## Challenges to KM Implementationat Census

- 2.	Increasing consistency of methods and accessibility of tools

- Solutions

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Feedback

**1.**

**2.**

**3.**

- Internal/External Events

**Notes:**
2. Consistency of methods and accessibility of common tools can facilitate the development of new knowledge that builds on existing knowledge and is easily recognizable and accessible by employees.             These can take the form of standard such as MS Project and Powerpoint, standard taxonomies, and communities of practice which can support and reinforce standard business practices.

## Challenges to KM Implementationat Census

- 3.	Improving employee awareness of availability and usefulness of information and knowledge

- Solutions

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Feedback

**1.**

**2.**

**3.**

- Internal/External Events

**Notes:**
3. And finally employee awareness of the availability and usefulness of information and knowledge regardless of origin is the heart of any knowledge management strategy because ultimately, the goal of KM is improvement of business processes through better access to knowledge by the employee – it’s people focused.  So if we are unable to capture the interest of employees doing their work, then our efforts can have very little positive effect.

## Overview of Examples of KM Implementation at Census

- KM is not the primary focus, it is the result of these efforts
- All examples cut across the Census Bureau
- In each case, there is a localized benefit as well as a real or potential organizational benefit
- Examples are:
- Census Software Process Improvement and 2 of the 3 Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Pilot Projects
- IT Standards and Unified Products Program
- Corporate Metadata Repository

**Notes:**
The balance of our presentation will focus on real life examples of initiatives that are having a positive impact on managing the Bureau’s knowledge.  
It’s important to note though, that none of these initiatives were started as KM projects – so knowledge management, for its own sake, is not the primary focus, but rather, it is a result of implementation.
All of the examples we’ll share with you this afternoon are IT related and cut across the Bureau organizational stove pipes.  There are initiatives in other parts of the Bureau as well that are having, or have the potential to have similar effects such as the Project Management Certificate Program and the related Community of Practice for Project Management (the CoPr PM), and the “Who Knows” Locator Project which has just gotten started and represents a joint effort with HRD, SSD, PRED and CASRO.  
In each of the cases we will discuss, there are local benefits as well as a potential, if not real, corporate benefits.  This is important for KM because valuable knowledge can be found anywhere in an organization.  The challenge is always to open up the lines of communication across stovepipes.
The initiatives we will focus on are:
Census Software Process Improvement which started with a Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Pilot Program involving projects from three Directorates.
ITSUPP, which is the IT Standards and Uniform Products Program which has been in place since 1992, and addresses the need to agree on IT standards and tools for use throughout the Bureau.
And The Corporate Metadata Repository, developed in 1998, is itself a tool to support the capture and reuse of information about the data we collect in over 200 surveys and censuses we conduct every year.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to Census Software Process Improvement (CSPI)

- Knowledge Creation

- GAO Report
- IG Report

- Feedback
- Can the
- CMM address
- my SW
- development
- project issues?

- Software Development
- Teams at Census
- (Knowledge Use)

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

**Notes:**
Software development is an important activity here because we develop and maintain, in-house, much of the software used to collect, process and disseminate statistical data about the people and businesses in the United States.  When reports from the GAO and the IG criticized us for not having standard, documented processes for software development, we wondered if the CMM for Software could help us.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to Census Software Process Improvement (CSPI)

- Knowledge Creation

- GAO Report
- IG Report

- Feedback
- Can the
- CMM address
- my SW
- development
- project issues?

-  IT sponsored
-   3 Pilot
-   Projects
-  CMM Training

-               Pilots applied
-           CMM to
-                     specific business
-              problems

- CMM
- will help

- Software Development
- Teams at Census
- (Knowledge Use)

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

**Notes:**
--
The IT Directorate, with support from the membership of the IT Governing Board, initiated 3 pilot projects to find out.  Everyone involved in the pilots received CMM training, and the initial verdict was that CMM could help us address specific needs to improve our SW development processes.  The pilots were conducted over a 2-year period, and the results have been very positive. 

