The aim of KSM is to produce a physical map of the structure of knowledge that is needed in any business (or any other) area. It relates only to the knowledge that human experts would have and does not account for documents or computer systems. It provides a way for managers to share a common visualisation of the expert knowledge needed to carry out activities. It can be applied on any scale from the knowledge known by a whole organisation to the knowledge needed in order to understand how to change a tap washer.
The method is being used internally in Rolls-Royce plc as part of their Knowledge Management strategy and has been used in many other organisations from BAE Systems to smaller manufacturing companies. It has been used to address other knowledge areas such as the knowledge needed to run an off-licence (liquor store) or even to find out what knowledge is needed to understand how to negotiate. The method makes areas of human expertise (knowledge) visible and also provides information about the knowledge to help managers to develop action plans that may lead to other Knowledge Management initiatives.
More information about the KSM methodology can be found on the business web site.