Transcript Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice
Communities of Practice
Knowledge can’t be separated from its community and managed like
inventory from a distance. It is part of the shared practice of
communities that need it, create it, use it, debate it, distribute it, adapt it
and transform it. Knowledge as a property of community is not static; it
involves interactions, conversations, actions, and invention. For example,
what constitutes scientific knowledge is the prerogative of the scientific
community (theories, procedures, methods) and results in a body of
knowledge.
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CoP Definition
“… a group of professionals informally bound to
one another through exposure to a common
class of problems, common pursuit of
solutions, and thereby themselves embodying
a store of knowledge” - Manville and Foote 1996
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Defining Communities of
Practice
• Communities of practice (CoP) are living
repositories of knowledge.
• Members of a community are informally
bound by what they do together.
• The community and the degree of
participation are inseparable from the
practice.
• Shared practices serve as a living curriculum
for the apprentice
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Dimensions of CoPs
• What it is about
• A joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its
members.
• Shared identification fueled by personal investment in a topic of
interest
• You know what your community cares about and what questions to
ask; you understand the value of lessons learned
• How it functions
• Mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity.
• Learn from one another, interact, dynamic negotiation; trust develops
• What capability it has produced
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• the shared repertoire of communal resources (routines, sensibilities,
artifacts, vocabulary, styles, etc.) that members have developed over
time.
• You can’t be a real engineer unless you’re familiar with its repertoire of
community: language, laws, cases, rules of thumb; doctor/boundary
Snapshot
Comparison
In perspective with other organizational groupings.
Who belongs
Formal
Hierarchical
organization reporting
Purpose
To deliver a
product or
service
Project
Management To accomplish
Team
assigned
a specific task
Community Voluntary,
Build &
of Practice invited or self- exchange
selected
knowledge
Informal
Friends and
Collect & pass
network
acquaintances on information
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Cohesiveness
Duration
Organizational Until next
goals
reorganization
Project goals
Passion,
identity,
commitment
Mutual needs,
friendship
Until project is
complete
As long as
interest remains
As long as
reason
to connect exists
Why Support CoPs?
• Formal knowledge management is not
enough.
• There is greater potential for information flow
when CoPs are supported.
• Innovative solutions can arise at boundaries
between CoPs.
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Where are they found?
• Within businesses:
• Occurs as people address recurring sets of problems. Ex.
Claims processors, nurses in a ward, etc
• Across business units
• Cross functional. Ex. Chemical company’s safety
managers in each business unit who gain from interacting
regularly, solving problems, developing common
guidelines. Develop a strategic perspective that
transcends the fragmentation of organizational lines.
• Across company boundaries.
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• Computer engineers working for competitors form
community to deal with technological changes
• Oil companies (direct competitors)
What CoPs are Not
• A community of practice is different from a business
or functional unit.
• Purpose is to develop knowledge not allocate resources
• Power doesn’t derive from reporting relationships but
rather from ability to contribute knowledge
• Focused on own tasks so learning can remain local
• A community of practice is different from a team.
• Defined by knowledge not task.
• Teams dissolve when project is complete.
• Temporary therefore learning can be lost
• A community of practice is different from a network.
• About “something” not just relationships
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People belong to CoP and other
Structures
• In their business units, workers shape the
organization and deliver products and services.
• In their teams, they take care of projects and find
solutions.
• In their networks, they form relationships and spread
information.
• And in the CoP, they develop the knowledge that
lets them do these other tasks. (best practices,
lessons learned, feedback, “fill the white spaces in
the org chart!”)
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Types of CoPs
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Unrecognized.
Bootlegged.
Legitimized.
Strategic.
Transformative.
Unrecognized CoP
• Definition:
• Invisible to the organization and sometimes even
to members themselves.
• Typical Challenges:
• Lack of reflexivity, awareness of value and of
limitation.
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Bootlegged CoP
• Definition:
• Only visible informally to a circle of people in the
know.
• Typical Challenges:
• Getting resources, having an impact, keeping
hidden.
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Legitimized CoP
• Definition:
• Officially sanctioned as a valuable entity.
