INTRANET TOUR | Launching Synthesis @ LS3P
Featured Guests
Katie Robinson, Chief Marketing Officer
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this Intranet Tour of F.R.A.N.K., LS3P’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guide will be Katie Robinson, LS3P’s Chief Marketing Officer.
Featured Guests
Katie Robinson, Chief Marketing Officer
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this Intranet Tour of F.R.A.N.K., LS3P’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guide will be Katie Robinson, LS3P’s Chief Marketing Officer.
When LS3P’s old intranet reached its end of life, they chose to replatform on Synthesis because it was built specifically for AEC firms and would integrate seamlessly with their existing Deltek and OpenAsset solutions.
Today, their new intranet features 5 knowledge communities, hundreds of reorganized pages & documents, 170+ employee-generated posts, and 13,000+ project profiles. Employees are using it daily to stay up to date on firm news and find the information they need to do their jobs.
Employee feedback has been simple: “Thank you! This is what we needed.”
In this Intranet Tour, Katie will share:
A high-level tour of F.R.A.N.K.
Key roles and responsibilities that made the implementation a success
Critical implementation moments and lessons learned
Enjoy!
Webinar Timeline
INTRODUCTION
00:00 Welcome and Speaker Introduction
01:50 Firm Introduction
PREPARATION + LAUNCH
03:00 Pre-Synthesis
05:30 Synthesis Features
06:30 The Team + Collaboration
08:00 Building Anticipation
10:08 Launch
10:45 Post-Launch Analytics + Feedback
INTRANET TOUR
12:20 Home Page
13:45 Navigation Overview
17:45 Content Editors Sub-Community
18:50 F.R.A.N.K. 101
19:48 Community Format Standards
22:04 Guides
23:00 Smart Navigation Blocks
23:45 Employee Directory + Profiles
25:44 #TeamNews Section
Q+A
26:50 Q: How do you generate and manage the skills section in bios?
27:45 Q: How does the support ticket pop-up work?
28:37 Q: How many staff helped with the initial build-out vs maintenance?
30:55 Q: How customizable is Synthesis by non-developer staff?
32:40 Q: Did you integrate Power BI and OpenAsset into Synthesis or just Vantagepoint?
35:04 Q: What goes on Teams vs F.R.A.N.K.? How did you communicate that message?
39:10 Q: How do you maintain high engagement?
43:05 Q: How do you train staff on F.R.A.N.K.?
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PODCAST | Exploring the Knowledge Management Evolution
Our own Christopher Parsons sat down with Randy Wilburn of Zweig Group to share his thoughts about the evolution of knowledge management in the AEC industry with Randy Wilburn of Zweig.
Christopher covered a range of topics, but perhaps our favorite portion of the discussion was about the journey from KM 1.0 to KM 3.0 which starts at the 10:45 mark.
Here’s a sneak peak:
KM 1.0: Top down, static content, documents and binders, handful of editors, hard to edit, bad search.
KM 2.0: Network/community based sharing, anyone can contribute, tap into collective knowledge, easy to edit, solid keyword search
KM 3.0: AI + KM = Awesome, AI Search, Builds on KM 1.0 + 2.0
Enjoy!
INTRANET TOUR | Enhancing the Employee Experience @ Mead & Hunt
Featured Guests
Kathy Schumann, Employee Experience + Communications Director
Jennifer Folmer, Knowledge Manager
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this Intranet Tour of The Station, Mead & Hunt’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guides will be Kathy Schumann, Employee Experience + Communications Director and Jennifer Folmer, Knowledge Manager.
Featured Guests
Kathy Schumann, Employee Experience + Communications Director
Jennifer Folmer, Knowledge Manager
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this Intranet Tour of The Station, Mead & Hunt’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guides will be Kathy Schumann, Employee Experience + Communications Director and Jennifer Folmer, Knowledge Manager.
Delivering an amazing employee experience is a high priority for Mead & Hunt. This can be challenging because of their diverse workforce spanning 8 disciplines in 55 locations. To help focus their employee experience improvements, Mead & Hunt engages an outside consultant periodically to assess employee experience.
Mead & Hunt’s most recent employee experience survey surfaced surprisingly consistent opportunities for improvement across the firm, many of which they were able to address through content improvements and participation campaigns on The Station.
In this Intranet Tour, Kathy and Jennifer will share how they used The Station to enhance their employee experience through:
Improvement to their employee directories + profiles
Involving employees in data collection
Publishing additional content on Mead & Hunt’s services
Enjoy!