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to Census Software Process Improvement (CSPI)

- Knowledge Creation

- GAO Report
- IG Report

- Feedback
- Can the
- CMM address
- my SW
- development
- project issues?

-  IT sponsored
-   3 Pilot
-   Projects
-  CMM Training

-               Pilots applied
-           CMM to
-                     specific business
-              problems

- CMM
- will help

- Organizational
- Knowledge
- Final Evaluation
- CSPI Strategy

- Software Development
- Teams at Census
- (Knowledge Use)

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Establishment
-  of  SEPG
-  SEPG
-    Conference
-    Brown Bag
-   Seminars
- SW Develop.
-  Training
- PAL

- Solutions

**Notes:**
--
--
In fact, the results of the pilots were so positive that implementation on a wider scale began to occur even before a final evaluation of the pilot program and the strategy for rolling out the new Census Software Process could be documented. 

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to Census Software Process Improvement (CSPI)

- Knowledge Creation

- GAO Report
- IG Report

- Feedback
- Can the
- CMM address
- my SW
- development
- project issues?

-  IT sponsored
-   3 Pilot
-   Projects
-  CMM Training

-               Pilots applied
-           CMM to
-                     specific business
-              problems

- CMM
- will help

- Organizational
- Knowledge
- Final Evaluation
- CSPI Strategy

- Software Development
- Teams at Census
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   Software Engineering Process
-     Group (SEPG)
-   Process Asset Library (PAL)

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Establishment
-  of  SEPG
-  SEPG
-    Conference
-    Brown Bag
-   Seminars
- SW Develop.
-  Training
- PAL

- Solutions

- Software Process
- Improvement Program
- at Census

**Notes:**
--
--
--
The new processes for software development are now being integrated into the Census Bureau’s Distributed Organizational Knowledge base through the establishment (a year ago) of the Census SEPG, the initiation of monthly Brown Bag Seminars, promotion of SW development training, the Process Asset Library (PAL), and this SEPG Conference.  Everyone involved in software development can now access the PAL – which will have guidance, customizable templates, and examples of documentation.  And every Directorate has at least one representative on the SEPG – which is the steward of corporate knowledge for software development at Census.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Change Control in the Technologies Management Office (TMO)

- ATUS Blaise Authoring
- CMM Pilot Project

- ATUS Authoring
- Project Team in TMO
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   *DSD Shared Drive*

- Feedback
- Move from
-  reactive
-  change control
- process to
- proactive

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

- Distributed Organizational Knowledge
*Existing Change Control *
*System*

**Notes:**
Now that I’ve talked about the CMM Pilot Program itself and the Census Software Process Improvement initiative, one of the pilot projects was the American Time Use Survey Authoring Project in the Technologies Management Office.
The American Time Use Survey Authoring Project Team had the responsibility of developing a new survey for its external customer (the Bureau of Labor Statistics).  The project team had difficulty responding to the needs of the sponsor and when given the opportunity to participate in the CMM Pilot Program, they decided that one of their needs was to move to a better documented and more proactive change control process.  

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Change Control in the Technologies Management Office (TMO)

- ATUS Blaise Authoring
- CMM Pilot Project

-  SQA Audit
-     Meeting
-  Established
-    Risk
-    Assessment
-    Process

-                       Stakeholder
-               Buy-in

- Formal Risk
- Assessment
- Meetings

- ATUS Authoring
- Project Team in TMO
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   *DSD Shared Drive*

- Feedback
- Move from
-  reactive
-  change control
- process to
- proactive

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

- Distributed Organizational Knowledge
*Existing Change Control *
*System*

**Notes:**
--
The frustration the team felt over the existing reaction mode they were in came to a head at a Software Quality Assurance audit which was one of the requirements for participating in the pilot program.  The result was the establishment of a Risk Assessment Process which the team hoped would open up better communication among the stakeholders.  That process evolved into Formal Risk Assessment Meetings which were supported by all of the interested parties.  