• Typical challenge:
• Scrutiny, over-management, new demands.
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Strategic CoP
• Definition:
• Widely recognized as central to the organization's
success.
• Typical Challenge:
• Short-term pressures, blindness of success,
smugness, elitism, exclusion.
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Transformative CoP
• Definition:
• Capable of redefining its environment and the
direction of the organization.
• Challenge:
• Relating to the rest of the organization,
acceptance, managing boundaries.
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Importance of CoPs to
Organizations
• An effective organization is comprised of a
constellation of interconnected CoPs.
• Each deals with a specific aspect of the
company's competency.
• It is by these communities that knowledge is
“owned” in practice.
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Movement of Information
• They are nodes for the exchange and
interpretation of information.
• Members know what is relevant to
communicate and how to present information
in useful ways.
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Preservation of Knowledge
• They can retain knowledge in “living” ways.
• Communities of practice preserve the tacit
aspects of knowledge that formal systems
cannot capture.
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Employee Identity
• They provide homes for identities.
• Identities manifest themselves in the jargon
people use, the clothes they wear, and the
remarks they make.
• Supporting communities helps people develop
their identities.
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CoP Boundaries
• Radically new insights often arise at the
boundary between communities.
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Leadership of CoPs
• CoPs often have more than one leader.
• Leaders are chosen internally.
• Leadership often doesn’t coincide with
authority.
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Types of CoP Leadership
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Inspirational (thought leaders and experts)
Day-to-day (organizers of activities)
Classificatory (organizers of information)
Interpersonal (social leaders)
Boundary (connect to other communities)
Institutional (the official hierarchy)
Cutting-edge (initiators)
Fostering CoPs
• Communities of practice exist whether or not
the organization recognizes them.
• Many are best left alone.
• A good number will benefit from some
attention.
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Legitimizing participation
• Recognize the work of sustaining the CoP.
• Acknowledge the value of the CoP.
• Give members the time to participate in
activities.
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Negotiating
• People work in teams for projects but belong
to communities of practice.
• The long-term benefits of CoPs are difficult to
appreciate.
• Pay attention to the opinion of CoPs on
long term strategic decisions.
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Leveraging Potential
• The knowledge that companies need is
usually already present in some form.
• Fostering CoPs spreads knowledge to the
people who need it.
• Strong CoPs create their own solutions
internally or externally.
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Fine Tune the Organization
• Management interest, reward systems, work
processes, corporate culture, and company
policies can suppress CoPs.
• Do not micro-manage the community.
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CoP Support Teams
• A company wide team or committee can
support CoPs.
• This sends the message that the organization
values the work and initiative of communities
of practice.
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Distributed CoPs
• Literature has shown no reason why a CoP
could not exist in a distributed environment.
• Difficulties arise in the sharing of soft
knowledge among distributed members.
• Building trust, confidence and identity
are problematic.
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Distributed CoPs
• Most relationships are made in a face to face
meeting.
• Face to face meetings are important even in
distributed environments.
• This sustains future communications but
needs re-charging at periodic intervals.
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Tools Enabling Dist CoPs
• Interpersonal tools such as e-mail, instant
messaging, video and voice conferencing.
• Group communication tools such as
newsgroups, forums
• FAQs, forums can also maintain
knowledge.
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•"IS managers must find ways to facilitate the key
activities of communities--problem solving and
innovation. This will mean providing new application
architectures that allow members to represent
problems, build prototypes, and create solutions.
These tools--for modeling, scenario development,
and analysis--must be open, flexible, and easy to use
by any member of the community."
(Harvesting Your Workers' Knowledge,
by Brook Manville & Nathaniel Foote, McKinsey & Co
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Negative Aspects of CoPs
• Communities can become liabilities if their
own expertise becomes insular.
• CoPs can be difficult to define and identify,
and are therefore hard to support.
• CoPs can interfere with corporate
organization.