Webinar Timeline
INTRODUCTION
00:00 Welcome and Speaker Introductions
02:20 Firm Introduction
INTRANET TOUR
04:26 Overview of The Station
07:15 Engagement Strategy + Example
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY
09:58 Overview
12:00 Process Timeline
14:25 Ongoing Internal Communication
16:57 Survey Results
17:55 Focus Groups
19:30 Three Opportunities for Improvement
1. INCREASE AWARENESS OF CAPABILITIES AND MARKETS SERVED
20:10 Standard Community Model: Architecture + Building Engineering Group
22:35 Improved Community Model: EPC Group
2. INCREASE AWARENESS OF EMPLOYEE SKILLS + EXPERTISE
26:08 Collecting Employee Data
27:50 Campaign 1: Software Proficiency
30:30 Campaign 2: Membership Updates
32:00 Campaign 3: Summer of Search
35:40 Post Examples
37:22 Improved Employee Directories + Profiles
39:40 Supporting Project Data Collection
41:37 Improved Project Directories + Profiles
3. IMPROVE STANDARDIZATION
43:00 Request Project Help
44:23 Communications + Document Storage
45:28 Orientation Day Guide
Q+A
46:40 Q: How has adoption of your intranet been with firms you’ve acquired and how do you train them on it?
48:26 Q: Are you using a specific platform for hosting the survey results and analysis?
49:40 Q: How did you organize, facilitate, and prioritize the information collected?
51:20 Q: Tell us about your T-Shirts!
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PUBLIC BETA | Synthesis Video 2
We're pleased to announce that Synthesis Video 2 is now in public beta.
Synthesis Video 2 is a major upgrade to Synthesis Native Video. Watch this video to learn all about:
AI-Generated Captions + Transcripts
Video Chapters
Full Text Video Search
Video Analytics
Transcription Optimization
General UI Enhancements
Video Player Branding
You can sign up for the public beta by emailing us at support@knowledge-architecture.com.
Enjoy!
Is Public Beta Right for You?
Public beta allows us to release new features and versions of Synthesis while they are still being tested and developed. It is the last stage of development, a crucial time when we can still incorporate feedback and fix bugs before General Availability. If you are interested in having early access to new features and versions of Synthesis, find gratification in directly influencing the final product, and are willing to take time to share thoughtful and constructive ideas for new features and report any bugs you experience, public beta is for you.
PODCAST | Bringing AI to the Synthesis Intranet Platform
Our own Christopher Parsons recently connected with Evan Troxel of TRXL Podcast and Randall Stevens of AVAIL for a deep dive into the Synthesis intranet platform and the roadmap for the integration of AI into Synthesis Next Generation Search and AI-Generated Video Transcriptions.
Christopher, Evan, and Randall also talked about the future of AI's impact on firmwide knowledge capture and improved search relevance. And finally, we got a sneak peek into the development of AEC-specific language models through Knowledge Architecture’s Community AI program.
It was really fun to talk through the journey and lessons learned along the way and we're really grateful to Evan and Randall for the opportunity.
If you are curious to learn about how major software projects are designed and managed and/or how AEC firms can take advantage of AI to improve their knowledge management programs — this episode of the Confluence Podcast is for you!
BEHIND THE SCENES | Building Our AEC-Specific Video Transcription Model
Over the last several months we've been building Version 1 of our AEC-specific video transcription model for Synthesis native videos, the first project in our Community AI program. Last week, after several rounds of internal alpha testing, we released this model to a limited number of clients as part of the Synthesis Video 2 beta.
We created this Behind the Scenes video to explain how:
Video captions + transcripts will provide accessibility, search, and ultimately LMS benefits to Synthesis users.
Knowledge Architecture’s AEC-specific video transcription model performs compared to the generic video transcription model from Microsoft. (Hint — quite well!)
Our step-by-step process for building and testing the AEC-specific video transcription model works.
We protect confidentiality and intellectual property through de-identification and data masking.
Terms and sentences we have extracted from firms participating in our Community AI program to train our model have been highly valuable.
We hope this video leaves you feeling more knowledgeable and excited about Knowledge Architecture’s approach to AI and our Community AI program.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Over the last several months we've been building Version 1 of our AEC-specific video transcription model for Synthesis native videos, the first project in our Community AI program. Last week, after several rounds of internal alpha testing, we released this model to a limited number of clients as part of the Synthesis Video 2 beta.
We created this Behind the Scenes video to explain how:
Video captions + transcripts will provide accessibility, search, and ultimately LMS benefits to Synthesis users.
Knowledge Architecture’s AEC-specific video transcription model performs compared to the generic video transcription model from Microsoft. (Hint — quite well!)
Our step-by-step process for building and testing the AEC-specific video transcription model works.
We protect confidentiality and intellectual property through de-identification and data masking.
Terms and sentences we have extracted from firms participating in our Community AI program to train our model have been highly valuable.
We hope this video leaves you feeling more knowledgeable and excited about Knowledge Architecture’s approach to AI and our Community AI program.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
About Community AI
Community AI is an opt-in program that will empower Knowledge Architecture to create AEC-specific AI Infrastructure by training AI models on client content for the mutual benefit of participating firms, while also protecting confidentiality and intellectual property.
