At Knowledge16, I had the pleasure of holding one-on-one conversations with knowledge managers and knowledge management enthusiasts - both veteran and newbies. One of the frequent topics that came up in respect to Knowledge v3 was regarding a multiple knowledge base system. Between the KM panel and the KM poker session, a few questions stood out to me as being important, so I figured I would share it with all of you who could not attend.
Some frequently asked questions on Multi-KB include:
- What is a multi-KB system?
- Does a multi-KB system use the same workflow in each KB?
- When should I create a new knowledge base?
- Can I control user access to a specific knowledge base?
- Will a multi-KB system allow me to search across all knowledge bases?
What is Multi-KB?
It's a feature that was introduced in Fuji. It's part of Knowledge v3 and, depending on your organization, can prove really valuable. In Knowledge v3 we moved from a single knowledge base system, to allowing you to create several separate knowledge bases. From the Knowledge Base Home, you can search across KBs that you have access to, or you can drill into a specific KB.
Here's a screen-shot of what it can look like taken from test instance.
Do I need to have the same workflow in each KB?
No. You can customize workflow based on the needs of each KB. As an example, here's the workflow for three different KBs we use internally:
| ServiceNow Knowledge Base | Publishing workflow |
| Support and Troubleshooting | Create > Technical Review > Editor Review > Publish |
| Program Management | Create > Publish |
| Cloud Operations knowledge | Create > Technical Review > Manager Review > Editor Review > Publish |
For information on Multi-KB workflow see Default knowledge workflows.
When should I create a new knowledge base?
There isn't an exact science here. It's really dependent on your organization. One thing you'll definitely want to avoid is KB sprawl. This means having too many knowledge bases serving a similar purpose. Having too many KBs can frustrate your users and hinder their ability to find the awesome content you are producing. Some things you should consider when deciding if a new KB is warranted:
- Does the content logically fit in another KB?
- Will the content be maintained?
- Does another team need access to the information?
- Could your needs be met using an audience attribute instead of creating an entirely new KB?
As an example within ServiceNow, our Cloud Operations team creates content that is entirely separate from our Support content. Often the terms they use will overlap, but the intent of the content is very different. This team also has different access restrictions needs than other our KBs, and they're constantly writing and updating content. They needed their own space and have complete ownership of their KB. We offer them advice around governance and best practices but give them the free range to manage their content.
Can I control access to a specific knowledge base?
Yes. You can control who has the ability to view a knowledge base through User Criteria. In Knowledge v3, access switched from being governed by access control rules to user criteria. You can also control who can contribute content to the knowledge base.
You can read more about User Criteria and see examples on Knowledge Management as well as additional information regarding security and filtering in your Knowledge in Article Security and Filtering in Knowledge v3
Can I search across all knowledge bases?
Yes. From the Knowledge Homepage, you can search across knowledge bases that you've been granted "can read" access to. Using the homepage search capability you can search across all knowledge bases you are permitted to viewing, or you can click into a specific knowledge base from the homepage if you would like to narrow your search to a specific KB.
See Knowledge Search for information on searching the KB and Social q&a content related to your knowledge. For information on how you can improve your knowledge search, see Harness the power of Knowledge Search.
If you have other questions about Multi-KB, feel free to post in the comments section and saruppaul and I will answer those as well.
6 Comments
