AI SEARCH DEEP DIVE | Preparing EUA for Synthesis AI Search
Featured Guests
Andrea Moede, Knowledge Specialist
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share how Andrea Moede, Knowledge Specialist at Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA), is transforming Connect, EUA’s Synthesis intranet, to fully harness the power of AI Search in order to reduce the amount of time employees spend searching for information, improve productivity, and elevate employee engagement.
Featured Guests
Andrea Moede, Knowledge Specialist
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share how Andrea Moede, Knowledge Specialist at Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA), is transforming Connect, EUA’s Synthesis intranet, to fully harness the power of AI Search in order to reduce the amount of time employees spend searching for information, improve productivity, and elevate employee engagement.
In this engaging webinar, Andrea shares her strategic approach to preparing EUA's content and teams for AI-driven knowledge discovery, including:
Showcasing Real Results: See a live demo of AI Search at EUA, featuring queries across departments like IT, Marketing, HR, and Sustainability drawing meaningful results from pages, posts, videos, documents, and employee and project profiles on their intranet.
Optimizing Intranet Content for Success: Learn how Andrea tackled outdated, missing, and conflicting content by partnering with department and practice leaders across the firm.
Building and Refining Queries: Get insights into their collaborative process for crafting effective queries and improving search accuracy through targeted testing and feedback.
Training and Rollout: Understand EUA's phased rollout strategy, including tools, training sessions, and sample queries to guide users through the transition to AI Search.
Andrea’s mantra, "Connect is only as good as the content we put in," reflects her dedication to building the content to power a future-ready answer engine with Synthesis AI Search.
Whether you're already in the AI Search beta or looking for advice on how to get started on your AI Search journey, this webinar is a must-see.
Enjoy!
Webinar Timeline
Introduction
00:00 KA Introduction to Andrea and EUA
01:35 Andrea’s Role(s)
03:14 EUA Overview
03:45 Connect Background and Agenda
AI Search Live Demo
05:05 What do I need to know about BXP?
06:31 Is EUA licensed to practice in Michigan?
07:36 Narrative: What’s our approach to historic preservation?
08:40 Affinity + Applications Library
10:33 Autodesk email change?
Auditing Content
12:05 “Connect is only as good as the content we give it to work with.”
13:20 Using AI Search as Catalyst for Auditing Content
14:18 Getting Started: Testing, Feedback, Stream Admin, Pilot Group
17:15 Goals of Pilot Group
Using AI Search to Influence How We Package Information
19:16 Use Posts to Promote Info
22:10 QA Format + AI Search
23:55 Use Video Chapters
27:53 Use Best Bets
28:58 Prioritize Pages Over Documents
Testimonials
32:42 Maxim Medvedev, IT Specialist
34:10 AJ Zandt, Content Writer
35:12 Example: Summarizing Posts + Creating a Narrative
What’s Next?
36:40 AI Training
38:10 All Employee Launch
38:30 Maintenance
Q+A
40:00 How was feedback collected from your user group?
41:08 Search Optimization Feedback Tool Demo
43:00 How are you planning to launch company-wide?
45:50 Does all of your marketing communications + BD live on Connect?
47:40 Does AI Search also search directories?
50:20 How did staff react to deleting/editing old posts?
53:50 Weighting results based on content type + freshness
54:55 What was the timing of your cleanup?
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Introducing Synthesis AI Search Filters
We’re excited to announce the upcoming release of Synthesis AI Search Filters.
This new feature allows users to curate the sources used to generate AI search summaries and top results.
Users can filter by various criteria, such as a specific community, guide, library, content type, and last updated, which helps to narrow down the search results and improve the relevance of the information retrieved.
We will release this update after the close of business on Friday, January 24th to all Knowledge Architecture clients currently in the Synthesis AI Search public beta.
Enjoy!
Synthesis AI Search Is Now in Public Beta
Synthesis AI Search, built specifically for AEC firms, combines next generation search technology with AI to instantly generate rich answers to natural language searches and questions by summarizing the most relevant content on your Synthesis intranet.
We're pleased to announce that Synthesis AI Search is now in public beta.