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Success stories
• Shell E&P realizes annual benefits of $200+
million through its CoP knowledge sharing
• American Management Systems (AMS)
estimates that their communities save the
company between $2-5 million per year and
increase revenue by over $13 million
• An international company formed communities
to supplement their management development
program
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More success stories
• Nynex cut service set-up time by 80% through the
increased communication that communities bring
• Andersen Consulting Education division
• over half of eligible employees participating
• sample groups: motivation, culture and learning,
demographics, virtual classroom, Web
technology, problem-based learning
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Possible communities
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sales (virtual meetings?)
e-business
accounting issues
workflow processes
diversity (racial, gender,
age, mental models)
retirement
community building
technology utilization
PC tech support
business strategy
• marketing strategy
• data mining & analysis
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Based on needs
determination
Cultivating communities of practice
a quick start-up guide
What elements to develop?
What are communities of practice?
by Etienne Wenger
Communities of practice are groups of
people who share a passion for something
that they know how to do and who interact
regularly to learn how to do it better.
Domain: the definition of the area
of shared inquiry and of
the key issues
Community: the relationships among
members and the sense
of belonging
Practice: the body of knowledge,
set strategic context
educate
• Articulate a strategic value proposition
• Identify critical business problems
• Articulate need to leverage knowledge
Communities of practice are
a familiar experience, but
people need to understand
how they fit in their work.
• Conduct workshops to
educate management and
potential members about
the approach
• Help people appreciate
how communities of
practice are inherently selfdefined and self-managed
• Establish a language to
legitimize communities and
establish their place in the
organization
encourage
Communities of practice
can use some light-handed
guidance and technology
infrastructure.
Practitioners usually see the
value of working as a
community but may feel the
organization is not aligned
with their understanding.
• Provide some process
support, coaching, and
logistic assistance
• Identify needs and define
adequate infrastructure
without undue emphasis on
fancy technology
organization
members
short-term value
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integrate
support
Why focus on communities of practice?
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methods, stories, cases,
tools, documents
A strategic context lets communities find
a legitimate place in the organization
long-term value
help with challenges
access to expertise
confidence
fun with colleagues
meaningful work
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personal development
reputation
professional identity
network
marketability
problem solving
time saving
knowledge sharing
synergies across units
reuse of resources
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strategic capabilities
keeping abreast
innovation
retention of talents
new strategies
get going
Starting to cultivate communities
of practice as early as possible
creates early examples that
allow people to learn by doing.
• Have a few pilot communities
going as soon as possible
• Find communities to start with by
identifying areas where there is
potential and readiness
• Interview some prospective
members to understand issues,
start discussing a community,
and identify potential leaders
• Gather a core group to prepare
and initiate a launch process
• Help members organize an initial
series of value-adding activities
• Encourage them to take
increasing responsibility for
stewarding their knowledge
• Find sponsors to
encourage participation
• Value the work of
communities
• Publicize successes
The formal organization
must have processes and
structure to include these
communities while honoring
their root in personal
passion and engagement.
• Integrate communities in the
way the organization works
• Identify and remove obvious
barriers
• Align key structural and
cultural elements
What are some critical success factors?
community
organization
• Domain that energizes
a core group
• Skillful and reputable
coordinator
• Involvement of experts
• Strategic relevance of
domain
• Visible management
sponsorship, but without
micro-management
• Address details of
practice
• Dance of formal and
informal structures
• Right rhythm and mix of
activities
• Adequate resources
• Consistent attitude
References
Wagner, Etienne. “Communities of Practice, Learning as a Social System”,
Systems Thinker, 1998.
http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml
Neus, Andreas. “Managing Information Quality in Virtual Communities of
Practice”, International Conference on Information Quality at MIT, 2001.
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/neus.pdf
Kimble, Chris, Hildreth, Paul, Peter, Wright, Peter. “Communities of Practice:
Going Virtual”, 2001.
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~kimble/research/13kimble.pdf
Faraj, Samer, Wasko, Molly McLure. “The Web of Knowledge: An
Investigation of Knowledge Exchange in Networks of Practice”, Academy
of Management Journal, 2001.
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/Farajwasko.pdf
Elliot, Margaret S, “Computing in a Virtual Organizational Culture: Open
Software Communities as Occupational Subcultures”, University of
California, Irvine, 2002.
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~melliott/occup-subcul.pdf
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