By default, Knowledge Architecture clients are opted out of the Community program and will use the generic video transcription model from Microsoft. Clients must opt in to get access to our AEC-specific video transcription model.
So far, about 60 Knowledge Architecture clients have joined our Community AI program and contributed towards the building of our AEC-specific video transcription model.
Join the Community AI Program
Once your team is ready to move forward, you can sign up here:
INTRANET TOUR | Connecting Quality and Knowledge Management at DPS
Featured Guests
Tim Veltkamp, Director of Quality Management
Gregor Wells, Director of Information Technology
Summary
We’re excited to share this Deep Dive webinar exploring the connection between quality management and knowledge management at DPS.
Featured Guests
Tim Veltkamp, Director of Quality Management
Gregor Wells, Director of Information Technology
Webinar Summary
DPS launched Synthesis as their knowledge management platform in October 2019. It addressed many firmwide needs: connecting their offices, making information findable, and creating a space for new knowledge to live. As employees shifted to working remotely, then hybrid, Synthesis became even more important to business operations.
During this time, DPS was also in final development stages of their Quality Management System (QMS). The QMS includes procedures, responsibilities, and resources for making quality a basic business principal throughout the project delivery process. The impact of the QMS starts in business development and goes all the way through construction.
In 2024 these two efforts came together when Tim Veltkamp, Director of Quality Management and Gregor Wells, Director of IT joined forces to revamp DPS’s intranet as part of their transition to Synthesis 6.
We’re excited to share this Deep Dive webinar exploring the connection between quality management and knowledge management at DPS.
Enjoy!
Webinar Timeline
INTRANET TOUR
00:00 Welcome and Speaker Introductions
01:51 Synthesis Background at DPS
04:09 Approach to Synthesis 6 Transition
DPS QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
05:28 Making Quality Part of the DPS Culture
08:04 DPS Quality Management System
09:46 Stages of the Quality Management Cycle
12:06 Ongoing Intranet Content Development
QUALITY PLANNING
15:00 Overview
15:39 Design Process + Design Community
18:35 Design Typologies
QUALITY ASSURANCE
22:33 Owners Project Requirements
25:45 Drawing Fundamentals
27:08 Code Analysis
28:11 DPS Documentation Standards
QUALITY CONTROL + IMPROVEMENT
29:25 Quality Control
30:12 Quality Improvement
31:37 Examples
LEARNING + DEVELOPMENT
35:40 Learn + Grow Community
Q+A
39:14 Q: Can we take a closer look at the Starter Detail library?
42:41 Q: How do you avoid duplicating content?
44:50 Q: How do you point junior staff to this information?
47:37 Q: Who can contribute?
50:55 Q: How do you allocate time for this work?
53:37 Q: How do you encourage use of the content?
56:08 Q: What are your quality metrics?
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Introducing our aec360 + Synthesis Integration
Our new Synthesis-aec360 integration helps AEC firms make employee, project, knowledge sharing and opportunity information from aec360 available across the firm using Synthesis.
HSO and Knowledge Architecture are proud to announce the integration of HSO’s aec360 with Synthesis.
Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365, aec360 is an integrated suite of software products designed specifically for AEC firms, offering comprehensive marketing, business development, project management, and accounting capabilities. As part of the marketing and experience management solution, aec360 provides a centralized repository of project history, employee experience and qualifications, staff resumes, and other tools to automate proposal preparation and optimize pursuit processes.
Synthesis, Knowledge Architecture’s intranet platform for AEC firms, helps employees find the firm-specific information they need to work more efficiently, know what is happening across their organization, and learn and grow with their colleagues.
The aec360 + Synthesis integration makes critical staff, project, contact, company, and opportunity information from aec360 available to employees across the firm using Synthesis.
“Synthesis is a best-in-class intranet platform,” said Andy Yeomans, EVP at HSO. “It’s amazing that we now have a combined solution that gives our joint clients the intranet capabilities of Synthesis in addition to aec360’s core CRM functionality, making the information more available to everybody throughout the firm in a consumable way.”
Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Architecture, added, “The idea that I can take the information from aec360 and search and filter on the profiles and directories in an AEC-specific intranet like Synthesis is the best of both worlds. Together, they provide a tremendous return on information.”
Key Benefits
The integration of aec360 and Synthesis provides the following capabilities and benefits to AEC firms:
Centralize Project Information from Multiple Sources
Dive deeper into project attributes, images, descriptions, employee teams, contacts, and more with highly configurable Project Profiles in Synthesis. Project information can be sourced from multiple applications, including aec360, OpenAsset, and Newforma.