AI Search combines next generation search technology with AI to instantly generate rich answers to natural language searches and questions by summarizing the most relevant content on your Synthesis intranet.
In addition, Search Summaries include citations, enabling your users to verify AI-generated answers and dig deeper into relevant content.
Watch this video to learn all about:
AI Search in Action
Follow Up Questions
Citations
Rating Search Summaries
Synthesis AI Search Resource Center
If you’d like to learn more about Synthesis AI Search, feel free to schedule a demo.
Searching Videos with Synthesis AI
For years, our AEC clients have uploaded a wide variety of videos to Synthesis — town halls, software training sessions, design education materials, and more.
Earlier this year, we upgraded our video technology to include automatic transcriptions, enabling captions and fully searchable transcripts for all videos uploaded to Synthesis. This enhancement addressed two critical needs: accessibility and search.
By combining advanced AI capabilities with video content, we’re empowering firms to unlock the valuable knowledge hidden within their video libraries.
In this short video, we demonstrate how Synthesis AI Search goes beyond traditional search by synthesizing summaries that span all intranet content, including videos.
Each summary includes citations, and when the source is a video, hovering over the citation reveals the video, the precise timestamp of the quoted passage, and even takes you directly to that moment in the video when clicked.
This seamless integration of AI, search, and video offers a revolutionary new way to access and use video content.
If you like to learn more about how Synthesis AI Search can help your firm make the best use of your knowledge, you can schedule a demo or email us at info@knowledge-architecture.com.
PODCAST | The Future of Knowledge Management in AEC Firms
Our Founder + CEO, Christopher Parsons, recently sat down with Evelyn Lee on the Practice Disrupted podcast to talk about the future of knowledge management in AEC firms.
There’s so much happening in the industry right now — large talent shortages, shorter project schedules, and accelerating baby boomer retirements — to name a few, and of course, the emergence of AI as a disruptive and potentially transformative force.
Christopher has been working on knowledge management in our industry for over 20 years, including at two architecture practices, and has come to believe over the last year and a half that AI has the potential to unlock an incredible amount of value for knowledge-based practices by accelerating learning, reducing the time spent searching for and recreating information, streamlining workflows, and empowering your experts to more effectively share their knowledge through the strategic use of AI.
We’re grateful to Evelyn for the opportunity to talk through all of this (and more) and hope you enjoy the episode.
Episode Overview
What is Knowledge Management in AEC Firms? (03:00)
A firm's most valuable asset is its knowledge. Knowledge is “currency” and managing knowledge should be a strategic priority.
Knowledge Management 3.0 (08:00)
Breaking down KM into three eras — documenting explicit knowledge, sharing knowledge via internal social networking, and now, AI-enhanced KM. KM has evolved in response to technological shifts. KM practices have matured and this AI era marks a game-changing opportunity.
Overcoming Cultural Hurdles to Implement AI (11:00)
Lack of transparency and resistance to change can impede AI’s potential in KM. Achieving success with AI isn’t only about the technology, but also about cultivating a firm culture that values curiosity and continuous improvement.
KM for Talent Development and Knowledge Retention (23:00)
KM combined with AI could bridge generational knowledge gaps created by the impending “retirement cliff” in AEC. Firms can help equip younger generations by sharing the insights of seasoned professionals, effectively accelerating the development of talent in an industry where expertise takes years to cultivate.
Transferring Critical Soft Skills (29:00)
The importance of using storytelling to capture and transfer the soft skills and judgment of experienced professionals. Project-based storytelling can unlock the “invisible” expertise of seasoned practitioners — insights that go beyond technical knowledge to capture valuable decision-making and communication skills.
Future of Knowledge Management with AI (36:00)
AI can “unlock” the value of an organization’s knowledge by making it searchable and accessible in real-time. It can search through years of internal documents and videos, answer questions, and even direct users to relevant parts of resources.
Adapting to Rapid Change (44:00)
The pace of change in AEC is accelerating and continuous learning is the only sustainable competitive advantage. The need for firms to stay steady and adaptable as they constantly upgrade their knowledge is like surfing a wave, especially in an industry under pressure to evolve.
