We Are What We Know

By A. Charles Rowney and Kyle Schilling

When you get right down to it, EWRI rests on a foundation of knowledge. We work together because we choose to and the things we do as a group are defined by our commonality of interests and experiences. In a very real sense, EWRI is a community based on a broad but strongly centered set of technical interests. We dont have Councils, Task Committees or activities based on taxidermy or small engine repair. Our efforts revolve around natural resources (including air, land and water) and the many ways our uses of these resources impact the environment we share. Our value, to each other and as an organization, is very much an outcome of our ability to collaborate and share what we know.

That being the case, it was a sensible step for our Governing Board to establish the Knowledge Management Task Committee (KMTC) last fall. The KMTC will work to help define and develop procedures and technologies that will enable our membership to more easily communicate and operate, spanning the full range of EWRI interests. Board member and KM sponsor Kyle Schilling was the spark plug for this development. Kyle stated: With the recent restructuring, and particularly with the sun-setting of the Products and Development EXCOM, there was a real need to provide a focal point and guiding mechanism for many of our activities. It seemed clear that this should be centered on managing our knowledge assets."

EWRI already has made some solid progress putting basic information systems in place, but there is a lot that needs to be done. A great example of what we don't have at present comes from the recent Tsunami disaster. EWRI Director, Brian Parsons, commented: "When the Tsunami hit, ASCE and its Institutes got calls for experts who could help - but we had no efficient way to find them. There was no list within EWRI of those who knew something about this subject. We got the job done by phoning people, who in turn knew people, but it was tedious and slow, and whether in the end we got all the names that could help we don't know. This kind of thing happens all the time." The techniques of knowledge management offer ways to make something as basic as finding expertise within our ranks a routine and simple task, and the KMTC will be exploring ways to do this.

The list of things that might be explored by this TC is already lengthy and is still being developed. A core KMTC group consisting of Charles Rowney (chair), Kyle Schilling, Dave Martin, Steve Harris, and Brian Parsons has discussed this as a team as well as with a wider group of interested EWRI members. Among the items being explored are better ways to deliver knowledge bases to our membership. The e-rooms already deployed are a step forward, but not the only answer. E-rooms are great for working on a structured project, but less effective for archiving or casual communications. Alternatives include deploying subscription servers to enable targeted newscasts, forums for community discussions on topical issues, and improved web portals that can be tailored to meet individual needs. Another area being considered relates to the way we manage technical content. EWRI is adept at delivering journals and conference proceedings, but technical content including specialty papers, monographs, standards, guidelines, and so on can be delivered to our members in ways that are more convenient and more easily searched than is possible today.

There is also a quite different axis of activity being considered by the KM team, which relates to the way we operate many of the processes for which EWRI is responsible. This includes things like a list builder - a convenient and dependable way to manage lists of participation in things like TCs, Councils, including membership, officer histories, and other factors in a way that allows easy e-mailing and so on according to whatever EWRI function is of interest. Also being considered are ways to manage lessons learned in the conferences process. This is critical given the new ability of EWRI to manage its own conferences and the consequent need to ensure we don't have to learn painful lessons twice, or lose knowledge of techniques that worked well. This kind of activity will be central to making the overhead functions of EWRI as simple, efficient, and cost effective as possible.

Specific first targets presently identified by the KMTC and being prepared for consideration by the Board include: an improved EWRI web site, a member list builder, an improved content management system with search engine, improvements to the conference management system, and potentially improvements to member learning services. Other ideas are welcome, and if anyone is interested in helping, particularly if they have a background in knowledge and/or information management, they can let us know at EWRI@asce.org. Knowledge Management is a key element in the development of EWRI, and it will take many hands working in concert if we are to realize the full potential of this TC.