Taking a data-driven approach to knowledge management

Walder Wyss can instantly see data around which members of the firm are actively using the knowledge management system, what type of searches users are carrying out, what type of results are being returned, and where there might be gaps in content or other areas that require attention to optimize knowledge flow. This enables the firm’s knowledge management team to make statistical connections between users and data.

Identifying “power users” assists in the effort to expand usage across the organization, to uncover and replicate best-practices, and to create best practice document templates. Data regarding what documents and knowledge are not being accessed also provides deep and valuable insights for improvements of how documents can be refined to better meet the expectations and needs of the firm’s lawyers.

Rather than relying on anecdotal evidence about what knowledge assets its professionals find most valuable, the knowledge management team at Walder Wyss is now able to use data to determine how people are using the system. This supports an ongoing process of quality improvement to guide the investment in the knowledge content, enabling the team to make better decisions and deliver higher quality service, driving competitive advantage for the firm.

“Lawyers are busy people – most of them don’t have time to tell us how they’ve been using the knowledge management system,” said Urs Bracher, Legal Engineer and Head of KM at Walder Wyss. “Having Knowledge Unlocked means that we don't have to guess or rely on just a few lawyers telling us what type of knowledge management assets they find most useful, or where they need more help. We can look at the data and have insights into users’ needs that allow us to better address their requirements.”

The Appeal of a Platform Approach

“We were already using iManage Work as our document management system, so it made a lot of sense to use Knowledge Unlocked for our knowledge management system,” said Lorenz Reinle, Assistant Know-how and Legal Tech at Walder Wyss. “It was a natural extension of our usage of the iManage platform, and iManage is recognized as a leader in the international market, which helped simplify the decision.”

Since going live on Knowledge Unlocked earlier this year, Walder Wyss has rolled it out to all six of its offices in Switzerland. Eventually, there will be nearly 300 users who will use the iManage solution to search and access more than 7,000 knowledge assets within the knowledge management system, and several million documents within iManage Work.

“Knowledge is only as good as your users’ ability to tap into it,” Nick Thomson, General Manager, RAVN, iManage. “Walder Wyss’ usage of Knowledge Unlocked enables them to truly leverage their work product and enhance the effectiveness of their curated knowledge assets, allowing them to continually improve knowledge management processes and outcomes for their users.”