Developing KM competencies in a safe environmentOver a period of 2.5 years we were involved in an EC sponsored research project examining the potential for creating an internet enabled business simulation on knowledge management. Business games have been around since the late 1950s and computer simulations of the business environment have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years.
Given the level of demand for new KM professionals and the need for managers in other disciplines to develop KM capabilities, it is, at first sight, surprising that there has not been a proliferation of games and simulations to assist the development of KM competences.
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 One reason for this may be that there are some characteristics of knowledge management as a business discipline that makes the development of a simulation game a much more complex process than the development of similar tools to meet other management development needs:- KM is a domain characterised by ill-defined problems.
- Many decisions require qualitative judgements even though they will impact on quantitative key performance indicators.
- Modelling the domain requires a credible interaction between two models; the KM model and the business model.
- Building a credible simulation that helps to develop KM-specific competences involves the development of realistic scenarios with decision points that involve KM-specific decisions as opposed to more general business strategic/tactical decisions.
The above characteristics are not unique to the KM domain. However in some other management disciplines there may be particular types of management action that lend themselves to simulation without the above constraints. That said, the project created a prototype business game accessed via the Internet to be played by teams of three players. We call this KMQuest and early successes show that there is potential for running this as a competitive simulation with mixtures of teams form departments or perhaps inter-organisational competitions. |
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‘KMQuest really convinces. Although the learning curve is rather steep, it seems very appropriate for learning and teaching KM. GUI and navigation are very good.’
Armin Ulbrich, KnowCenter, Austria
‘Today in Lithuania discussions about Knowledge Management take place on theoretical level only. Strategic importance of KM is emphasized, but no practical steps on how to realize the potential of KM are described. ‘KM Quest’ helps to internalize the practical side of KM in a very short period of time and to evaluate the tactical means that help organizations to improve their results. The interactivity of the game allows for separation of truths and myths around KM, so KM Quest is useful for experts as well as newbie’s in the field. Probably the biggest benefit of KM Quest is that acquired knowledge can be applied in own organization on next day after session.’
Mantautas Jokubenas, Director of CM Group, Lithuania
‘So far I haven‘t seen anything alike, showing the benefits of training and communication so clearly. Benefits are ‘translated’ into clear language of financial results and numbers. That is why ‘KM Quest’ disarms managers not willing to invest in Knowledge Management by clearly showing the return on investment.’
Kestutis Gecas, Director of Public Relations Technologies, Lithuania |
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If you want to play KM Quest and see how it can fit your needs, do contact Senior Consultant knowledge management Eelco Kruizinga by e-mail or telephone +31-30-2308900.
Attractive conditions
For the higher education segment, we offer attractive conditions. If you want to play KM Quest as part of a regular education programme, do contact Prof.dr. Robert de Hoog at Twente University, our KM Quest partner for higher education.
KM Quest is the result of the KITS project, a joint initiative of DNV-CIBIT , University of Amsterdam, Twente University, EADS, TNO Italia and ECLO. |
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