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Change Control in the Technologies Management Office (TMO)

- ATUS Blaise Authoring
- CMM Pilot Project

-  SQA Audit
-     Meeting
-  Established
-    Risk
-    Assessment
-    Process

-                       Stakeholder
-               Buy-in

- Formal Risk
- Assessment
- Meetings

- Organizational
- Knowledge
- ATUS SCCB

- ATUS Authoring
- Project Team in TMO
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   *DSD Shared Drive*
-  Authoring SPI Team in TMO
-   PMR/QMR

- Feedback
- Move from
-  reactive
-  change control
- process to
- proactive

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

-  Formal
-    process for
-    approving
-     changes
-   SCCB and formal
-      Risk
-    Assessment for
-    new projects
-  SPI Team

- Solutions

- SCCB Process and Authoring
- SPI in TMO

**Notes:**
--
--
The risk assessment process combined with a more proactive change control process resulted in the ATUS Software Configuration Control Board.  As TMO began to find avenues to integrate the new process into other authoring projects, a Software Process Improvement Team was developed, and now both the ATUS experience with the SCCB and the new SPI  are part of TMO’s distributed organizational  knowledge.  Anyone in TMO working on an authoring project has access to this new knowledge through the Authoring SPI Team and the PMR where TMO’s ATUS project documentation is stored.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Change Control in the Housing and Household Economic Surveys Division (HHES)

- Feedback
- Changes are
- controlling us.
- We want to be
- in control.

- Distributed Organizational Knowledge
*DSD/TMO’s Existing *
*Change Control System*

- CPS March Supplement
- Report Preparation
- Team in HHES
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-  *CMM Pilot Program*

- CMM Pilot Program

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

**Notes:**
Another of the three pilot projects is the CPS March Supplement Report Preparation Project in the Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division.
The CPS March Supplement  Report Preparation Project – unlike the ATUS Project – represented an ongoing activity which involved maintaining the software that produces the official annual income, poverty and health insurance reports for the United States.  Maintenance of the report preparation software involves constant modifications, and sometimes complete overhaul of various programs.  In the past, the responsible team of programmers were receiving changes on an ad hoc basis, sometimes amounting to conversations in the hall.  Some changes were small, but some were significant and required a large commitment of resources at an un-opportune time in the report preparation cycle.  Sometimes, the impact of a change was not fully appreciated until an unexpected anomaly appeared after the change was made. When the team was offered the chance to participate in the CMM Pilot Program, one of their goals was to get changes under control.  The CMM requires project teams to have a documented change control process and the HHES team developed a paper process which was a vast improvement over their previous situation.  Through the CMM Pilot Program and the opportunity to confer with members of the other two projects, the HHES team had visibility into an existing change control system used by the ATUS Project which was automated using MS Access.  The system had not been difficult to set up.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Change Control in the Housing and Household Economic Surveys Division (HHES)

- Feedback
- Changes are
- controlling us.
- We want to be
- in control.

- Distributed Organizational Knowledge
*DSD/TMO’s Existing *
*Change Control System*

-  Demo of
-    TMO’s
-   Change Control
-    database
-  Developed
-   Change
-   Tracking
-    Database

-                       Stakeholder
-               Buy-in

- Change
- Request
- Process

- Organizational
- Knowledge
-  Formal
- Change Control
-   SCCB

- CPS March Supplement
- Report Preparation
- Team in HHES
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-  *CMM Pilot Program*

- CMM Pilot Program

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

**Notes:**
--
At one of the periodic joint pilot project meetings at which all of the members of all of the project teams got together to compare notes, the ATUS Team demo’d their change control system for the HHES Team.  They decided to use MS Access to develop their own electronic change tracking database which resulted in a new, electronic Change Request Process for the project.  Let me mention an important point here – the change control system used by DSD and TMO to support the ATUS project is quite different from the one created by HHES.  However, the idea to use MS Access and some of the features of the HHES Change Tracking Database did come from the ATUS team.  TMO and HHES exchanged ideas and lessons learned, and HHES adapted a useful tool for their own purposes, and was able to get stakeholder buy-in for a completely new way of managing changes.  [This exchange of ideas and lessons learned was useful to the pilot project teams.]  The HHES team was able to require the use of their new change request system and enhance its effectiveness with the institution of a Software Configuration Control Board.

