Developing and Maintaining a Knowledge Database
By Jim Strand, Implementations Analyst
Some amount of our daily work can be classified as routine – tasks we perform regularly that, over time, become second nature. These things become almost automatic; there is no need for instructions or notes, we proceed through habit and memory.
Then there are the things which we don’t encounter on a regular basis: the troubleshooting items, the one-offs, the infrequent blips that put a stumble in our day. For these, we must dig deeply into our memory to recall if we’ve handled this before. We struggle to re-member when we saw that error message, whom we spoke to for help, or if this is a first-time occurrence.
If only there were a reliable, up-to-date resource we could turn to, somewhere that has the answers we need! A lighthouse to help guide us to our answer! A… knowledge base!
While most organizations have some form of knowledge base available to their employees, we can probably agree that they often fall short of being as useful as they could be. And because of this shortfall, we find ourselves repeatedly being asked (or asking) the same questions. Below are some points to help you get your personal, team, or organizational knowledge base to a place where it’s an important asset that is frequently utilized and helpful.
Stick with one format. Preferences differ on how to best store information, and we often use multiple methods: old emails, word documents, internal wiki pages, sticky notes and note-pads are some examples. Archiving the data in various places requires that we open many doors when searching for our answer. Determine the best way to have a centralized repository that everyone can access for help. Keep the old emails if it sets you at ease, but set an expectation that everyone is to update the central knowledge database with the information as well.
Institute and maintain a standard structure. Don’t throw everything into a pile – determine how best to set up your knowledge base and teach your team how they can contribute to and utilize it. Put expectations in place for team members to update material. When they need an answer, ask them to search the knowledge base first, before asking for assistance from another person.
Use customer questions to prioritize and tweak your content. Use the customer’s or end user’s own words to describe and answer the issue. People will search based on key words, so it’s important to use the language they would use. Emails are a good way to do this – take note of how the problem statement was presented and any key words they use and include them in the knowledge base. You can also use screen shots if applicable (images are typically very helpful).
Treat your knowledge base like a product. Documentation shouldn’t be an afterthought, always lagging behind the need for it. Consider documentation to be a required part of operations and projects and update it whenever something is discovered or changes. Reference dates when something does change, and consider including the person who made the change. We often get questions like “Are you sure that’s right? Last year I did it this way…” Having this history allows us to validate the information and ask questions if necessary as to why the change was made and who made it.
Set up regular content reviews. Have a specific cadence for reviewing and updating content. Focus on making the documentation thorough and easy to understand. Open these sessions to different teams if the knowledge base is used by people beyond your group, as this will help all of you to get the full picture and make it work well for everyone.
Building and maintaining a knowledge base can help you in your customer support efforts without having to add more staff. It can help you to focus more on proactive efforts instead of continually searching for answers to questions that have already been solved by you or others. It all comes down to a commitment to build and maintain a tool that can be an asset for years to come.