IT knowledge is tied to team members

In our previous post, we showed you what makes IT knowledge so special and what distinguishes it from other types of knowledge. Today we're going to explore the next obvious question: Where is this essential knowledge stored and how can companies access it?

And here we come to a challenge: IT knowledge is not stored in a computer system in the company, but exists in the employees themselves! You can find out what that means in this article.

IT knowledge as a requirement for successful IT operation and software development

The knowledge we are talking about is the basis for team members to be able to do their job. It is made up of different knwledge levels:

1. Basic understanding of IT operation and development: When starting their career or when starting something new, every team member acquires knowledge of the basics and how working in an IT environment works.
2. Knowledge of the development ecosystem: In addition to general methods and specific knowledge (e.g., programming languages like TypeScript, React, Python or systems like TensorFlow, Terraform, etc.), a team member learns a lot about the ecosystem in which his project is moving. After all, new systems are always part of existing system landscapes. It rarely happens that a product stands alone.
3. Knowledge of the APIs used: Team members usually learn a lot about the interfaces used and the possibilities they open. This is a prerequisite for moving in an ecosystem and finding elegant solutions for new challenges.
4. Knowledge of the possibilities opened up by the development environment and the tools used: By building up knowledge about the ecosystem, the APIs and how combination, cooperation, collaboration work, every team member builds her own understanding. Independently of others, she learns about the possibilities that this environment offers her. Of course, this also depends on the tools available. This results in a wide range of possible combinations, which ultimately lead to the goal.
5. Ability to quickly get Orientation in documentation and to abstract existing examples: Every team member has their own way of dealing with information and working with it. Anyone who understands and can apply documentation quickly starts staying in the flow.
6. Strategies for solving problems that inevitably arise: With the team member’s experience and knowledge, strategies are also developed as to how problems and challenges can best be mastered.

As you can see, the areas of knowledge do not stand alone. Over time, they form an ever-stronger network. And with it, an ever more complex knowledge structure, which stands individually for each individual human being. But how do team members get this knowledge?

This is how employees create IT knowledge

Virtually everyone starts their professional life with training. This is no different in IT. The foundations for later knowledge building and thus the basic understanding of IT operations and software development are laid in the training, which can of course also be learning-by-doing or self-study.

However, the other points that we mentioned above are only touched upon while in training and internship. The real accumulation of knowledge takes place during the actual work in the team.

In order to develop themselves further, a team member takes part in workshops, continues her education through blogs, tries out many new things and experiments when there is time for it. Do you see where this is all going? We talk about the most important key to the success of a team: the experience of its members.

The personal experiences of everyone in the team make up the main part of the entire knowledge. These are not in stored in computer systems but are tied to one person. The question now arises as to whether there is still a way for companies to share this with other members of the team or people outside the team.

How can companies share IT knowledge?

Knowledge management is an important part of securing and sharing knowledge for a team or the company. Observations, theories, results of experiments can easily be stored in and retrieved from computer systems. And the valuable personal experiences? Long-time team members cannot simply “inject” their experience to others, but they can actually share it while working collaborately with others.

This does not mean that they just tell their story, and the other person then immediately also has this experience. Junior team members can learn from seniors by reading their testimonials and being placed in situations where they can accumulate their own experiences.

The challenge: First and foremost, a company must know which team members has which experiences and skills. 8Buddy can help to achieve more transparency here, because it is easy to see who has which skills in the company. In this way, experts can be quickly identified who can help to solve problems or who are willing to exchange information. In this way, personal experiences are put to good use and shared.

Before a team members leaves the team, this task and important insights can be recorded that can help others. But then everyone must make their own experiences.

Conclusion

IT knowledge is diverse and essential for working in IT operations and software development. However, this knowledge does not reside in systems. Knowledge is tied to people who have built up this knowledge and gained personal experience.

Knowledge management helps companies store facts and knowledge, but team members must make their own personal experiences. With 8Buddy you also keep track of who has which skills and what knowledge, so that you can always find the right expert for your question.