Predecessors/Before You Begin

"Knowledge management" is an ITIL process, first introduced in ITIL as of version 3. The scope of this process can be very broad, potentially including

• self-service knowledge bases for end users
• intra-department knowledge transfer, such as internal documentation and communication systems
• compiling information from other ITSM processes
• data visualization

The term knowledge management is used in different ways in other disciplines; it would probably be a good idea to define the term "knowledge management" carefully before using it.

Knowledge Management

ITIL v3 describes how information is processed through a "DIKW" flow:

• Data: raw information
• Information: data with context
• Knowledge: information that has been analyzed
• Wisdom: "the ultimate discernment of the material" (Service Transition p. 146)

These four phases describe the information itself. Educators might see a parallel to Bloom's Taxonomy, which describes the levels of comprehension:

• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• Application
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation

(These levels are used in the ITIL v3 course syllabi.)

ITIL v3 also proposes the "SKMS"--Service Knowledge Management System--which could be considered the "holy grail" of ITIL v3 the way the CMDB was for ITIL v2. The SKMS would essentially contain all ITSM information.

University-specific risks

"Knowledge management" is somewhat of a buzz phrase. The term is not IT-specific, so when talking about "knowledge management" at a University, other departments may have their own definitions.

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