## Knowledge Management Life Cycle Change Control in the Housing and Household Economic Surveys Division (HHES)

- Feedback
- Changes are
- controlling us.
- We want to be
- in control.

-  Demo of
-    TMO’s
-   Change Control
-    database
-  Developed
-   Change
-   Tracking
-    Database

-                       Stakeholder
-               Buy-in

- Change
- Request
- Process

- Organizational
- Knowledge
-  Formal
- Change Control
-   SCCB

- CPS March Supplement
- Report Preparation
- Team in HHES
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-  *CMM Pilot Program*
-  HHES CPS Report Preparation Team
-   CPS Portal
-  HHES Shared Drive

- CMM Pilot Program

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

-  Written
-    process and
-    procedures
-   Quick Cards
-   Demos
-   upon request

- Solutions

**Notes:**
--
--
To integrate the new approach to change control, the HHES project team developed written guidance along with “Quick Cards” to help users through the process.  They have also conducted demonstrations for anyone interested – including demonstration for the CoPr PM.  Now, formal change control is part of the distributed organizational knowledge within HHES and may be accessed by anyone associated with the project through the CPS Portal where the team has stored all of its project documentation, their shared drive, and team members themselves.

## Benefits to KM ImplementationCensus Software Process Improvement

- Knowledge Management is a systematic approach to making available to every employee, the information and know-how they need to do their work effectively and efficiently.
- CMM
- Business process approach to software development at the corporate level which promotes sharing solutions that may be customized for use at the work level

**Notes:**
Going back to our original definition of Knowledge Management at the Census Bureau, CMM and the resulting implementation of software development best practices as embodied in the Census Software Process Improvement Strategy, is a business approach to software development at the corporate level which promotes sharing solutions, lessons learned and best practices that may be customized for use at the working level.
Sharing across stovepipes is facilitated through the PAL which may be accessed by anyone interested in software development
The SEPG provides a forum for communication among representatives of the software development community across the Directorates
Sharing at the working level is also facilitated through monthly Brown Bag Seminars which are open to everyone at Census and showcases topics of interest and best practices in software development specifically at Census.

## Challenges to KM ImplementationCensus Software Process Improvement

- Improving the consistency of organizational knowledge
- CSPI Program based on CMM methodology and supports common practices for software and process documentation
- Increasing consistency of methods and accessibility of tools
- CSPI Program provides access to a standard methodology and tools
- Improving employee awareness of availability and usefulness of information and knowledge
- CSPI Program promotes sharing of “new” knowledge, lessons learned, and sharing of solutions to common business problems

**Notes:**
Looking at Software Process Improvement at Census and the challenges we see for the implementation of knowledge management:
In terms of improving the consistency of organizational knowledge, the CSPI Program is based on the Capability Maturity Model for Software which requires the development of documented common practices for software development and process documentation.
For increasing consistency of methods and accessibility of tools – while the CMM itself does not specify tools and methodologies, the SEPG – under CSPI – is developing a standard methodology and associated tools for use throughout the Bureau; all of which will be accessible by anyone at the Bureau through the PAL.
And as for improving employee awareness of availability and usefulness of information and knowledge, the CSPI Program promotes sharing of new knowledge, and lessons learned, and sharing of solutions to common business problems through the PAL as well as – and probably more importantly – through the monthly Brown Bag Seminars and conferences such as these.  It is hoped that the SEPG will also be a forum for sharing lessons learned and best practices which will then be shared by SEPG representatives to the rest of their organization, and that plans to implement CSPI locally will develop to more specifically address needs at the working level.  CSPI is new though, so we will have to wait a while before we’ll be able to observe its effectiveness.