Make Key Project Information Available to Employees across the Firm
Users can search, filter, and browse Project Directories in Synthesis to discover projects by project type, client, state, square footage, construction cost, and more, using information from aec360.
Powerful Project Maps
Do you ever remember where a project was located but not the project name? We’ve got you covered! Explore your firm’s current and completed projects using the Map Layout of Project Directories in Synthesis powered by aec360 data.
Centralize Employee Information from Multiple Locations
Search, filter, and browse Employee Directories and dive deep into employee skills, experience, and interests using Synthesis, aec360, OpenAsset, Azure Active Directory, and Teams.
Reactions From Users
The integration between aec360 and Synthesis is helping many AEC firms that are now able to take advantage of the benefits it offers.
“WGI has been on the Synthesis platform for several years and we have always appreciated our partnership with Knowledge Architecture,” said William Schnier, VP and Chief Marketing Officer at WGI Engineering. “We recently added aec360, and we are very pleased with the results. We are looking forward to bringing these two powerful knowledge platforms together!”
Schedule a demo to discover more about aec360 and Synthesis integration and how it can help your teams work more efficiently.
INTRANET TOUR | Building Community @ Parkhill—An Adventure in Communication and Culture Growth
Featured Guests
Kristen West, Knowledge Coordinator
Fanchon Henneberger, Learning & Development Manager
Summary
We’re excited to share this Intranet Tour of RED, Parkhill’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guides will be Kristen West, Knowledge Coordinator and Fanchon Henneberger, Learning & Development Manager.
Featured Guests
Kristen West, Knowledge Coordinator
Fanchon Henneberger, Learning & Development Manager
Webinar Summary
We’re excited to share this Intranet Tour of RED, Parkhill’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guides will be Kristen West, Knowledge Coordinator and Fanchon Henneberger, Learning & Development Manager.
Parkhill’s intranet has evolved as the firm has grown from 350 to over 500 employees in the past three years. The focus has been to keep people connected and aligned with the Six Areas of Excellence and Parkhill’s Mission, Vision, and Values.
Through all that change Parkhill’s intranet team leveraged Synthesis to build and reinforce the personal connections that define Parkhill’s unique culture.
In this Intranet Tour, Kristen and Fanchon will share how they:
Created a Community Managers network
Developed and tested navigation and information flow
Balance employee contributions with firmwide news and resources.
Enjoy!
Webinar Timeline
INTRANET TOUR
00:00 Welcome and Speaker Introductions
01:31 Introduction to RED
03:17 Parkhill’s Mission, Vision, and Values
08:10 Meaningful Connections
09:48 Essential Resources
12:40 Mapping the Synthesis Current State
14:39 Engaging Collaboration: Expanding the Synthesis Team
17:45 Mapping the Synthesis Future State
18:16 Integrated Systems
19:51 Beta Testing Tasks
21:49 RED Home Page Tour
24:01 Campaign: 2024 State of the Firm Tour
25:23 Campaign: Clifton Strengths
28:08 Supporting Individual Contributors
29:33 Hats Off Campaign: Perrytown Tornado
30:35 Conclusion: Mission, Vision, and Values
Q+A
32:57 Q: Was creating the map your first step in improving findability?
34:38 Q: How did you build and manage the expanded intranet team?
38:11 Q: How do you continue to communicate with the intranet group?
40:30 Q: What is learning and what is a resource?
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SYNTHESIS AI UPDATE | AEC-Specific Video Transcription Model Milestone
We've been building an AEC-specific AI model for video transcriptions for the last several months. We ran the first benchmarking of the first generation of this model yesterday against a baseline transcription model from Microsoft Azure.
One of the areas the KA-built AEC-specific model really shines so far is acronyms and product names, and I've shared some of the highlights in the attached images.
We've partnered with our clients to build this model (and we have another on the way) through our Community AI program, an opt-in program that will empower Knowledge Architecture to create AEC-specific AI Infrastructure by training AI models on client content for the mutual benefit of participating firms, while also protecting confidentiality and intellectual property.
Once released into a public beta in June as part of our Synthesis Video 2 update, the AEC-specific video transcription model should help our clients make videos both more accessible and searchable on their intranets, as well as save our intranet champions hours and hours of editing video captions.
We're really excited to share this milestone progress update with all of you and will keep you posted as we approach public beta.
To learn more about our product roadmap, including Community AI, Synthesis Video 2, Next Generation Search, and Synthesis LMS, please visit our roadmap page.
INTRANET TOUR | Putting Users First @ Shepley Bulfinch
Featured Guest
Jess Purcell, Design Technology Manager
Summary
We’re excited to share this intranet Tour of Finch, Shepley Bulfinch’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guide will be Jess Purcell, Design Technology Manager.
Featured Guests
Jess Purcell, Design Technology Manager
Webinar Summary
We’re excited to share this intranet Tour of Finch, Shepley Bulfinch’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guide will be Jess Purcell, Design Technology Manager.
