Exposing Hidden Innovation:

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Exposing Hidden Innovation

• Establishing a Portal for Capturing and Reusing
  Developer Knowledge Within an Informatics
  Setting
  
• Christopher Ryland MSIS Qinghua Kou MS Annette
  Williams MLS Dario Giuse Dr Ing Nila Sathe MA
  MSIS Nunzia B. Giuse MD MLS
  
• Southern Chapter/MLA
• Biloxi, MS
• October 2004
• Eskind Biomedical Library
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Nashville, TN

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Agenda

• Background / Scope
• Librarys Role
• Tools Development / KM Process
• Tools Finder overview and next steps

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EBL Integral Part of VUMC Informatics Center

• Department of Biomedical Informatics Information
  Systems Information Technology Integration
  Network Computing Systems Center for Better
  Health Eskind Biomedical Library
• IC nexus of IT development and electronic
  resource management for VUMC
  
• IC develops clinical applications for physician
  order entry, patient records management, and
  evidence-based decision support systems
  
• All IC departments, including EBL, involved in
  application and tools development processes
  
• EBL has contacts into many other IC departments

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Scope of Issue

• Little transparency between different
  applications
  
• Likelihood of redundant or inefficient efforts
• Likelihood of inhibited innovation
• Need for solution identified at highest levels of
  Informatics Center

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Opportunity for Knowledge Management Application

• KMrefinement of organizational processes to
  preserve, share, and enhance institutional
  knowledge
  
• KM can make good use of technology
• KM applications must help people accomplish their
  tasksotherwise these applications will collect
  dust
  

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Eskind Biomedical Library

• Where do we fit in?

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Changing Opportunities for Libraries

• Long tradition of cataloging print and
  multi-media resources
  
• Growing role of providing access to new kinds of
  information and knowledge
  
• New opportunities to participate in knowledge
  creation/discovery/re-use cycle
  
• EBL has developed several successful KM tools

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Emerging Knowledge Management Roles

• Codify implicit organizational knowledge
• Create transparent access to explicit
  organizational knowledge
  
• Application of technology to make workflow
  processes more efficient and more transparent
  
• Integrate tools seamlessly into the workflow
  process
  

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Scope of Project

• Tools broadly defined as any software
  application developed or used by Informatics
  Center staff
  
• Both in-house and vendor tools
• Catalog tools according to functionality, as well
  as by more traditional metadata
  
• Primarily for the development of new tools and
  avoiding redundancy and to inspire innovation
  

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Tools Finder

• How does the Tools Finder approach the problem?

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Framework Approach

• Interviewed developers for insight into
  functionality categories
  
• Interviewed developers about functionalities of
  particular tools
  
• Cataloged own EBL tools in part to identify
  problems with process
  
• Worked with in-house developers to design
  Web-based tool to catalog other tools
  
• Applied usability principles to development

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Approach to Functionality

• Tools Finder focuses on functionality rather than
  specific subject domains
  
• Functionality describes specific processes used
  to complete tasks and make them more efficient
  
• Functionalities are gathered into categories such
  as Communication, Calendar, Portal
  Function, and Document Management
  
• Specific functionalities include Email,
  Support Meeting Scheduling, and Document
  Version Management

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Tools Finder In-Depth
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Issues

• Large organization with disparate developer
  communitydifficult to pin people down who are
  used to autonomy
  
• Balance between specificity and ease of use
• Ability to keep tool up-to-date
• Need to require developers to use the tool as
  part of workflow process

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Conclusion

• KM application created to capture and re-use
  Informatics Center tools
  
• KM can be a fruitful area for libraries,
  considering our expertise
  
• Tool has been well-received
• Already planning next generation
• Thank you!

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