Building a knowledge base:

"process" vs. "heroes"

August, 1998

Building a knowledge base as a by-product of regular business processes is appealing because it eliminates the cost of separate tasks for finding, classifying, and compiling information. It's often used when companies want to make the tasks of finding, packaging, and applying knowledge more efficient (the "process" approach). In contrast, a "heroes" approach (i.e. hire good people and leave them alone) is more often used when a company wants to improve its knowledge creating activities.

These two approaches are not mutually exclusive. They can be viewed as opposite ends of a knowledge base publishing continuum. Where a project is located on the continuum depends on the desired outcome, level of risk, corporate culture, and other factors. For example, a project to reduce lag times and improve the quality of knowledge on the front lines may use the process approach while a project to increase the number of "breakthrough" products may lean toward the heroes approach.

This article examines three perspectives on this topic: improving an accounts payable system, adding a product management function to Information Technology, and enhancing the "project summary" for professional services firms. Four comparative charts are included:

• The "process" vs. "heroes" approach
• Information as product vs. information as by-product
• "Product" vs. "process" approach
• Enhancing the project summary

Because companies usually have dual objectives -- to increase efficiency and create new knowledge, most knowledge management projects lie close to the middle of the "process-heroes" continuum.

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