Knowledge Audit

     The Knowledge Audit is the first major step of a Knowledge Management initiative. It’s used to provide a sound investigation into the company or organization’s knowledge ‘health’. A knowledge audit service identifies the core information and knowledge needs and uses in an organization. It identifies gaps, duplications, flows, and how they contribute to business goals. Knowledge Audit can be called as a practical way of coming to grips with “knowing what you know” by applying the principles of Information Resources Management (IRM).

       5 activities of Information Resources Management (IRM) :

1. Identification: what information is there? How is it indentified and coded?
2. Cost and Value: a basic model for making judgements on purchase and use
3. Ownership: who is responsible for different information entities and coordination?
4. Development: increasing its value or simulating demand
5. Exploitation: proactive maximization of value for money

     A Knowledge Audit identifies owners, users, uses, and key attributes of core knowledge assets. Knowledge Audit function as a regular review and assessment of existing knowledge management practices in the company or organization. There are 2 ways to get Information for Knowledge Audit:

• Interview: a conversation in which the interviewer questions the interviewee in order to gain information.  Interviews can be formal or informal, structured or unstructured.  They can be conducted one-to-one or in groups, face to face or by telephone, Skype, or email.
• Questionnaire: a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents

      The result of Knowledge Audit should be:

• Identification of core knowledge assets and flows – who creates, who uses, etc
• Identification of gaps in information and knowledge needed to manage the business effectively
• Areas of information policy and ownership that need improving
• Opportunities to reduce information handling costs
• Opportunities to improve coordination and access to commonly needed information
• A clearer understanding of the contribution of knowledge to business result
  
  References
  Kimiz Dalkir,,. (2011).Knowledge management in theory and practice. 2nd Edition. TMP. Cambridge