The knowledge measures leaders should actually look at
· 1 min read
Total article count goes up every month and tells leaders almost nothing. Four measures worth putting on the first screen.
In brief
Most knowledge dashboards open with the same number: total articles. It goes up every month and everyone feels good, but it tells you almost nothing. A knowledge base can grow every month and get worse every month. More articles can simply mean more places for the wrong answer to hide. Leaders do not need forty charts. They need a handful of measures that answer one question: is our knowledge helping people get on with their work? This article sets out four measures worth putting on the first screen leaders see. First, are people finding answers? Look at searches that end with an article opened, not with a ticket raised, and at searches that return nothing, which are a list of articles nobody has written yet. Second, is the answer any good? What readers say when you ask them matters, and a steady trickle of not helpful marks on one article tells you exactly where to look. Third, is the knowledge still fresh? How many articles are past their review date is the number most dashboards leave out, and the one that tells you how much you can trust everything else. Fourth, is knowledge saving work? Incidents and requests resolved with an article attached show whether knowledge is doing a job, or just decoration. Keep the detailed charts for the people who run the knowledge base. Leaders need the four answers, and a reason to ask a follow-up question.
Most knowledge dashboards open with the same number. Total articles. It goes up every month. Everyone feels good.
It tells you almost nothing. A knowledge base can grow every month and get worse every month. More articles can simply mean more places for the wrong answer to hide.
Leaders do not need forty charts. They need a handful of measures that answer one question: is our knowledge helping people get on with their work?
Four measures worth putting on the first screen
Measure one: are people finding answers? Searches that end with an article opened, not with a ticket raised. Searches that return nothing are just as useful. They are a list of articles nobody has written yet.
Measure two: is the answer any good? What readers say when you ask them. A steady trickle of "not helpful" on one article is a gift. It tells you exactly where to look.
Measure three: is the knowledge still fresh? How many articles are past their review date. This is the number most dashboards leave out, and the one that tells you how much you can trust everything else.
Measure four: is knowledge saving work? Incidents and requests resolved with an article attached. If the service desk never links knowledge to the work, the knowledge is decoration.
Keep the detail for the people who run it
Put these on the first screen leaders see. Keep the detailed charts for the people who run the knowledge base. Leaders need the four answers, and a reason to ask a follow-up question.
Next step
Which number on your knowledge dashboard would you swap out first? Join the conversation on ESM's Exchange: https://exchange.esm.institute
Tags: knowledge management, service management, reporting, ESM
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