Finch is a hub of activity for Shepley Bulfinch employees. It is where they go to find documentation, research architectural tools + practices, learn about firmwide initiatives, and stay connected with colleagues. Jess is passionate about helping users navigate this growing knowledge base to ensure that knowledge keeps flowing, even as the stream is getting bigger.
In this Intranet Tour, Jess will share how the team is:
Rightsizing knowledge communities for increased usability and growth
Delivering findable and hands on training materials with Miro + Finch
Advancing learning with user-centric (and teacher-centric) videos
Webinar Timeline
INTRANET TOUR
00:00 Welcome and Speaker Introduction
01:38 Introduction to Finch
02:31 Organizing Content Around Topics
04:49 Establishing a Consistent Page Layout
05:55 Using a Search First Strategy
07:37 Designing for Community Managers and Editors
08:40 The Design Exchange Group
09:43 Establishing a Private Community for Finch Editors
11:05 Providing Learning Content: “The Birdfeeder”
14:20 Engaging Users with Embedded Miro Boards
15:57 Experimenting with Short Form Video Posts
17:12 Video Examples: 3 Ways to Use AI, Bluebeam Tips, New Finch
19:56 Surfacing Existing Content with Short Video Clips
Q+A
22:23 Q: How are you creating the short form videos?
25:57 Q: How are you coaching content editors?
28:22 Q: What are your roles?
31:19 Q: Engagement and tags for Design Exchange?
34:54 Q: How did you get momentum to get where you are today?
38:14 Q: How do you get users through the change curve?
41:39 Q: Are you considering the new Synthesis LMS in 2025?
43:54 Q: What do the Teams links lead to?
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KA CONNECT 2024 | Speakers + Program
We’ve designed KA Connect 2024, our annual knowledge management conference for the AEC industry, to be “half conference, half camp,” with general sessions in the mornings, and a choose your own adventure program composed of roundtables, intranet tours, unconference hangouts, outdoor activities, and plenty of unstructured time to connect, reflect, and recharge in the afternoons.
Our program will focus on sharing strategies and best practices for using knowledge management, internal communications, learning + development, and intranet programs to help your AEC firm evolve and grow.
We're excited to announce our general session speakers today:
The Revolution of Knowledge Management at Turner Fleischer
Ellen Bensky, Partner, CEO and CFO, Turner Fleischer Architects
Behind the Scenes of ELEVATE: KTGY’s Professional Development Program
John Robison, COO, KTGY
Designing a Successful Hybrid Practice
Jim Chambers, VP, Practice Management, Shepley Bulfinch
Jim Martin, VP, CIO, Shepley Bulfinch
Knowledge Management: The Secret to Unlocking Sustainable Design
Corey Squire, Sustainability Director, Bora Architecture & Interiors
Lessons in Growth: Maintaining Authenticity in Design & Culture at Olson Kundig
Marlene Chen, Principal / Owner, COO, Olson Kundig
The Impact of Knowledge Management on a Growing and Evolving Page
John Clegg, Chief Design Innovation Officer, Senior Principal, Page
John Gloetzner, Chief Marketing Officer, Senior Principal, Page
Early Bird Registration Ends May 3rd
Take advantage of early registration pricing through May 3rd!
CONCEPT DESIGN | Synthesis LMS Version 1
For years our clients have been using Synthesis intranets to support Learning + Development programs by building “LMS light” solutions using intranet pages, posts, video libraries, and guides.
We are now advancing beyond “LMS light” solutions by adding new capabilities to Synthesis such as courses, learning paths, assignments, and transcripts, as well as the proper reporting and analytics functionality to help your firm track the progress of your learners and monitor the health of your Learning + Development programs.
This concept video is the next step in our journey toward co-creating a unique and compelling LMS offering with our community that is both AEC-specific and deeply integrated into Synthesis.
Watch this video to learn about our vision for Synthesis LMS, the scope for Synthesis LMS Version 1, release timing, and advice on what you can do now to prepare for Synthesis LMS.
For years our clients have been using Synthesis intranets to support Learning + Development programs by building “LMS light” solutions using intranet pages, posts, video libraries, and guides.
We are now advancing beyond “LMS light” solutions by adding new capabilities to Synthesis such as courses, learning paths, assignments, and transcripts, as well as the proper reporting and analytics functionality to help your firm track the progress of your learners and monitor the health of your Learning + Development programs.
This concept video is the next step in our journey toward co-creating a unique and compelling LMS offering with our community that is both AEC-specific and deeply integrated into Synthesis.
Watch this video to learn about our vision for Synthesis LMS, the scope for Synthesis LMS Version 1, release timing, and advice on what you can do now to prepare for Synthesis LMS.