## Knowledge Management Life CycleIT Standards and Uniform Products Program (ITSUPP)

-   SMT
-    “evaluation”
-    of product or
-    standard
-    request

-                   Product
-                        Evaluation
-                     Standard
-          Development

- SMT
- Recommend
- -ation

- Organizational
- Knowledge
- New Uniform
- Product or
- IT Standard
- Approval

- IT Users
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   Systems Support Division
-   Census Wide Web

- Technology Changes
- in the Marketplace

- Feedback
- Need Census
- approval for
- new product
- or standard

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census**
**Business Environment**

-   Publication
-     of
-     Product
-     information
-   Publication of
-     Standard
-   Product or
-    Standard
-    Training

- Solutions

## Knowledge Management Life CycleIT Standards and Uniform Products Program (ITSUPP)

- Organizational

- IT Users
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   Systems Support Division
-   Census Wide Web

- Technology Changes
- in the Marketplace

- Feedback
- Need Census
- approval for
- new product
- or standard

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

## Knowledge Management Life CycleIT Standards and Uniform Products Program (ITSUPP)

-   SMT
-    “evaluation”
-    of product or
-    standard
-    request

-                   Product
-                        Evaluation
-                     Standard
-          Development

- SMT
- Recommend
- -ation

- IT Users
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   Systems Support Division
-   Census Wide Web

- Technology Changes
- in the Marketplace

- Feedback
- Need Census
- approval for
- new product
- or standard

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

- Distributed Organizational Knowledge Identified Products & IT Standards

## Knowledge Management Life CycleIT Standards and Uniform Products Program (ITSUPP)

-   SMT
-    “evaluation”
-    of product or
-    standard
-    request

-                   Product
-                        Evaluation
-                     Standard
-          Development

- SMT
- Recommend
- -ation

- Organizational
- Knowledge
- New Uniform
- Product or
- IT Standard
- Approval

- IT Users
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   Systems Support Division
-   Census Wide Web

- Technology Changes
- in the Marketplace

- Feedback
- Need Census
- approval for
- new product
- or standard

- Knowledge Creation

- Knowledge Integration

**Census**
**Business Environment**

-   Publication
-     of
-     Product
-     information
-   Publication of
-     Standard
-   Product or
-    Standard
-    Training

- Solutions

## Benefits to KM ImplementationIT Standards and Uniform Products Program

- Knowledge Management is a systematic approach to making available to every employee, the information and know-how they need to do their work effectively and efficiently.
- ITSUPP
- Business process to build consensus on IT work processes and products to help maximize efficient use of Bureau resources through publishing standards and selecting uniform products

## Challenges to KM ImplementationIT Standards and Uniform Products Program

- Improving the consistency of organizational knowledge
- ITSUPP promotes agreement about IT products and work practices
- Increasing consistency of methods and accessibility of tools
- This is a secondary benefit of ITSUPP
- Improving employee awareness of availability and usefulness of information and knowledge
- ITSUPP promotes adoption of standard IT product and work practices

## Knowledge Management Life CycleCorporate Metadata Repository (CMR)

- Public Demand
- Regulatory Oversight

- Feedback
- Improve or
- change the
- business process

-  Explore
-    alternative
-    business
-    processes
-    including CMR
-    Tools

-             Definition of
-                          business process
-                  using CMR
-  Tools

- Use of
- CMR Tools

- Knowledge Creation

- Organizational
- Knowledge
- Updated
- Business Process
- Using CMR Tools

- Generation of Survey
-    Instruments
- Documentation of Final Data
-    Products
- Agreement on or reuse of
-    Definitions for Variables
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   Local shared drives
-    CMR Project Staff
-    CMR HW/SW Environment
-    PMR/QMR

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Local training
- Oral instructions
-  Written
-   instructions

- Solutions

## Knowledge Management Life CycleCorporate Metadata Repository (CMR)

- Public Demand
- Regulatory Oversight

- Feedback
- Improve or
- change the
- business process

- Knowledge Creation

- Generation of Survey
-    Instruments
- Documentation of Final Data
-    Products
- Agreement on or reuse of
-    Definitions for Variables
- (Knowledge Use)

