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85 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Which of the following is a common reason for implementing KCS?
Increase customer satisfaction
What is the minimum structure of a solution as defined by the KCS methodology?
Problem, Environment, Resolution
What is an example of meta data?
Author
What is a Solution State?
It is the status of the solution in the knowledge life cycle.
What is the minimum number of knowledge states necessary for a KCS solution life cycle?
Three
What is an example of an optional knowledge state?
Obsolete
What document must be defined and communicated before implementing a knowledge monitoring process?
The KCS Quality Criteria
What is the Solution Quality Index?
A score given to a person or group indicating the result of a review of the knowledge they contributed.
Who normally performs the knowledge monitoring process?
KCS Coaches
What is the primary purpose of knowledge monitoring?
Improve the skills of the analysts.
What are three key components of the visibility matrix?
1. Audience
2. Knowledge State
3. Access Rights
Which KCS role is responsible for monitoring processes and mentoring people?
KCS Coach
Which KCS role is responsible for providing the vision, objectives and resources?
Sponsor
Which KCS role is responsible for designing the implementation and building the foundation?
KCS Program Team
Which of the following is a leading indicator?
Participation Rate
What should you do before you seek to solve a problem?
Search to see if it is a known problem.
Which KCS role is responsible for managing/supervising the KCS Coaches?
KCS Manager
What does the customer contribute to a solution?
Environment
Why is it important to search the knowledge base after you solve a problem?
To find related solutions.
What are the three levels of KCS benefits?
1. Direct
2. Applied
3. Leveraged
Which of the following is least likely to motivate staff?
Monitary compensation
What is the primary objective of the strategic framework?
Link the benefits of KCS with the goals of the organization.
Which of the following drives understanding of, engagement with and belief in the KCS implementation?
Communications Plan
Improved reputation, decreased costs and scalability are examples of which of the following?
Expected return from an investment in KCS for the business.
Which KCS role is the most important when it comes to establishing the vision and objectives of the KCS program?
Sponsor
Which of the following would be responsibilities of the KCS II role in the KCS competency model?
Fix solutions on demand and finish frames solutions.
Who created KCS?
The Consortium for Service Innovation (CSI)
What is a benefit of Structure for Reuse?
Promotes consistency and quality
The problem and the resolution are two components of a solution. What is the third?
Environment
What is the first phase of the six-step KCS adoption process?
Assess the current state.
What is the Consortium of Service Innovation?
It is a non-profit alliance of customer service organizations that are working together to solve industry-wide challenges.
What led to the Consortium of Service Innovation's development of KCS?
The four critical challenges:
1. Decreased budgets
2. Increased complexity
3. Rising costs
4. Increased demand
What was KCS created to do?
Capture, structure, reuse and improve knowledge.
List reasons for implementing KCS.
1. Respond to and resolve problems faster.
2. Provide answers to complex problems.
3. Provide consistent answers to customer's questions.
4. Address support analyst burnout.
5. Address the lack of time required for training.
6. Answer recurring questions.
7. Identify opportunities to learn from customer's experiences.
8. Improve First Contact Resolution.
9. Enable web based self-help.
10. Lower support costs.
What are the fundamental concepts of KCS?
KCS is a methodology and a set of practices and processes that focuses on knowledge as a key asset of the support organization. KCS is NOT something we do in addition to solving problems, rather KCS becomes the way in which we solve problems. It is based on process, not technology.
Explain how implementing KCS benefits the support center's stakeholders.
1. Customers have increased confidence in support and improved response from support.
2. Analysts have personal empowerment and recognition, improved confidence and broadened expertise.
3. Organization has improved effectiveness and efficiency, evolving resources and expertise and improved relevance and loyalty.
What is Proactive Knowledge Management?
Forecast potential questions and problems before they occur and build a knowledge base of answers and solutions in advance.
What is Reactive Knowledge Management?
KCS is a form of Reactive Knowledge Management whereby a solution to a problem is captured at the time it occurs and made available to the support center for re-use.
What is the term used in KCS to describe a single unit of structured knowledge?
A solution.
What does the phrase "Content is King" mean?
The core of KCS is the content that is captured, structured and re-used.
Describe the concepts of Capture in the Workflow.
It drives the efficiency of the KCS process and ensures that the content created is relevant to the audience it serves. Context and content are captured as the problem is solved or recorded.