We broke the video down into the following sections and chapters:
Synthesis LMS Basics
Courses
Learning Centers
Dashboards
Course Catalogs
Assigning a Course
Learning Paths
Assignments Tab
Transcript Tab
Activity Analytics
User Analytics
Intranet Integration
Search Integration
Course Blocks
Employee Profile + Directory Integration
Posts Integration
LMS Branding
Version 1 Scope
External Course Wrappers
Release Timing + Pricing
Preparing for Synthesis LMS
Staging your LMS Content Using Guides
Migrating Videos to Synthesis Native Video
Got Ideas, Feedback, or Questions?
We’re actively designing Synthesis LMS Version 1 and would love to hear your questions, feedback, or ideas!
RECORDING | Secrets of Great Internal Marketers
This SMPS Learning Lab webinar explores internal marketing initiatives that have moved the dial for three Knowledge Architecture clients: MBH Architects, GMB Architecture + Engineering, and Page.
Featured Guests
Hillary Thompson, MBH Architects
Shelly VandeWege, GMB
Jodi Vaccaro, Page
Susan Strom, Chief Client Success Officer at Knowledge Architecture (Moderator)
Webinar Summary
This SMPS Learning Lab webinar explores internal marketing initiatives that have moved the dial for three Knowledge Architecture clients: MBH Architects, GMB Architecture + Engineering, and Page.
Marketing professionals from these three firms share examples of internal marketing efforts that led to firmwide awareness of services and sectors, inspired employees to reach out to marketing with their project stories, and elevated knowledge sharing across the business.
Webinar Timeline
Introduction
00:30 Introduction to KA
03:00 What is Internal Marketing?
04:00 Opening Exercise: 3-5 Current Internal Marketing Practices
05:50 One Bright Spot from your Internal Marketing List (download transcript)
07:13 Speaker Introductions
Shelly VandeWege, GMB
08:57 Speaker Introduction
09:25 Introduction to GMB
16:07 GMB Brand Guiding Principles
16:45 People Centric
18:00 Education Focused
18:36 Fun and Energetic
20:30 Measuring Success
Jodi Vaccaro, Page
22:28 Speaker Introduction
23:17 Introduction to Page’s Design for Impact Report
25:28 Compiling the Report
26:06 Sections of the Report
27:30 Developing an Internal Framework from an External Resource
29:40 COLAB Groups
32:00 Benefits to Employee Engagement
34:00 Benefits to Marketing and Communications
34:45 Design for Impact Toolkit (Miro Board)
36:29 View the Full Report (Issuu)
Hillary Thompson, MBH Architects
37:15 Speaker Introduction
38:00 Transforming a Town Hall Into an Engagement Opportunity
39:10 The Need for Change
40:25 Catalyst for Change
41:00 Key Changes Implemented
41:53 Results (Video Compilation)
45:25 Key Benefits
46:15 Employee Survey Responses
46:50 Impact on External Marketing
47:38 Tips for Successful Implementation
Q+A
49:12 Q:How do you measure connection and alignment?
51:50 Q: How many people work on Page’s Design for Impact Report
53:56 Q: Do you and the marketing team choose the teams to present or do they volunteer?
55:05 Q: How much time do regular staff dedicate to preparing their sessions?
56:22 Q: How do you reach people in the field who are physically dispersed?
58:34 Closing and Contact Information
NEW ENHANCEMENTS to Search, Directories, and Libraries
We’re pleased to announce the upcoming release of new enhancements to Search, Directories, and Libraries.
At a high-level, here’s what’s in the update:
Improved Employee + Contact Name Search. We created a Global Name Synonym Catalog and enabled Fuzzy Search to help improve findability of employees and contacts. For example, if you search “jeff” we’ll now find “geoff” and “jeffrey,” and if you search on “diana” we’ll also find “diane” and “dina.”
Configurable Search Scopes for Directories + Libraries. You can now choose between Basic Search and Full Search scopes to create the search experience which is better for your firm. For example, the Basic Search option will streamline your Employee Directory search scope to Employee Names. Basic Search will also streamline your Project Directory search scope to Project Names, Project Numbers, and Client Names. The Full Search option will search all fields. Once the update is pushed out, your Directories will automatically be switched to Basic Search (you can easily switch them back to Full Search) and your Libraries will continue using Full Search.
Additional Sorting Options for Filters + Groups in Directories + Libraries. You will now be able to configure filters to sort alphabetically in Directories and Libraries. For custom dropdown fields, you’ll be able to configure filters to use the sort order of the dropdown values. In addition, you’ll be able to use the sort order of custom dropdown fields to order your groups.
We will deploy this update after the close of business on Friday, March 15th.
Enjoy!
Best,
Chris
What’s on the Synthesis Roadmap?
Learn more about new Synthesis features in development, in design, and planned for the future, as well as submit product ideas on our interactive product roadmap.
