ConFigures

Looking Back: Knowledge Management and Previous Jobs

My first job out of college was at Xerox, where I got a great foundation of training in many subjects.  While I was working there, there was a big push on Document Management — if there was going to be a “paperless office”, Xerox didn’t want to be left behind.  Thus, much time and effort was spent on how to store and retrieve electronic documents (taxonomy, information architecture).  There was also attention paid to electronic information and standards (XML or a precursor, maybe?).

When I started doing configuration management, and more specifically having to maintain software configurations (and builds and recreatability), I saw how vitally important it was to be able to know six months down the road just what I’d done to create a build.  This seemed to involve two major components:

• saving the information of what I’d done in the first place
• being able to find that information later

Since then, if we’d had yearbooks at different jobs, you’d probably have seen “Most Likely to Document” by my name and photo each year.  The “being able to find it” bit was somewhat ad hoc and somewhat dependent on the technologies in place at the different jobs, though.  The locations ranged from document folders, floppies, Lotus Notes databases, internal web pages, etc.  Formats ranged from massive “books” to FAQs to simple text files to hyptertexting all over.  I tried to write for other readers besides just myself, but the degree of time I spent on that bit would depend to a degree upon whatever evidence I’d gotten that others there would actually look at what I’d put down.

What bothered me most, but I wasn’t able to articulate at the time, was frustration with trying to keep process and configuration information current — particularly when other people would make changes (as the needs of the projects changed), but not update the documentation.  Occasionally I found out what had changed, and everyone would wait for me to enter the changes (even though I was not the only person with edit capabilities).  Looking back, I think part of the problem was technology that didn’t really facilitate collaborative writing, and another part was a lack of emphasis on a culture of openness and knowledge sharing.  One co-worker “joked” about not writing stuff down as “job security.”  That’s a powerful current to swim against.