Internal Communications Resources: Knowledge Management Guidelines

1. Select a dedicated, shared space to develop team documentation.
   1. See recommended creation/collaboration tools in the table below.
   2. Most staff use GDrive for their creation/collaboration documents. Make sure you are utilizing a space within a shared drive instead of your individual Gdrive when creating these documents.
2. Establish consistent recordkeeping practices:
   1. Establish a folder structure that everyone can understand and use.
   2. See the Libraries’ Organize Your Files guidance.
   3. Adopt a file naming convention.
   4. Agree on a date format. 
   5. Create a readme file to onboard new team members to recordkeeping practices.
3. Manage versions:
   1. Tools that can be used for drafting documentation include wikis, Google Docs, and Confluence Wikis.
   2. See the Libraries’ Version Control Tools & Techniques guidance.
   3. Use a versioning convention that distinguishes between major and minor revisions.
   4. Keep track of documents and versions in a readme file.
   5. Include a version history table as part of a document.
4. Move finished documents to a storage location and clearly write on the document the date that it was approved 
   1. Policies and procedures should include an adoption data
   2. Include the team members who drafted, edited, or reviewed the document

1. Move final documents to a secure shared space that is backed up and enables link sharing.
   1. See recommended storage tools in the table below.
   2. Standing committees: consider using a space in SharePoint or in Confluence.
   3. Working groups, task forces, and other temporary groups: consider using a folder within a shared drive in SharePoint or in Confluence.
      1. The shared space in SharePoint should correspond to the directorate or department that leads the working group, task force, or other temporary group
2. Make sure all team members have access to the space and manage access over time as roles change.

1. Move documents to a shared space before sharing them out.
2. When sharing via email, include the location of the document.
3. Use attachments sparingly to avoid saving files in multiple locations.
   1. Share links to file storage locations instead.

1. When documents are no longer used regularly by the teams that created them, the documents are considered “inactive” by MIT’s Records Management Program.
2. Selected inactive documentation of Libraries committees, teams, task forces, and working groups constitute Institute records, which are eligible to be transferred to the Institute Archives. Institute records include charges, agendas, minutes, reports, membership lists, and related documentation of activities and decision-making such as substantive correspondence.
3. Other types of inactive documentation are considered “non-permanent” by the Records Management Program, and can be deleted or destroyed when they are no longer useful to the Libraries. These include raw data (e.g. survey responses), drafts, redundant documents (e.g. copies), transactional correspondence (e.g. messages scheduling meetings), and reference materials (e.g. documentation created by peer institutions or professional organizations). 
4. Review documentation regularly to make and apply retention decisions.
   1. For standing committees, teams, and departments, it may make sense to review and archive (or destroy) documentation annually.
   2. For working groups, task forces, and other temporary groups, it may make sense to wait until the assigned task is complete.
5. Contact rmprogram@mit.edu with any questions or to arrange a transfer of Institute records to the Institute Archives.

• Discuss and establish shared responsibility guidelines for maintaining information
  • There should be a shared understanding of where responsibility sits for different responsibility types (personal, departmental, directorate)
  • In some cases it may be necessary to assign responsibility to a team member
  • Make clear who owns each piece of documentation and include a secondary owner in order to maintain institutional knowledge by listing the primary and secondary owners on the document
• Maintain a schedule for when documentation should be reviewed and updated, archived, or destroyed
• Designate a member of the team to be responsible for archiving Institute records (see Archiving above).

MIT & MIT Libraries have a number of different tools available for creation, storage, and sharing of knowledge. Below is a brief list of tools that are most commonly used by staff. Some tools might work for multiple options.

Teams may consider the below recommendations for their knowledge management tools:

• GSuite is a good tool for Creation/Collaboration for all types of knowledge. 
  • All MIT staff can sign up for a Google Account which makes it easy to begin drafting new documents and share them with team members
• GSuite is not good for Storage or Sharing because it is not currently organized to make wayfinding easy.
  • Document types in Gsuite tend to be editable, and the permission structure makes it difficult to restrict who has editing privileges
  • It is difficult to discern a final document from a working one in Gsuite, so it is recommended that final documents be moved to a permanent storage location to help counter that confusion
• Confluence Wikis are a good tool for storing documentation, how-tos, and policies and procedures. 
  • The Libraries have access to two Confluence instances: the one managed by IS&T (https://wikis.mit.edu/confluence) and the one managed by DLS (https://mitlibraries.atlassian.net/wiki/home)
    • Wikis tend to have templates for regular information types for better organization, they show an editing history, and have stable links for sharing.
    • PSDocs templates are available here
    • PSDocs are housed in Confluence Wikis and are focused on how-to type of knowledge, with a focus on service desks themselves. These are a place to store IDLA and LIRS how-tos, as well as day-to-day operations information and associate policies for service desks. 
• OneDrive is a great tool for Creation, Storage, and Sharing, but based on staff usage, we recommend it primarily for Storage and Sharing.
  • OneDrive is a part of Microsoft's Office 365, and is a cloud-based storage option.
  • Much like Google, you have access to a personal OneDrive account. Microsoft also has Sharepoint, which is shared storage, similar to a Shared Drive on Google.
  • It is a great tool for storage and sharing because it integrates well with other Microsoft applications, such as Outlook.
  • OneDrive lets you share portions of your cloud storage and utilizes a number of different authentication schemes.
    • It is integrated with Moira lists for granting group access.
    • It allows both Read and Edit access
  • See IS&T's Data Storage and Collaboration Options to compare against DropBox and Google Drive.
• Email is considered the primary tool for sharing information
  • Review the Email Norms and Guidelines for best practices

The below resources might help you get started with your file organization or better understand how to use some of the tools that you are not already familiar with. These are general guides. If you're interested in learning something more specific, we recommend searching on LinkedIn Learning or reaching out to a colleague who is already familiar with said tool.

Organization

• Naming and Organizing Your Files and Folders (worksheet)
• Writing Better READMEs (slides)
• File Organization (slides)

OneDrive (Individual Space)

• Learning OneDrive - an overview of the tool, general information about the different interfaces, how to organize files, and how to share
• Sharing Files from Desktop - step-by-step guide with images
• OneDrive Tips and Tricks 

SharePoint (Shared Space)

• SharePoint Basics - an overview of the tool, how to navigate the tool, document management, and permissions

Confluence (DLS Managed)

• Learning Confluence - an overview of the tool with general information about confluence

Creating Accessible Documents

• Creating an Accessible Thesis - written documentation for creating accessible files
• Creating an Accessible PDF - written documentation for creating accessible PDFs

Submit questions via MIT Libraries' Help Center (Jira Service Manager).