Knowledge management is a set of processes and tools that facilitate the transfer of knowledge between individual fighters and units to form a common understanding of the situation, accelerate learning, and improve the decision-making process.
In the armies of the NATO bloc, knowledge management is standardized and regulated by a number of documents. The material below relies on U.S. Army standards.
Knowledge exists in explicit or tacit form and may be formalized (codified) or non-formalized (non-codified).
Explicit knowledge is knowledge that we are aware of and can easily transfer to other people through narration, text, drawings, photos/video materials. Accordingly, it may be formalized (already recorded in any form in relevant documents) or non-formalized (understood, but not recorded in documents).
Formalized explicit knowledge is much easier to disseminate. Examples may be any formal documents that regulate an organization’s activity. The main problem with this type of knowledge is that it is updated slowly and does not always correspond to the current situation, especially in wartime conditions.
Tacit knowledge is acquired while gaining practical experience. It includes nuances and subtleties of performing some process (for example, working with a specific type of military equipment), understanding of context (conducting combat operations in a specific area in a specific period of time), intuition, cognitive qualities (the ability to quickly assess a situation and react to it, adapt, make effective decisions), and physical skills. There is much more tacit knowledge than explicit knowledge. Usually it is more valuable, but it can age quickly and is much more difficult to disseminate. Far from all tacit knowledge can be transferred into the category of explicit knowledge and conveyed through narration or recorded in documents. Much tacit knowledge is practical, physical experience and skills that can be acquired only during training and task execution.
All formalized explicit knowledge was once tacit, acquired in practice. It passed through stages of awareness (reflection), processing, verification by additional practice in different conditions and by time, and codification in the form of statutes, instructions, training programs, and so on.
The key task of knowledge management in wartime conditions: to accelerate the processes of disseminating explicit knowledge, as well as awareness and transfer of tacit knowledge, so that the most effective decisions are made at all levels, which will make it possible to achieve set goals and preserve the lives of personnel. Main tools for disseminating explicit knowledge:
- recording in documents and/or information systems;
- conducting educational and training activities.
Tacit knowledge is usually transferred through informal communication between service members (in the part in which it can be converted into explicit knowledge). All efforts aimed at improving the quality of communication and/or implementing special information systems (such as Kropyva) contribute to the spread of tacit knowledge and its transfer into the category of explicit knowledge.
Extremely important tools of reflection and rapid dissemination of tacit knowledge are After Action Review and Lessons Learned. These tools were developed in the U.S. Army and form the basis of knowledge management in the armies of the NATO bloc.
After Action Review is a short reflection on experience gained during execution of a combat or training task according to the structure:
- What was supposed to happen?
- What actually happened?
- Why did this happen (reality differs from the plan)?
- What can be improved and how?
Here you can watch examples of conducting AAR (video in English):
Based on the results of this reflection, Lessons Learned are formulated. They can be used by the team that conducted the AAR to improve its own actions, and also transferred to other teams as best practices.
In the armies of the NATO bloc, there is a process for collecting, processing, and disseminating Lessons Learned through a special information system. Lessons that have proven their effectiveness are included in educational and training materials; instructions and standards are adjusted on their basis. Here you can watch short videos about this system (in English):
More detailed information about the process of conducting AAR can be obtained from standard TC 25-20 “After Action Review. Leader’s Guide” and in Nataliia Trenina’s Telegram channel “Improvement in Action | After Action Review & Lessons Learned”.
Other knowledge management tools used in the armies of the NATO bloc:
- knowledge bases - information systems that collect relevant documents, instructions, articles, and so on;
- knowledge maps - tables that can identify in which documents specific knowledge is recorded;
- Communities of Practice - communities formed around a separate area of activity (for example, aerial reconnaissance) that allow participants to quickly exchange knowledge and help each other solve problems;
- any types of education and training.
Text prepared by *Viktoriia Oleshko *