Organizational obstacles for Knowledge sharing and optimizing Time To Resolution

If Knowledge is not documented in a structured and uniform way, maybe not even in the same file format, it is hard for users to search and find relevant information when and where they need it. There could be too little information available or way too much information, making it hard for users to filter, sort, and evaluate all the data.

If knowledge is not stored in the same knowledge library but scattered on the intranet, at third-party suppliers, on personal computers, or on a Post-it, it is not shared and available to all, providing less value. Users within an organization can spend a lot of time inventing the wheel over and over again and possibly even duplicate the Knowledge with solution proposals multiple times.

The work of producing, maintaining, finding, and consuming Knowledge is often very manual and ad hoc.

If there is no structured way of keeping knowledge up to date and correct over time, the Information will soon become outdated and no longer applicable. Knowledge is usually living documentation that needs to be updated or replaced as time passes.

If no one is responsible for the Knowledge Management process and quality over time, this could be a mess. The value of documentation gets lost in proportion to the time and effort it takes to maintain it. If most people have trouble finding the information quickly when it is needed, the work has really lost its value.

Knowledge Management in ServiceNow

The Knowledge Management module is available in ServiceNow with Customer Service Management (CSM), IT Service Management (ITSM) and HR Service Delivery.

All knowledge articles can have versioning to keep track of updated articles, who made updates, when updates were made and make sure only the last version is published and available to users.

By setting a last valid date for all articles in combination with assigned responsibilities makes sure the article is reviewed and refined on a regular basis and with automated process flows in place this enables regular audits of the information. If information is obsolete it can be retired.

The module also includes useful tools to maintain the quality of the knowledge database by keeping track of the most viewed articles, the highest rating from users, and whether articles were flagged as useful or not. This allows the Knowledge manager to get an overview and adjust accordingly. Users can also flag articles that they think are not correct or need an update so that the article responsible is notified and can take action.

The information from the Knowledge base can be available instantly when and where users need it through Contextual Search. The result is presented directly in an Incident, Case or Request form in ServiceNow presenting relevant articles and proposed solutions instantly to the Service Agent. This eliminates the need for agents spending time searching for an answer elsewhere and also works as deflection of tickets to Service Desk when end users and customers get presented with information and solution proposals before they have even finished describing their issue.

It is possible to set up multiple Knowledge bases in ServiceNow with different audience or user groups like customers, partners, support agents, employees inside or outside of IT etc. making the content relevant for that particular user group. 

It is also possible for agents to instantly create new Knowledge in the context of their work when a ticket is resolved or when an issue is discussed in the community, making the information available to all agents who might be facing the same kind of Incident or Request from users.
Articles can also be created directly in Knowledge base from template, from scratch or imported from other file formats and stored in articles in ServiceNow Knowledge base.

Administrators can define an advanced search source to return data from any source on the Internet or external Knowledge base. In ServiceNow users have the ability to search and find the same Knowledge information across Service Portal/Employee Center, Mobile Apps or Virtual Agent, making the information uniform and constant across the platform providing consistent resolutions and boost self-service.

Conclusions