When structuring a format for content, what should you distinguish between?
1. Problem/question description
2. Environment
3. Resolution/answer
4. Cause
What is a framed solution?
As a support analyst interacts with the knowledge base, the words and phrases are preserved in the problem and environment structure. A framed solution is when you know the problem and the environment but NOT the resolution.
Why do most knowledge management implementations fail?
It is because managers focus on the implemenation as a project whereby projects have end dates; processes do not. KCS is a process, a new way of providing support and does not end. The task of leadership cannot end.
List the practices and principles of the KCS Double Loop Model.
1. Knowledge (the center - the solution)
2. Solve Loop
- 3. Capture in the Workflow
- 4. Structure for Reuse
- 5. Searching is Creating
- 6. Just-in-Time Solution Quality
7. Evolve Loop
- 8. Workflow
- 9. Content Vitality
- 10. Performance Assessment
- 11. Leadership
List the four components of a strategic framework.
1. Business Objective ("What")
2. Approaches for each objective ("How")
3. Measurements for each approach
4. Targets for each measurement
Explain the benefits of using a strategic framework.
It establishes alignment with the stakeholder's objectives and maps the high-level goals of the organization with the goals of the individuals. It builds alignment and defines the "what's in it for me" (WIIFM).
What are the benefits of a knowledge base that is based on the context of the user?
1. Customer self-help
2. Just-in-time resourcing
3. Differentiation through support excellence
4. Improved products
Stakeholder benefits are realized at three different levels as the KCS practices mature. List and describe the three levels.
1. Direct - operational improvements that are near term (3-9 months).
2. Applied - new ways of delivering service and support; the knowledge that is created can be used to enable web-based self-help.
3. Leveraged - the knowledge enables new kinds of services to be offered.
How should you calculate a Return on Investment (ROI)?
First establish a baseline of current maintenance. It is necessary to document the investments that need to be made and approximate the size of the financial investment required. Then, forecast the expected improvements to determine the projected return from the investment. The ROI calculation can be used in the preparation of a business case to gain support for making the investment.
List and describe the three components of content vitality.
1. Content standard- It defines quality for a solution and must be tailored to the environment and align with the needs of the audience. It includes the content structure, the quality criteria, the style guide, samples of good and bad solutions, the knowledge workflow, the visibility matrix, and the life cycle of a solution or solution states.
2. Content migration- Solutions that are used by the support center need to migrate to self-help; solutions that are used by level two need to migrate to the support staff. A process of continously migrating knowledge closer to the users.
3. Knowledge monitoring- Randomly sample knowledge to ensure it is being captured as defined by the quality criteria, providing feedback to the KCS I/KCS II so as to enhance their skills, provide recognition, and increase the probability of the org achieving its goals.
The concept of a solution is based on three key factors. What are those?
1. Relevance
2. Findability
3. Structured in the content of the customer
Considering the solution life cycle, what are the three minimum solution states necessary for a KCS solution?
1. Draft- It is work in progress; internal visibility and the quality is not trusted.
2. Approved- The solution is considered complete and reusable; it has been created by a KCS II or reviewed by a Coach.
3. Published- The solution is ready for customer or user consumption.
Considering a visibility matrix, there are four common types of access rights. List those and briefly describe what they mean.
1. Use It (U)- The right to view and use the knowledge.
2. Flag It (FI)- The right to flag the knowledge for improvement.
3. Fix It (Fx)- The right to fix the knowledge.
4. Add It (A)- The right to add knowledge to this solution state.
What is the purpose of a content standard?
It is a set of documents that defines how to capture, structure, and manage quality solutions. The purpose of a content standard is to:
- Set expectations for the analysts when contributing
- Define the structure and purpose of each field in the solution
- Define the quality criteria for a solution
- Define the visibility of the knowledge
List and describe the four key roles in KCS.
1. Leaders- Managers must demonstrate their leadership skills (e.g., they must define and communicate the look of success and ultimate vision). They need to provide support and guidance for their staff in deciding how the work should be done (i.e., workflow) and ensuring that the standards for findable and usable solutions (i.e., content standard) are met.
2. Knowledge Developers- The support analyst are the people who are responsible for answering customers' questions and resolving their problems. Within this process, they are responsible for the knowledge creation and maintenance. They capture, structure, reuse, and modify solutions.
