The knowledgebase was built to help us document and share knowledge across the departments in Online. This is vital to accomplishing our goals as a highly interconnected learning organization. 

Right now, critical knowledge about our work is stored in a variety of places:

• SharePoint
• Google Drive
• Trello
• Private servers
• And more

This can make it difficult to find reliable cross-departmental knowledge (and sometimes it's even hard to find stuff just from your team). The knowledgebase solves this problem (among others) by compiling the critical information in one place. 

What we know:

The knowledgebase is a place to store knowledge about how we do things here. This includes the following:

• Policies and best practices
• Training materials
• Links to useful resources
• Processes, checklists or "how-to" guides
• Tips and tricks
• Useful information about products or projects

Not what we do

 The knowledgebase is not a content management system. That means what we're currently working on does not belong here, including the following:

• Working project files
• Drafts
• Special file formats (Excel docs, PowerPoint) that need to be updated regularly (though we are happy to link to them here!)

For some things, yes. If it's knowledge about our work in Online, it should live in this system. Eventually, the standard will be that if knowledge is not here, it's not official, though the migration of content will certainly take time. All of our high-level critical knowledge (like quality practices and core processes) and cross departmental information will be housed here

That being said, information just for your team can be managed however your director prefers, but everything you contribute to the knowledgebase plays a vital role in helping Online grow, and choosing to use this for internal documents gives your team the advantage of having just one place to go to find answers.

Every article in here has a named individual listed as "Responsible." We rely on them to keep that article up-to-date and notify stakeholders when it is changed. If you see something that's not right, or have a question about if it's current, leave a comment or contact that person and let them know.

This information is listed at the bottom of each article, under a link that says "About this article." We use a system called the RACI model to define each different role.

It may take some time from each team, but we plan to keep the load well within reason. We also know that not having proper documentation undoubtedly takes longer and costs more in the long run, so we will spend time where it needs to spent.

Our strategy for building the knowledgebase is to start by fixing things that are broken, rather than creating a bunch of content we don't really need (similar to building sidewalks where the grass is worn down). 

Furthermore, if everyone is involved, the spread of labor will be easily manageable. The Organizational Learning team is available to ease the burden of documentation wherever you see fit (from helping to develop content, to editing, to managing the knowledgebase articles—whatever you need).

Please do! Coordinate with your director or contact Emily Hermann if you'd like to add content. 

Not sure what kind of stuff you might contribute? Read What should go in the knowledgebase? or contact the organizational learning strategist (Emily Hermann) for help. 

Content in the knowledgebase is typically written by the person listed as "Responsible" at the bottom of the article. Then, the Organizational Learning team usually puts that content into the knowledgebase for the  author. However, authoring permissions are available for adding content directly into Screensteps. 

If you see something that could use improvement, reach out to the individual listed as "Responsible" in the "About this article" section (found at the end of the article). He or she will work with you and the individuals listed as "Consulted" in order to correct the error or make appropriate improvements.

Absolutely! Comments are a great way to give feedback, point out errors, or contribute to the discussion. Comments are currently moderated, so they won't be published unless an administrator approves them, but the authors will always be notified about comments on their content.

All of our articles are user permissioned, so some content is available just for members of certain departments. This is not because we're keeping secrets; it just keeps everyone's user experience clean. Make sure you log in for full access to your content.

If you need access to a certain article or would like to share an article with another group, contact Emily Hermann and we'll take care of it.

There is a login button at the top right corner of the knowledgebase. If this is your first time logging in, see the information below for your default username and password. If you cannot log in, please contact Emily Hermann to create your account.