Cache-Inspired Knowledge Management
How to increase trust in knowledge management by setting expiration and ownership
How to increase trust in knowledge management by setting expiration and ownership
What is Cache
Imagine you wake up in the morning and want to prepare yourself a nice sandwich. Ideally, you don’t want to drive to the market and buy the ingredients. You expect everything to be already present.
However, once you start preparing your sandwich, you see that your bread has expired (or worse, it has mold). In that case, you must go to the market and buy a new one.
Like the example above, Cache is a component that holds data for faster retrieval. As Cache is not directly connected to the data source, at some point, it becomes stale, forcing going to the data source.
Like going to the market, going to the data source (often called a network request) is more expensive in terms of time and resources. Data stored in the cache component has an expiration date (like our bread). It might also have other indicators of inaccuracy (like the mold on our bread).
How can Cache inspire Knowledge Management?
One pain point organizations have regarding knowledge management is the validity of the available data. Usually, you can’t even find the guide you need. Once you find it, you don’t know if it is updated. After searching and asking, you might find out it is outdated. That’s a lot of wasted resources on a relatively simple task.
In essence, Cache indicates when it is invalid and requires the request originator to find the source of truth. Inspired by that, a helpful guide or a written piece of knowledge should include the following -
The owner (the source of truth)
Its last update date
How long is it valid for
For example, the CEO might own a business strategy document and require a yearly revisit. Other organization members may hold a simple how-to guide that requires a monthly revisit.
Have a system in place
To achieve the above, knowledge management must have a transparent system. For people to gain trust and find information reliable, much like Cache, they should see WHEN it expires.
A possible system can include the following -
Add new information to the knowledge base
As part of the process, define ownership (individual/team)
Set reminders to revisit the information validity on a specific cadence
Show a clear indicator when information is invalid and needs a refresh
Summary
Cache helps make software faster and cheaper by storing data until it becomes invalid. Similarly, a good knowledge management process sets the owner of each piece of information and its validity and has an updated methodology to keep the information current. Such a process can increase trust, reliability, and collaboration.