SYNTHESIS AI ROADMAP | Next Generation Search, Video Captions, and Community AI
Knowledge Architecture has been working on two major AI projects for the last six months — Next Generation Search and Video Captioning.
At the same time, we have been developing an opt-in program called Community AI to create AEC-specific AI Infrastructure by training AI models on client content for the mutual benefit of participating firms.
We’re super excited about what we’re building and we hope you are too.
AI-Powered Enterprise Search for AEC Firms
Next Generation Search will bring AI-powered Enterprise Search to Synthesis.
In this video, we share our approach to both AI and Enterprise Search, including:
AI-Generated Search Summaries
Three Challenges with End-User Facing Large Language Models (LLMs)
Benefits of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
Vector Search Basics
Benefits of Combining Keyword Search with Vector Search
Community AI Program Overview
Why We’re Building an AEC-Specific Embeddings Model
Enterprise Search Roadmap
Next Steps + Timeline for Public Beta
AI-Generated + AEC-Specific Video Captions
We’ll be releasing an update this spring that will add AI-generated captions, transcripts, and chapters, along with several other enhancements to Synthesis Native Video.
In this video, we go behind the scenes into:
Our AI-Powered Video Captioning Infrastructure
Community AI Program Overview
Benefits of our AEC-Specific Video Transcription Model
Next Steps + Release Timing
Introducing Our Community AI Program
Community AI is an opt-in program that will empower Knowledge Architecture to create AEC-specific AI Infrastructure by training AI models on client content for the mutual benefit of participating firms, while also protecting confidentiality and intellectual property.
In the pursuit of researching two use cases for AI — Next Generation Search and Video Captions — we discovered a unique opportunity to work with our AEC client community to achieve more relevant search results and better captioning.
Thus, Community AI was born.
DESIGN INSPIRATION GALLERY | New Additions
Looking for intranet inspiration? We have some new additions to our Design Inspiration Gallery.
You can now explore examples in three new resource categories — Onboarding and Intranet 101.
Looking for intranet inspiration? We have some new additions to our Design Inspiration Gallery.
You can now explore examples in two new resource categories — Onboarding and Intranet 101.
Enjoy!
Onboarding
Offering standardized, readily accessible onboarding resources on the intranet can greatly simplify the often overwhelming process of starting a new job.
Intranet 101
Help your end users make the most of your firm’s intranet by providing a range of technical how-to’s, background, and tips to encourage active participation.
Suggestions, please!
Got a suggestion for something you’d like to see in the gallery? Let us know!
PODCAST | Overhauling Knowledge Architecture’s Synthesis v6
Our own Christopher Parsons recently connected with Evan Troxel of TRXL Podcast and Randall Stevens of AVAIL to go behind the scenes of our transition to Synthesis 6, the story of building Knowledge Architecture, and a high-level overview of knowledge management and intranets in the AEC industry
It was really fun to talk through the journey and lessons learned along the way and we're really grateful to Evan and Randall for the opportunity.
If you are curious to learn about how major software projects are designed and managed and/or how AEC firms can make the best use of their knowledge, then this episode of the Confluence Podcast is for you!
SYNTHESIS SPOTLIGHT | Capturing Knowledge at DLR Group
Featured Guests
Stefanie Henderson, Internal Communications Leader
Colby Dietz, Knowledge Manager
Summary
We’re excited to share this Synthesis Spotlight on Square1, DLR Group’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our guides will be Colby Dietz, Knowledge Manager, and Stefanie Henderson, Internal Communications Leader.
Featured Guests
Stefanie Henderson, Internal Communications Leader
Colby Dietz, Knowledge Manager
Webinar Summary
We’re excited to share this Synthesis Spotlight on Square1, DLR Group’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our guides will be Colby Dietz, Knowledge Manager, and Stefanie Henderson, Internal Communications Leader.
DLR Group has evolved and grown since they launched their Synthesis intranet ten years ago, and their intranet has evolved and grown along with them. This past June they introduced Synthesis 6. They looked at their preparation for implementing this new version of Synthesis as an opportunity to focus on capturing knowledge in each of their core disciplines, as well as emerging and specialty services.
