The Health of Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base can be seen as an organized repository of previous issues / resolutions. For an organization, a knowledgebase is an equivalent to Google where people turn to for help and queries. In case where the application support is provided via emails / calls, the knowledge base is used only by internal employees. In case if a tool is used to provide application support, the knowledge base might be directly referred to by clients.

The health or quality of the knowledge base is very important as the presence of incorrect or outdated content might lead to application down-time as a worst case scenario. The complexity of the knowledgebase is also directly proportional to the time it takes to search / understand the resolution.

Below are some of the common steps to ensure the quality of an organization’s knowledgebase:

1. Avoid redundancy – If data is randomly added in the knowledgebase, it may contain a lot of redundant information. It is important that all this information is removed to ensure consistency and accuracy. Unnecessary information also occupies space that can be utilized for other data.
2. Keep it updated – Presence of outdated information may result in down-time of application as employees / clients will be referring to incorrect steps which would then take longer to resolve queries. It is a good practice to involve senior team members to update the knowledgebase as their inputs will be effective to improve its overall quality.
3. Check validity and delete expired content – As we throw expired eatables from our refrigerator, it is important to discard information from the knowledge base which can no longer be used. This expired content can prove fatal for the system if not discarded. The knowledgebase must be hence reviewed at periodic intervals.
4. Usage Counter – Adding a usage counter in the knowledge base can be a good idea to determine the number of times the information was referred to and access. This helps in deciding which is the most utilized information and this information can then be further refined. This data can also help in other analysis, for e.g., the queries faced by most users.
5. Structure and language – The information placed in the knowledgebase must be properly structured such that the employees or clients can easily access the data in less time. A good quality knowledge base should easily navigate an employee / client with concise information. The management must take notice if the knowledge base gets very confusing as this may take longer resolution time and hence reduce productivity. the language must be clear, concise and easily understandable.
6. Feedback from employees – Employee feedback can be very helpful in cleaning up the knowledge base and increasing the quality of the content. As the employees refer to the knowledge base all the time, they are the appropriate people to understand the improvement areas.

In order to provide effective and efficient application support, knowledge base is one of the most essential tools. The knowledge base can be available in any format, but the content in it must be accurate and up-to-date. An organization should dedicate time and resources to ensure the quality of the knowledge base is maintained. This will help in increasing productivity and user satisfaction.

About Author:
Kintu Racca is a consultant in Systems Plus Pvt. Ltd. Within Systems Plus, she actively contributes to the areas of Technology and Information Security. She can be contacted at kintu.r@spluspl.com