The KM Value Pyramid

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One of the common themes that has surfaced lately, in conversations from Helsinki to Indianapolis, to Washington DC to Norfolk (VA), has been the need to move from talking of ‘feelings’, when discussing the value of KM, and the development of the KM value proposition, to conversations driven by impact, cost and ROI.

Too many conversations around KM value start with ‘I feel’, ‘I think’ or ‘I’ve talked with someone who feels/thinks’.  Feelings are not enough in today’s risk averse environment, we need evidence; this is why we need to shift the conversation to impact and cost, as a precursor to ROI.

To help, we (K3-Cubed) have produced the KM Value pyramid.  This has been adapted from the Kirkpatrick/Phillips training evaluation model and has been informed by our K-Core research project; we are also using this on the KM Professional Development Certificate with the University of Edinburgh (now in-house with K3-Cubed – see www.KMeducation.com), as a way to stimulate evaluation processes that, in turn, can improve understanding of the business value of the concept.

The 5 stages of KM value measurement