DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

OFFICE SYMBOL                                                                                      Date

MEMORANDUM FOR SEE DISTRIBUTION

SUBJECT:  Knowledge Management Plan/Standard Operating Procedure

1.	Purpose:  To annotate the unit knowledge management plan and outline unit knowledge management procedures .

2.	Scope:  This SOP applies to all assigned or attached personnel.

3.	Knowledge Management Plan

a.	Purpose and Authority. The Knowledge Management Plan is the authoritative Knowledge Management standard operating procedure approved by the commander and disseminated through orders. 

b.	Knowledge Management Working Group. The Knowledge Management Working Group resolves knowledge management issues and updates the knowledge management plan based on lessons learned, new technologies, and operational requirements. The working group meets monthly or as required. The working group  consists of:

(1)	Knowledge Manager

(2)	S-6

(3)	Automations Officer

(4)	Unit Knowledge Managers & S-6 Advisors

(5)	Staff Knowledge Management Representatives

c.	Changes. The knowledge management plan will be re-published at least annually or as required to capture updates and lessons learned. Change requests are submitted to the local Knowledge Manager and discussed at the  working group before being submitted for the commander’s approval. Updated knowledge management plans will be published through the unit’s orders process.

4.	Knowledge Management Procedures. 

a.	Knowledge management is the process of creating, organizing, applying, and transferring knowledge. These processes ensure that knowledge products and services are relevant, accurate, timely, and usable to commanders and decision makers.

b.	An organization is the matrix in which “people-processes-tools” function to integrate individual and organizational learning. People are a summation of their inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge. Organizations such as staff, squads, and larger bring these attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviors together, creating a system of processes facilitated by tools that will characterize that group.

c.	Situational Awareness (SA): Situational awareness is immediate knowledge of the conditions of the operation, constrained geographically and in time. SA informs Commanders and staffs about the real-time tactical environment e.g., “what’s going on now”. The unit uses three types of SA: tactical communications ( e.g., Blue Force Tracker, Radio, Phone), Tactical Mission Command systems (e.g. CPOF, DGCS, BCS3, AMDWS, MC4), and physical displays (e.g. Maps, overlays, tracking charts) requiring manual update.

d.	Coordination/Collaboration: Coordination and collaboration provide information for Commanders and staffs to direct, plan, and sustain operations. The unit uses three primary tools to coordinate and collaborate.

(1)	Portal: The “Portal” is used to display, disseminate, and track information that multiple people need to know about. Examples include: OPORDS, FRAGOS, RFIs, Trackers, INTSUMS, Point Papers, Policy Letters, Reference material, calendars, phone books, etc.

(2)	Email: Microsoft Outlook/Exchange is only used for targeted “person to person” communications unsuitable for posting on the Portal. Examples include personal communications, personnel actions, meeting requests, etc. Email also allows users to receive alerts when relevant Portal sites and documents are updated.
(3)	Shared Drive: The Shared Drive is only used to archive “stale” information not required for daily operations, planning, or reference. It is also used to backup and transfer critical documents.

5.	Portal.  The Portal is the sole “truth control” repository of all current information that needs to be shared between multiple personnel or groups. There are two types of Portal sites:

a.	Public Sites: These are the default portal pages all users and visitors can navigate to. Public Sites are used for “pushing” and disseminating information.

b.	Team Sites: These are used to conduct internal staff work such as working on shared documents, storing data, posting internal announcements and schedule changes. Team pages are where the “work” gets done. They are frequently a sub-site of unit or section’s public site and can be restricted to certain users or left open for parallel planning. Team sites are also used for projects and operations than require collaboration between multiple staff sections and echelons.
 
c.	Minimum Standards & Rules of Engagement.  All subordinate units and staff sections (hereafter: “groups”) will maintain a  public Portal Page. All group public portal pages must contain the following:

(1)	Unit/Section Identification. A graphic or text will be used identify page owner. The graphic or text will be placed in the top center or top right web-part of the page.

(2)	Announcements. An announcement web-part will be used to disseminate important information outside the group. Announcements are located in the top center web-part or immediately under the unit/section image. Critical announcements will be in entered in RED BOLD CAPS.

(3)	Directory. A link to the unit or section’s Phonebook View will identify key leaders and contact information. The link will be labeled “[Group] Directory” and is placed at the very top of the left- side Navigation Bar.

(4)	Site Administrator. A link to the Group’s Portal Administrator provides users a point of contact for the unit/section site. The link will be labeled “[Unit or Section] Site Admin” and is placed on the left- side Navigation Bar immediately below the Group Directory.

(5)	Shared Documents. The Group will have at least one Shared Document’s Library accessible through a link in the left-side Navigation Bar. Groups may use and rename  multiple libraries as long as the content and organization are clearly labeled for outside users.

(6)	1-2 Click Rule. All Level 1 information (CCIRs, FOB Alert Status, Garrison Road Conditions, etc.)  will be no more than one mouse-click away from the Unit home page. All Level 2 Information (Orders, Trackers, CUB Briefs, will be no more than two mouse-clicks away from the unit home page.

