# Knowledge Management

## Overview

Knowledge management involves capturing, organizing, and sharing information within an organization. Effective knowledge management improves collaboration, reduces duplication, and preserves institutional knowledge.

## Knowledge Types

### Explicit Knowledge
- Documented information
- Written procedures
- Code documentation
- API specifications
- Architecture diagrams

### Tacit Knowledge
- Experience and expertise
- Best practices learned
- Problem-solving approaches
- Team norms and culture
- Domain insights

## Knowledge Management Strategies

### Documentation
- **Code Documentation**: Inline and external docs
- **Architecture Decision Records**: Design decisions
- **Runbooks**: Operational procedures
- **Tutorials**: Step-by-step guides
- **FAQs**: Common questions

### Knowledge Sharing
- **Code Reviews**: Share knowledge through reviews
- **Pair Programming**: Collaborative learning
- **Tech Talks**: Regular presentations
- **Blogs/Posts**: Written insights
- **Documentation**: Comprehensive docs

### Knowledge Capture
- **Retrospectives**: Learn from experience
- **Post-Mortems**: Analyze incidents
- **Decision Records**: Document decisions
- **Knowledge Base**: Centralized information
- **Wikis**: Collaborative documentation

## Knowledge Base Organization

### Structure
```
knowledge-base/
├── getting-started/
│   ├── installation.md
│   ├── quick-start.md
│   └── tutorials/
├── architecture/
│   ├── overview.md
│   ├── components.md
│   └── decisions/
├── development/
│   ├── coding-standards.md
│   ├── workflows.md
│   └── best-practices/
├── operations/
│   ├── deployment.md
│   ├── monitoring.md
│   └── troubleshooting/
└── reference/
    ├── api-docs/
    ├── cli-reference/
    └── configuration/
```

### Navigation
- Clear hierarchy
- Search functionality
- Tagging system
- Cross-references
- Table of contents

## Documentation Best Practices

### Writing Style
- **Clear**: Simple, direct language
- **Concise**: Get to the point
- **Complete**: Cover all important aspects
- **Current**: Keep up to date
- **Examples**: Include working examples

### Organization
- **Logical Structure**: Intuitive organization
- **Consistent Format**: Same structure throughout
- **Cross-References**: Link related content
- **Tags/Categories**: Enable discovery
- **Search**: Make content findable

### Maintenance
- **Regular Reviews**: Quarterly updates
- **Version Control**: Track changes
- **Ownership**: Assign maintainers
- **Feedback Loop**: Collect user feedback
- **Retirement**: Remove obsolete content

## Tools and Platforms

### Documentation Platforms
- **Confluence**: Team collaboration
- **Notion**: All-in-one workspace
- **GitBook**: Modern documentation
- **MkDocs**: Markdown documentation
- **Docusaurus**: Documentation websites

### Knowledge Base Tools
- **GitHub Wiki**: Git-based wiki
- **GitLab Wiki**: Built-in wiki
- **MediaWiki**: Wikipedia-style wiki
- **TiddlyWiki**: Non-linear notebook

### Search and Discovery
- **Elasticsearch**: Full-text search
- **Algolia**: Search as a service
- **Swiftype**: Site search
- **Typesense**: Fast search engine

## Knowledge Sharing Practices

### Documentation Reviews
- Regular review cycles
- Peer review process
- Community contributions
- Quality standards
- Update reminders

### Learning Sessions
- Tech talks
- Brown bag lunches
- Workshops
- Pair programming
- Code walkthroughs

### Knowledge Transfer
- Onboarding documentation
- Runbooks
- Troubleshooting guides
- FAQs
- Video tutorials

## Metrics and Success

### Documentation Metrics
- **Coverage**: % of code documented
- **Freshness**: Last update date
- **Usage**: Page views and searches
- **Completeness**: Required sections present
- **Quality**: Reviews and feedback

### Knowledge Sharing Metrics
- **Contributions**: Number of contributors
- **Updates**: Frequency of updates
- **Usage**: Access patterns
- **Search**: Popular queries
- **Feedback**: User satisfaction

## Best Practices

1. **Start Simple**: Begin with essentials
2. **Make It Easy**: Lower barriers to contribute
3. **Keep Current**: Update regularly
4. **Organize Well**: Clear structure
5. **Enable Search**: Make content findable
6. **Encourage Sharing**: Foster culture of documentation
7. **Review Regularly**: Maintain quality