INTRANET TOUR | Boulder on AI-Driven Knowledge Management
Featured Guests
Todd Henderson, Director of Practice Improvement
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this deep dive into how Boulder Associates is leveraging AI to transform their Knowledge Management practices, featuring Todd Henderson, Director of Practice Improvement.
Featured Guests
Todd Henderson, Director of Practice Improvement
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this deep dive into how Boulder Associates is leveraging AI to transform their Knowledge Management practices, featuring Todd Henderson, Director of Practice Improvement.
Todd has been driving knowledge management at Boulder Associates through AI-enabled processes that make it easier for subject matter experts (SMEs) to share their knowledge, including:
Capture: Todd interviews SMEs at Boulder Associates and captures video content that is transcribed with AEC-specific video captions using Synthesis.
Create: Leveraging these transcriptions, Todd uses AI tools like Perplexity to quickly craft informative and engaging content for Biscuitnet, Boulder Associates’s intranet powered by Synthesis.
Search: Boulder Associates is in the private beta program for Synthesis AI Search, allowing employees to ask questions on Biscuitnet and receive AI-generated summaries from a combination of interview videos and AI-assisted pages Todd has created, making expert knowledge more accessible across the organization.
Subject matter experts are busy, and writing takes time. AI technologies can help streamline the knowledge sharing process. By using transcription, AI-assisted content creation, and AI-powered search, Todd has made it faster and easier to transform deep expertise into consumable, searchable content that benefits the entire firm.
Enjoy!
Webinar Timeline
Introduction
01:06 Synthesis AI Search Roadmap
01:44 Introduction to Todd
02:25 Introduction to Boulder Associates + Biscuitnet
03:14 AI Search Summary: Biscuits
04:42 AI Search Summary: Liability
Systems Thinking
05:55 Introduction to Systems Thinking
07:00 Events, Patterns, Structures, Mental Models
08:00 Causal Loop
08:57 Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System
11:30 Example: Achieving a Healthy Weight
Getting Subject Matter Experts to Share Knowledge
14:00 Problem: SME’s Aren’t Sharing Knowledge
14:30 Chat: What are some possible interventions?
16:39 Mental Models: Goals, Structure, Rules
18:50 True Facts About Experts
20:20 Writing Impedes Knowledge Transfer
21:57 Old Solutions
22:36 AI System Capabilities
23:16 New Solutions
Expert Interview Case Study
23:52 SME: Darci Hernandez + New Healthcare Legislation
26:10 AI Search Summary: Darci
27:08 Workflow
27:42 Schedule the Meeting (Outlook)
29:25 Record the Meeting (Microsoft Teams)
31:04 Edit the Video (MS Clipchamp or Adobe Rush)
31:45 Upload Video and Edit Transcript (Synthesis)
34:50 Generate Summary (Perplexity)
36:45 Edit Summary (Word)
37:10 Compile + Finish Page (Biscuitnet)
38:10 Review AI Search Summary
Feedback Loops
38:59 Reinforcing the Intranet Content Feedback Loop
40:21 AI Influences: Content Creation Workflow
40:58 Building Trust in the Intranet
41:44 Information Flows + Strategic Business Goals
43:53 Opportunistic Approach
45:14 New Mental Model: Not Just for Evergreen Knowledge
Q+A
46:54 Q: How did you develop the interview process with lower stakes expert interviews?
48:30 Q: What was the biggest kink you had to work out?
49:36 Q: Do you remove outdated or incorrect data?
52:05 Q: Have you found a way to have AI do the interview part?
54:20 Q: Has the ease of sharing increased interest in sharing?
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KA Connect 2025 | Unlocking the Promise of Knowledge Management with AI
KA Connect 2025, our annual knowledge management conference for the AEC industry, will take place at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Sundance, Utah from August 12th to August 15th, 2025.
Our focus will be on Unlocking the Promise of Knowledge Management with AI. We’re excited about this new era of AI-powered Knowledge Management and look forward to discussing how your firm can accelerate learning, reduce the time spent searching for and recreating information, streamline workflows, and empower your experts to more effectively share their knowledge through the strategic use of AI.
