Knowledge management: a state of the practice summary

Knowledge management (KM) has evolved from the status of business fad to established business practice. Today leading organizations in business and government worldwide are employing KM principles and techniques to leverage intellectual capital in order to improve effectiveness, efficiency and innovation. Universities have established graduate programs in KM and professional societies have formed to promote education and standards. KM as a distinct management concept is a decade old now, and its status is said to be similar to where systems engineering and project management were in their infancies. While KM is not a mature discipline it is possible to identify key practice trends and lessons learned. This paper summarizes the state of KM with particular focus on KM in the federal government.