Page 418 -

The KM Team 401

5. Presenting information
6. Securing information
7. Collaborating around information
The skill of retrieving information is everything from the low-tech skills of asking
questions and listening, and following up to the more complex skills of searching for
information using Internet search engines, electronic library databases, and relational
databases. Concepts of widening and narrowing one ’ s search, Boolean logic, and itera-
tive search practices are an important part of the effective exercise of this skill.
Evaluating information entails not only being able to the judge the quality of
information, but to determine its relevance to some question or problem at hand.
Though this has no necessary computer mechanism for implementation (though
Internet search engines have crude relevant raters), the greater availability of informa-
tion in the current information-rich environments makes this skill of far greater
importance.
Organizing information entails using various tools to draw connections between
items of information. In the manual environment, we use fi le folders, drawers, and
other mechanism for organizing information; in more high-tech environments, we
use electronic folders, relational databases, and web pages. Effective organizational
principles must underlie effective implementation of information organization regard-
less of the environment.
Analyzing information entails the challenge of tweaking meaning out of data.
Integral to analyzing information is the development and application of models, often
quantitative, to “ educe ” relationships out of the data. Tools such as electronic spread-
sheets and statistical software provide the means to analyze information. But the
human element is central in framing the models that are embodied in that
software.
The key aspect of presenting information is the centrality of audience. Presenting
information — whether through PowerPoint presentation, web site, or text — builds on
principles of chunking information to enable audiences to understand, remember, and
connect. Web styles and monographs on designing web site usability provide concrete
content for this KM skill.
While securing information differs from the other six KM skills, it is no less impor-
tant. Securing information entails developing and implementing practices that ensure
the confi dentiality, quality, and actual existence of information. Practices of password
management, backup, archiving, and use of encryption are important elements of this
effectively practiced KM skill.