KM, decisons and problem solving

What is the relationship and role between KM and problem solving or decision making?

Always ponder the nature of this connection. For some KM is all about smarter problem solving, faster or better decisions. For me I'm not so sure. KM somehow goes deeper, it is about agility, awareness, continual learning, improving understanding, discovery, inquiry, emergence.  I like to think KM is more about asking quality questions than finding elegant solutions,  about OODA loops rather than prescriptive decision models, about connecting and reciprocating rather than mandating.

There are many approaches to problem solving. The key IMO is understanding the context, appreciating the 'politics' around problem ownership and finding the resolution sweet spots. Here are some leads:

RCA (root cause analysis)

http://www.reliabilityweb.com/fa/root_caus...se_analysis.htm

FMEA (failure mode & effect analysis)

http://www.fmeainfocentre.com/

Poka-Yoke (failure proofing)

http://csob.berry.edu/faculty/jgrout/pokayoke.shtml

Multi-criteria decision making

Expert Choice

Easy-Mind

Web HIPRE

There are some visual tools that can help:

Ishikawa diagrams
http://mot.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/mt322/Ishikawa.htm

Concept maps
http://classes.aces.uiuc.edu/ACES100/Mind/CMap.html

Influence diagrams
http://www.lumina.com/software/influencediagrams.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influence_diagram

After you have listed alternatives, solicited engagement, obtained agreement on key criteria, found adjudication rules the group can live with, allocated the weights and done the analysis - do you not often wonder if you have really increased your understanding?

Comments

[Josh]

I love reading this blog. Reading your view point on thing get me thinking. Thanks