Level 1	“Must Know”	CCIR, Alert Status, Critical Info	
Level 2	“Need To Know”	SIGACTS, COP, CUB, WFF/Unit Status Trackers, Current Orders, etc	
Level 3	“Good to Know”	Detailed INTSUMS, AARs, Planning Products, etc	
Level 4	“Nice to Know”	Raw Data, Patrol Debriefs, etc	

(7)	Calendars. The Portal is the sole location for group “Shared Folder Calendars.” Groups can choose to limit access to selected users and calendars can be synchronized with Microsoft Outlook. Individual users may still use and share their personal Outlook calendar link, but may not use it as a unit or section calendar.

(8)	Publications, Portal Graphics, & Reference Material: The Library is the centralized repository for all FMs, ARs, DA PAMs, DA Forms, Policy Memorandums, Portal Graphics, and similar reference material. Users who want to post reference material should check if the Library already contains the reference. If not, users should consider contacting their  site administrator to add the material to the Library. Sections/Units may create their own reference libraries for materials too specialized for general interest.

(9)	File Naming Conventions:   FILENAME-UNIT-SECTION-BRANCH-SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

d.	The following C2 Functions will reside exclusively on the Portal.

(1)	SIGACTS: SIGACTs will be reported on the Portal in Garrison and in the field when CPOF is not used for SIGACT Reporting. This will be accomplished using a SharePoint “Custom List”. Unit S3s will determine the data requirements for SIGACT reporting and who is granted access to view and edit entries. In Garrison, the SIGACTS list can be located on a unit’s SDO Page.

(2)	RFIs: Formal RFIs will be submitted and answered using a SharePoint Custom List. Unit S3s will  determine the data requirements for RFIs, routing and workflow, and who is granted access to view and edit entries. WFF Leads may establish Portal RFI lists for informal coordination  with unit counterparts; however the only formal RFI channel is through the S3 RFI lists.

(3)	Orders: Unit S3s will publish all orders and attachments in a SharePoint Library using full versioning (minor and major drafts). Unit S3s will determine the structure of their FRAGO Library(s), whether minor (draft) versions are visible outside the S3 shop, workflow/approval process and who is allowed to post and edit final projects.

(4)	Staff Duty Officer Sites: Units will establish SDO sites to centralize knowledge and reporting. SDO Sites will contain applicable references, forms, staff duty logs (either DA 1594s, SharePoint Lists, or Info Path Forms) and may be configured to send automatic email alerts to key leaders. Units will determine specific content and structure within these guidelines.

(5)	Unit S6 Help Desks: Unit S6s will maintain their own Help Desk site complete with a SharePoint list-based work order reporting system, Frequently Asked Questions, and links to reference materials. The Work Order System will capture Remedy ticket information if forwarded to the NEC  to include workstation baselines. The S6 will be granted access to unit work order systems in order to enforce the NEC’s service level agreement.

e.	Permissions.  All unit personnel will have read access to the portal.  Requests for write/edit access will be submitted to the S6. 

f.	Archiving.  Documents on the portal are considered relevant for six months. After six months the document is considered as stale and will be archived.

6.	Email

a.	Purpose. Email is the primary tool for targeted personal communications and pushing information to  limited groups. Examples include personal emails, personnel actions, sensitive reports, and Outlook meeting invitations. Email can also be used to receive alerts when relevant Portal sites and documents are updated or as a tool to “push” Portal links to selected audiences. If used incorrectly (untargeted email “blasts”, large attachments, unnecessary forwards) email can saturate the network and render the unit’s digital systems useless.

b.	Minimum Standards & Rules of Engagement:

(1)	Avoid Attachments. Avoid sending email attachments unless absolutely necessary. Whenever possible files should be uploaded to the Portal and with links emailed in lieu of the full attachment.

(2)	Signature Blocks. Signature blocks provide email recipients a means of identifying and contacting  the sender of an email. Inappropriately used consume bandwidth and slow down the network. The signature block should contain: Rank, First Name, Last Name, Unit, Position, Phone Number (s), Email Address(es)

7.	Shared Drive

a.	Purpose. The Shared Drive is the central repository for “stale” information not required for daily operations, planning, or reference. It is also used to backup and transfer critical documents.

b.	Rules of Engagement

(1)	Required Folders. All units and staff sections will maintain shared drive folders. Additional staff-cells, units, individuals can maintain sub-folders under their parent organization as required.

(2)	Use: Shared Folders will be used for archiving, transfer, and data-backup only. Official orders and products will never reference links to the shared drive.

(3)	Maintenance: Units/Sections will conduct quarterly purges of the shared drive to eliminate files no longer required.

8.	Digital Information Transfer outside Unit Networks. Frequently digital information will need to be transferred outside the unit’s network by email, posting to another portal, or burning to physical media such as CD-R and DVD-R disks. Occasionally information will pass between networks with different security classifications, known as a “cross-domain transfer”. Digital information transfer has serious security implications and is subject to knowledge management oversight and regulations.

9.	The point of contact for this standard operating procedure is the S-6 at (123) 456-7890.

Encl.	FIRST M. LAST
Annex A – Portal Sites	XXX, XX
Annex B – Distribution Lists	Commanding

DISTRIBUTION:

ANNEX A – (PORTAL SITES) TO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PLAN/STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

INSERT LIST OF MANDATORY SITES AND SUB-SITES

ANNEX B – (DISTRIBUTION LISTS) TO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PLAN/STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

INSERT DISTRIBUTION LIST