3. KCS Coach- The KCS Coach is a change agent who supports the development of KCS competencies for the knowledge developers; provides feedback to develop individual and organizational competencies; and has an in-depth understanding of KCS processes. The coaches are known as KCS practice experts who have successfully demonstrated their own KCS competencies.
4. Knowledge Domain Expert- This person looks after the health of the knowledge base; is usually focused on a collection or domain of content; and has both technical expertise in the domain and a profound understanding of KCS processes. Additionally, this role monitors solution usage and ensures the validity of highly reused solutions.
What are the concepts of a KCS Competency Model?
An individual's KCS knowledge and demonstrated competency defines system rights and privileges, individuals receive a KCS license once skills are demonstrated, and some in the organization will stay as readers/framers while others evolve into different roles.
Explain the benefits of a KCS Competancy Model.
Giving all users equal opportunity to create quality solutions regardless of their position in the organization or community, and authority based on proven competency.
Provide a brief description for the following roles: KCS I, KCS II, KCS III, KCS Coach, Knowledge Domain Expert, and Knowledge Manager.
* KCS I (The Framer)- [uses and contributes]
They must be able to effectively search for, flag, use and create solutions, and understand the Structured Problem Solving (SPS) process. They need to be able to accurately and consistently capture the customer's context in the workflow. They create solutions with a state of Draft, which may have limited visibility in the knowledge base.
* KCS II (The Developer)- [uses, contributes, and enhances]
Their competencies are incremental to the KCS I and involve an understanding of the content standard and the KCS processes. They should be able to work independently and create well-structured solutions, while also enhancing others' solutions.
* KCS III (The Publisher)- [uses, contributes, enhances, and publishes]
Their competencies are incremental to the KCS II and involve a more in-depth understanding of the content standard which allows them to develop and enhance solutions to be published and used for self-service.
* KCS Coach- [monitors the process and mentors the people]
They must have an in-depth understanding of KCS principles and processes, as well as have strong communication and influencing skills.
* Knowledge Domain Expert- [monitors and enhances the knowledge base]
They must have the in-depth knowledge of both their domain as well as KCS.
* Knowledge Manager (Coordinator)- [coordinates and oversees]
They have the overall responsibility for the health of the knowledge management practice. They lead the KCS council and work closely with the KCS Coaches, Knowledge Domain Experts, and management.
Describe the concept of KCS workflow.
Workflow is the problem solving process, also referred to as the incident management process.
Identify the requirements of the workflow process.
* Function at the speed of conversation
* Tool integration
* Supports the structured problem solving process
List the three steps of Structured Problem Solving (SPS).
1. Seek to understand
2. Seek to understand what the company knows by searching the knowledge base
3. Search early and search often
Identify some integration requirements of an incident management system with a knowledge management system.
* Ability to search the knowledge base
* Link existing solutions to an incident
* View a solution
* Add a solution
* Identify SMEs related to a solution and contact them
What should be considered when developing a performance model?
* Identify leading indicators
* Identify desired outcomes
* Understand the goals and objectives
* Ensure players have visibility to trends
* Each individual is responsible for managing their own performance. Emphasis should be put on leadership. Performance measurement must be clearly linked to strategic objectives of company.
* Timeliness of performance feedback to analysts
* Alignment of KCS objectives to organization goals
* Performance measurements must be clearly linked to the strategic objectives of the company
Provide some examples of leading indicators.
* ASA
* AHT
* Talk time
* Hold time
* Number of solutions created
* Number of solutions reused
Provide some examples of lagging indicators.
* Revenue/profit
* Customer loyalty/satisfaction
* Employee retention/loyalty
* Cost per resolution
* Time to resolve
What are some considerations for leading indicators (activities) and business results (outcomes)?
Goals can be established for lagging indicators, which should be linked to business results. By establishing goals for lagging indicators, actions taken by individuals to meet the goal will drive improvements in the business results. Conversely, when goals are set on leading indicators, it can improve measurements; however, this typically results in improving the metric, not the business results.
What are the differences between rewards and recognition?
Rewards are used to create focus for a change; provide compensation for work; promote a change in behavior; and are used for a defined period of time.