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

## Knowledge Management Life CycleCorporate Metadata Repository (CMR)

- Public Demand
- Regulatory Oversight

- Feedback
- Improve or
- change the
- business process

-  Explore
-    alternative
-    business
-    processes
-    including CMR
-    Tools

-             Definition of
-                          business process
-                  using CMR
-  Tools

- Use of
- CMR Tools

- Knowledge Creation

- Organizational
- Knowledge
- Updated
- Business Process
- Using CMR Tools

- Generation of Survey
-    Instruments
- Documentation of Final Data
-    Products
- Agreement on or reuse of
-    Definitions for Variables
- (Knowledge Use)

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Solutions

## Knowledge Management Life CycleCorporate Metadata Repository (CMR)

- Public Demand
- Regulatory Oversight

- Feedback
- Improve or
- change the
- business process

-  Explore
-    alternative
-    business
-    processes
-    including CMR
-    Tools

-             Definition of
-                          business process
-                  using CMR
-  Tools

- Use of
- CMR Tools

- Knowledge Creation

- Organizational
- Knowledge
- Updated
- Business Process
- Using CMR Tools

- Generation of Survey
-    Instruments
- Documentation of Final Data
-    Products
- Agreement on or reuse of
-    Definitions for Variables
- (Knowledge Use)

- Organizational Knowledge
-            “Containers”
-   Local shared drives
-    CMR Project Staff
-    CMR HW/SW Environment
-    PMR/QMR

- Knowledge Integration

**Census Bureau**
**Business Environment**

- Local training
- Oral instructions
-  Written
-   instructions

- Solutions

## Knowledge Management Life CycleCMR Applications

-                           Definition of specific
- 	   changed business
- 	process using
-                 CMR Tools

- Econ Survey
-   Instrument
-  Decennial
-    Survey
-    Instrument

- Tools-based
- Applications

## Benefits to KM ImplementationCorporate Metadata Repository

- Knowledge Management is a systematic approach to making available to every employee, the information and know-how they need to do their work effectively and efficiently.
- CMR
- Enabling tool that helps to make information about business practices, products and data more visible and more readily available to everyone to promote higher level of reuse

## Challenges to KM ImplementationCorporate Metadata Repository

- Improving the consistency of organizational knowledge
-  CMR enables ease of sharing information about data and business practices
- Increasing consistency of methods and accessibility of tools
- CMR is a tool that serves this purpose
- Improving employee awareness of availability and usefulness of information and knowledge
- CMR helps make data and information more visible and therefore more readily available

## Summary	What’s Working

- We are good about actively seeking and finding solutions to our business problems
- We are getting better about making a conscious effort at distributing organizational knowledge

## Summary	Continuing Challenges

- We need to work on “just-in-time” accessibility
- We need to work on improving employee awareness and the “what’s in it for me”

## Questions

## Acronyms/Credits

- Acronyms
- ATUS – American Time Use Survey
- CMM – Capability Maturity Model
- CMR – Corporate Metadata Repository
- CPS – Current Population Survey
- CSPI – Census Software Process Improvement
- DSD – Demographic Surveys Division
- GAO – General Accounting Office
- HHES – Housing and Household Economic Statistics
- HW – Hardware
- IG – Inspector General
- IT – Information Technology
- ITSUPP – IT Standards and Uniform Products 	Program
- KM – Knowledge Management
- PAL – Process Asset Library
- PMR – Project Management Repository
- QMR – Quality Management Repository
- SCCB – Software Configuration Control Board
- SEPG – Software Engineering Process Group
- SMT – Standards Management Team
- SPI – Software Process Improvement
- SQA – Software Quality Assurance
- SW – Software
- TMO – Technologies Management Office

- Credits
- Slide 6 – Knowledge Management Life Cycle at Census adapted from
- Mark W. McElroy(2002), _The New Knowledge Management – Complexity, Learning, and Sustainable Innovation,_ Butterworth-Heinemann