Special Theory Forum
The Eleven Deadliest Sins of Knowledge Management
What’s Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?
Discussed by Rimal Popat
Madhusudhana Sadagopan
Discussion Format
 Case Study: Knowledge management failures
central to Shuttle disaster

The Eleven Deadliest Sins of Knowledge
Management
 Case Study: WebMD (Codification &
Personalization)

What’s Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?
Before We Begin…
 What do you think were some reasons that the
Columbia Shuttle crashed?
“Knowledge management failures central to
Shuttle disaster” – Computer Weekly
 Knowledge management systems failures played a major
role in February's Columbia space shuttle disaster—
Columbia Accident Investigation Board
 Massive bureaucracy that relied on informal e-mail
communications to manage the in-flight analysis of damage
to Columbia during takeoff.
 Error 3: Viewing Knowledge as Existing
Predominantly Outside the Heads of Individuals
 Mind of its own

NASA has current automated system in place to track safety
critical issues;
 (-) “Extremely cumbersome; difficult to use at any
level“
  System goes unused
 Error 4: Not Understanding that Fundamental
Intermediate Purpose of Managing Knowledge
Is to Create Shared Context
 None  differing perspectives  immobilize DM
“Knowledge management failures central
to Shuttle disaster” – Computer Weekly

“Personnel familiar with the Lessons
Learned Information System indicate that
design engineers and mission assurance
personnel use it only on an ad hoc basis,
thereby limiting its utility.”


Error 6: Disentangling Knowledge from its
Uses
Error 7: Downplaying Thinking &
Reasoning
WebMD
(Codification & Personalization)
 How are you feeling today?
WebMD
(Codification & Personalization)
 We pride ourselves in knowing our audience's needs
and delivering the most appropriate experience. We
know that there is a difference between using a health
site for health "performance" issues (e.g., flat abs) vs.
health research needs (e.g., "What is type 2
diabetes?") vs. community support (e.g., "Does
anyone else feel like me?") vs. e-commerce. Our
mission is to fulfill all these needs in the most
appropriate ways possible.
Questions?
Works Cited
 Computer Weekly.
http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.as
p?liArticleID=124350&liFlavourID=1&sp=1
 WebMD.
http://my.webmd.com/webmd_today/home/default
.htm