In this Synthesis Spotlight, Colby and Stefanie share how DLR Group:
Manages both firmwide and community specific communications for more than 1,400 employees in offices across the U.S. and internationally
Shares knowledge within their four core disciplines, as well as emerging and specialty services
Empowers Community Managers and Team Leaders to create and lead knowledge sharing
Webinar Timeline
INTRANET TOUR
01:20 Firm Introduction
01:50 Introduction to Square1: Home Page
02:58 Projects Community
03:20 Integrated Practice Community
04:10 Discipline Sub-Communities
05:30 Specialty Services Guides
06:50 Enterprise Community: HR, Marketing, Technology
07:30 Culture Community
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
08:15 Internal Communications Overview
08:56 Reaffirming the Source of Information
09:46 Sharing Firmwide News in the Enterprise Community
10:38 Featured Posts Block
11:28 Promoted Posts Guardrails
13:08 Marketing EZ Requests
14:00 Targeted Communications: Featured Posts
15:50 Featured Posts Guardrails
COMMUNITY MANAGERS
16:25 The Role of the Community Manager
19:05 Community Manager Quarterly Check-ins
21:40 Community Manager Checklist
UX
22:23 Collecting and Incorporating Feedback on UX Design
Q+A
25:40 Q: How do you facilitate a collaborative relationship with your community managers? Can you offer any lessons learned?
29:20 Q: What kind of analytics are you providing to content managers in Synthesis 6?
30:05 Q: How long did it take you to develop your promoted/featured posts and community manager guidelines?
33:25 Q: How do your community managers add posts to the featured post block?
34:44 Q: How much time are you each spending on intranet work weekly?
36:24 Q: How many total communities/community managers do you have?
37:07 Q: Do you have guidelines for any roles other than community managers?
38:16 Q: As the community manager role has evolved, have more of the requests gone through community managers?
40:22 Q: Did you consider putting Professional Development into its own community versus within the discipline pages?
43:52 Q: Does your internal communications plan primarily center around the intranet?
More Case Study Webinars
Register for our next Office Hours Webinar
IDEA LAB | Next Generation Search
We're excited to announce that the Next Generation Search Idea Lab is now open for submissions.
We have been conducting R+D to determine the best ways to incorporate recent technology advances, including generative AI, semantic/vector-based search, natural language processing, and conversational chat into Synthesis Search.
In addition to incorporating new technology, we’re also investigating ways to improve our traditional keyword search, and exploring additional search integrations.
In short, we’d love to include your ideas and feedback as we strategize on how to take Synthesis Search to the next level.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
We're excited to announce that the Next Generation Search Idea Lab is now open for submissions.
We have been conducting R+D to determine the best ways to incorporate recent technology advances, including generative AI, semantic/vector-based search, natural language processing, and conversational chat into Synthesis Search.
In addition to incorporating new technology, we’re also investigating ways to improve our traditional keyword search, and exploring additional search integrations.
In short, we’d love to include your ideas and feedback as we strategize on how to take Synthesis Search to the next level.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
What’s an Idea Lab?
An Idea Lab is a research method we use to help us generate diverse Ideas from our client community. When we say "Ideas," we mean comments, creative or original materials, drawings, feedback, ideas, improvements, notes, plans, or other information about Knowledge Architecture, Synthesis, and/or our products (collectively, "Ideas"). Although we can't guarantee any specific Idea will be implemented, we can ensure that your Ideas will be thoughtfully considered during the Next Generation Search design process.
How can I get involved?
To participate in the Next Generation Search Idea Lab, simply share your Ideas for how you would like to see your search experience evolve and your search results laid out in Next Generation Search. We're happy to look at mockups, videos, slide presentations, written descriptions, or whatever vehicle you believe best relays your Idea(s). Your firm can submit as many Ideas as you like, from as many different authors or teams as you like.
We welcome all Ideas, so please do not fixate on creating perfect quality Idea submissions. If you want to do pixel-perfect mockups in Sketch, Illustrator, or Photoshop, wonderful. If you want to share your Ideas using simple tools like Balsamiq, PowerPoint, or good old pen and paper, that's also great. We’d also love to see videos made with Loom, Zoom, Teams, or even your phone. The most important thing to us is understanding the intention of your Idea.
How do I get started?
Here are a few prompts to help you get started:
New Technology. What are the most useful ways we could incorporate recent technology advances, including generative AI, semantic/vector-based search, natural language processing, and conversational chat into Synthesis Search? Do you have any specific searches or types of searches you’d like to see improved?
Keyword Search Improvement. In addition to using new technology and modalities to improve search, we are also looking for ways to improve our traditional keyword search. It would be helpful if you could share any specific examples of currently underperforming search terms with us so we can dig into improving them.
Future Search Integrations. Are there any important systems containing firmwide essential content we’re not currently searching in Synthesis that you’d like for us to be able to search in the future?
Anything else? We’re casting a wide net in the Next Generation Search Idea Lab. Please add in any other ideas which you think could make Synthesis Search amazing!
Submit your Ideas by December 31st!
We will be collecting your Ideas between November 14th and December 31st, 2023.
How to Submit your Idea
We are using Submittable to track submissions for the Next Generation Search Idea Lab. Login using your existing Submittable account or create a new account using the button below.
Questions about the Next Generation Search Idea Lab?
Please send any questions about the Next Generation Search Idea Lab to support@knowledge-architecture.com.