Using Usability to Direct KM Systems

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Usability and user-centred design are well-established disciplines, with a wealth of concrete studies, processes and guidelines. Both of these disciplines share a broad focus on technology, people (users), and processes. Indeed, there are more similarities between the two than differences.

Knowledge management has much to learn from its older cousin, usability. In fact, usability provides many useful starting points for structuring and managing knowledge management projects.

Most importantly, user-centred design efficiently and comprehensively identifies the business problems that need to be solved by knowledge management projects.

The goals of knowledge management

The Standards Australia 'Knowledge Management Framework' defines KM as:

Knowledge management is a multi-disciplined approach
to achieving organisational objectives by making the
best use of knowledge — it focuses on processes such
as acquiring, creating and sharing knowledge and the
cultural and technical foundations that support them.
The aim of knowledge management is to align
knowledge processes with organisational objectives.

The challenge of many KM projects is knowing where to start

Or to paraphrase:

Knowledge management is a process for ensuring staff
have access to the information they need, when they
need it.

The goals of usability and user-centred design

A working definition of usability is as follows:

Usability is a process for ensuring users can do what they need (and want) to do with a system.

A number of attributes are typically identified for usability:

• Learnability – the system must be easy to learn.
• Efficiency – once learnt, the system must allow the user to work productively.
• Memorability – the system must be easy to remember, so that skills do not have to be re-learnt.
• Errors – the system should be designed so that the user's error rate is low. Ideally, errors should be prevented wherever possible.
• Satisfaction – the user must be pleased with the way the system works.

User-centred design takes these principles one step further, to develop a process whereby users are involved at all stages.

It starts by identifying goals and requirements, and then users, actions and information. This provides a framework for an iterative design process that covers information flow, interface design and data modelling.

Finally, user involvement and usability testing ensure that the system does what users need.

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