Another thought inspired by discussion with a colleague. We chatted about his recent reading and thoughts about user-centered design and Alan Cooper's writings. Cooper has the idea that architecture is really about brining People, Technology and Purpose together into a working whole (picture a triangle). Each leg of the triangle represents a combination of two of these.
- People + Technology: Arts & Entertainment
- Technology + Purpose: Engineering ("information architecture" is just engineering)
- Purpose + People: Psychology
I wonder how this applies to knowledge management? I was thinking of almost these exact same dimensions in a conversation with a client, though I separated "company" from other "people" dimensions and ended up with a square instead of a triangle. There should be some way to talk about the multiple dimensions of people, purpose and technology for knowledge management as well. People can range from the individual to a group to an enterprise. Or in another dimension, people can be one's family or a community to which one belongs. The purpose or vision of each of these is quite different, and the technology fit into those needs is going to be different as well.