What can be measured is not necessarily important and what is important cannot always be measured. Eight approaches can help prioritize investments in knowledge management.

1. The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian
Development Bank, or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included
in this presentation and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this presentation do not imply any
view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.
Prioritizing Investments
in Knowledge Management
Olivier Serrat
2013

2. The Limitations of
Traditional Metrics
What can be measured is not necessarily important,
and what is important cannot always be measured.
• The difficulty in demonstrating direct linkages
between investments in knowledge management
and organizational performance.
• The miscellany of possible knowledge management
initiatives, which calls for both quantitative and
qualitative approaches.
It is not easy to prioritize return on investments in
knowledge management. This may owe to:

3. Common Traps
When prioritizing investments in knowledge
management, common traps lie waiting:
Delaying rewards for quick wins.
Using too many metrics.
Implementing metrics that are hard to control.
Focusing on metrics that tear people away from
business goals.

4. A Purposeful Medley of Insights
Approaches
that can help
pick
investments
in knowledge
management
relate to:
• A time management approach to full agendas that
focuses on importance and urgency.
• Generic features of knowledge management
initiatives.
• Ways to map knowledge management initiatives by
knowledge agent, form of knowledge, and core
knowledge activity.
• Generic concerns that sustain innovative
organizations.
• Five areas of value creation in knowledge products
and services.
• Ways to locate knowledge management initiatives
in an options space.
• A multi-staged review process to underpin
knowledge product and service development.
• An approach to strategic management that
balances the financial perspective against others.

5. Eisenhower Matrix
Source: Stephen Covey. 1989. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic. Simon and
Schuster.
Quick fix
High
Low
Low
Now!
Drop it Schedule time
High
Urgency
Importance

6. Knowledge Management and
Investment Features
Source: Adapted from Amrit Tiwana. 2000. The Knowledge Management Toolkit: Orchestrating IT, Strategy, and
Knowledge Platforms. Prentice Hall.
Risk
Strategic Objective
Building
Exploring Low
High
Expanding or Defending
Medium
Time to Impact

7. Tacit
Explicit
Tacit
Explicit
Tacit
Explicit
Mapping Knowledge Management
Investments
Source: Adapted from Charles Despres and Danièle Chauvel. 2000. How to Map Knowledge Management. In
Mastering Information management, edited by Donald Marchand and Thomas Davenport. Prentice Hall.
Intra-andInter-
Organizational
Domain
GroupIndividual
Identify Create Store Share Use
Business
Intelligence
Benchmarking
Communities of
Practice
Competencies, Employee Learning and Development
Yellow Pages
Innovation,
Synergies,
Creativity
Data Warehouse
Internet

8. Innovative Knowledge Product
and Service Development
Source: Adapted from Simon Knox. 2002. The Boardroom Agenda: Developing the Innovative Organization. Corporate
Governance: International Journal of Business in Society. Vol. 2 No. 1: 27–36. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Superior
Client
Value
Organizational
Culture
Organizational
Structure
Ability to Execute
and Completeness
of Vision
Knowledge Products
and Services
Development

9. Value Creation in Knowledge
Products and Services
Source: Paul Iske and Willem Boersma. 2005. Connected Brains-Question and Answer Systems for Knowledge Sharing:
Concepts, Implementation, and Return on Investment. Journal of Knowledge Management. Vol. 9, No. 1: 126–145.
Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Value
Process Focus
Client Focus
Financial
Focus
Innovation
Focus
Human Focus

10. Low
High
Value-to-Cost Ratio
Source: Adapted from Amrit Tiwana. 2000. The Knowledge Management Toolkit: Orchestrating IT, Strategy, and
Knowledge Platforms. Prentice Hall.
Volatility
< 1.00 > 1.001.00
Project A
Project C
Project B
Project D
Project E

11. The Knowledge Product and
Service Development Process
Source: Adapted from Simon Knox. 2002. The Boardroom Agenda: Developing the Innovative Organization. Corporate
Governance: International Journal of Business in Society. Vol. 2., No. 1, pp. 27–36. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Idea Search
Cost
Time
Concept
Clearance
Evaluation
Development
Testing
Launch
Client Insights
Client Insights
Go
Stop

12. Financial Perspective
What is important to our
shareholders?
A Balanced Scorecard
Source: Robert Kaplan and David Norton. 1992. The Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance. Harvard
Business Review. January-February: 71–80.
Learning and Growth
Perspective
Are we innovative and ready
for the future?
Business Process
Perspective
Which internal processes can
add value?
Client Perspective
How do clients
perceive us?

13. Further Reading
• ADB. 2007. Learning Lessons in ADB. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/learning-lessons-adb
• ——. 2008. Auditing the Lessons Architecture. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/auditing-lessons-architecture
• ——. 2008. Picking Investments in Knowledge Management.
Manila. www.adb.org/publications/picking-investments-
knowledge-management
• ——. 2010. Seeding Knowledge Solutions Before, During, and
After. Manila. www.adb.org/publications/seeding-knowledge-
solutions-during-and-after

14. Quick Response Codes
@ADB
@ADB Sustainable
Development Timeline
@Academia.edu
@LinkedIn
@ResearchGate
@Scholar
@SlideShare
@Twitter