Recognition is used to celebrate accomplishments; provides acknowledgement of value; is an approval of behavior; and is ongoing.
Explain triangulation.
Triangulation is a concept similar to the balanced score card--understanding the three areas needed to understand performance. Be mindful of results and outcomes (lagging indicators); setting goals that are tied to strategy; and tracking overall solution quality.
Define leadership.
Creating a vision and communication plan, defining purpose and objectives, modeling behaviors, supporting and encouraging, dealing with inadequate performance, engaging people.
Describe characteristics of leadership. Identify which of the characteristics listed are the most critical to the success of KCS.
- Influence
- Change agent
- Motivational
- Inspiring
- Vision
- Open communications
List benefits of leadership.
- Clear goals are communicated
- Greater participation
- Those being led are willing to take risks
- Buy-in
- Motivated to change
Define purpose statement. What does it mean for it to be compelling?
Explains the overall objectives of the organization in a way that provides meaning to each individual contributor.

It should engage people's emotions; be brief, clear, and concise; and is larger than the individual or organization.
How does KCS impact each of the four motivational factors for work?
KCS impacts achievement, recognition, the work itself, and responsibility.
Explain the concept of "thinking versus feeling" in KCS.
When addressing someone's feelings about KCS, consider the top motivational factors and how we feel about things is a major element of the motivational factors.
What are the key objectives of a communication plan?
- Restate key messaging
- Identify communication channels and timing
- Inform everyone of objectives and responsibilities
- Encouragement
Identify the core components of a communication plan.
- Messaging platform
- Communication strategy
- Project timeline
Who are the three primary stakeholders for a communication plan?
1. Analyst
2. Managers/Supervisors
3. Excecutives
What is the intended outcome of an elevator pitch?
Capture interest, make people want to hear more, create a positive perception and sense of excitement.
Explain why it's important to develop answers to KCS objections.
It's easier to handle objections with a consistent and well thought-out message, and by identifying potential objections, you can address concerns that people may be reluctant to raise themselves.
What is the best delivery option for communicating KCS messaging?
There isn't "a best". Selecting the right delivery option depends upon the audience and the messaging.
List and explain the functionality requirements of technology to enable KCS.
Technology is expected to support the scaling of the processes to allow multiple people in multiple locations who are working at different times to collaborate on solutions. Technology should also support the problem-solving process and it needs to enable the individuals using it to function at the speed of converstation. To achieve this, the tools being used must be integrated in order to enable the workflow in a seamless manner. The minimum functional requirements to enable KCS are:
- Capture in the Workflow:
* As the problem is being solved information can be captured in the customer context and does not have to be retyped to create a solution
*Search engine has the capability to search:
- problem content against problem content
- environment content against environment content
* Ability to create new solutions from an incident record
- Structure for Reuse
* Information can be captured in the workflow in a format or template that identifies the context or role of the content. (e.g., for technical environments, the problem/question content is distinct from the environment content)
* Supports distinction between problem content and environment content
- Searching is Creating
* Words and phrases that are used to search the knowledge base are captured as potential content for a new solution or to update an existing solution.
- Just-in-Time (JIT) Solution Quality
* Ability for licensed user to update and modify content in the moment of use
* Ability for any user to flag a solution for review and add comments
- Workflow
* Integration of the incident management technology with the knowledge management technology
* Ability to search the knowledge base
* Links (forward and backward pointers) between incidents and solutions
- Content Vitality
* Solution States to support the solution life cycle
* Security and user roles to support the visibility matrix
* Ability to define structured knowledge, such as templates
- Performance Assessment
* Metrics available for reports
* Reports to monitor progress, provide feedback, and recognize accomplishments
* Meta data to track who created and who modified knowledge, which is also required to enable the knowledge monitoring process
What are some basic functionality requirements when integrating a knowledge management system with an incident management system?
- Lauch a search
- Link a solution
- Add new solution
- View a solution
- Report consolidated information
What is KCS Verified?
A program offered by the Consortium for Service Innovation to knowledge management vendors where the vendor can demonstrate to an auditor that their technology does enable KCS as per the defined criteria. If the functionality of the software meets the criteria, the Consortium for Service Innovation will recognize the vendor's application as KCS Verified.
Explain why KCS Verified is important.
Provides industry recognition and promotes the value of KCS.