We’ll begin each morning together in a general session. In the afternoons we’ll transition to a choose your own adventure format with roundtables, hangouts, an intranet cafe, nature activities, and plenty of unstructured time to connect, reflect, and recharge.
Sundance’s location at 6,100 feet in the north fork of Provo Canyon will provide an inspiring backdrop for you to learn from and with your fellow KA Community members.
Early Registration is Now Open
We’ll announce the full conference program in the spring of 2025. In the meantime, take advantage of early registration pricing while we plan!
INTRANET TOUR | A Quick Look at Synthesis @ BRS
Featured Guests
Eric Stein, Communications Manager
Cheyenne Morin, Marketing Project Manager
Summary
We are pleased to share this intranet tour, in which Eric Stein and Cheyenne Morin share highlights from their BRS Synthesis intranet, Boris.
Featured Guests
Eric Stein, Communications Manager
Cheyenne Morin, Marketing Project Manager
Summary
We are pleased to share this intranet tour, in which Eric Stein and Cheyenne Morin share highlights from their BRS Synthesis intranet, Boris.
Barker Rinker Seacat (BRS) Architecture specializes in designing civic spaces that promote community well-being, with a particular focus on recreation and gathering spaces. The firm operates out of two offices, located in Denver, CO, and Grapevine, TX, and employs a team of around 40 professionals. Since its founding in 1975, BRS has earned a reputation for creating engaging, people-centric designs.
BRS chose Synthesis as their intranet partner in 2016 because they wanted to increase their impact without necessarily increasing their headcount. They have increased their specialization, further established themselves as thought leaders in community recreation center design, and increased their revenue – all while maintaining their culture, design quality, and the work-life balance of their employees.
Timeline
00:00 Introductions
00:35 Who Shares on Boris?
04:28 Home Page Overview
04:50 Information Architecture
06:08 Culture
07:00 Design Culture
07:17 Documents, Templates, and Tools Document Libraries
07:47 Personality Types
08:03 Employee + Project Directories
08:58 Conclusion
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Synthesis AI Search for Sustainability Content
In this video, we showcase how Synthesis AI Search transforms how AEC firms find and engage with Sustainability content. You’ll see real-time examples of how our AI synthesizes information from across your intranet, including pages, posts, and even videos, to provide comprehensive, composite answers that traditional search can’t match.
Synthesis AI Search went into private beta in October and will go into public beta in December.
If you like to learn more about how Synthesis AI Search can help your firm make the best use of your knowledge, you can schedule a demo or email us at info@knowledge-architecture.com.
Synthesis AI Search for HR Content
In this video, we showcase how Synthesis AI Search transforms how AEC firms find and engage with HR content. You’ll see real-time examples of how our AI synthesizes information from across your intranet, including pages, posts, and even videos, to provide comprehensive, composite answers that traditional search can’t match.
Synthesis AI Search went into private beta this week and will go into public beta in December.
If you like to learn more about how Synthesis AI Search can help your firm make the best use of your knowledge, you can schedule a demo or email us at info@knowledge-architecture.com.
SNEAK PEEK | Synthesis AI Search for Design Technology Content
We’ll be providing live demos of our new AI Search at Autodesk University (AU) 2024 next week. We thought it would be nice to share a sneak peek at what we’ll be sharing at AU.
AI Search will go into private beta this month and into public beta in December.
If you like to learn more about how Synthesis AI Search can help your firm make the best use of your knowledge, you can schedule a demo or email us at info@knowledge-architecture.com.
NEW FEATURES: Dark Mode, Accessibility Checker, and Full Width Search Bar
We’re pleased to announce the upcoming release of Synthesis Dark Mode, Accessibility Checker, and Full Width Search Bar.
We will deploy this update after the close of business on Friday, October 18th.
Read on to learn more!
Introducing Synthesis Dark Mode + Accessibility Checker
This onboarding video and help center article will provide you with the information you need to configure Synthesis Dark Mode, use our new Accessibility Checker, and make your intranet more accessible and inclusive to your users.
Dark Mode will be disabled for end users initially so that Global Administrators and users with Branding access will have a chance to configure logos, styles, placeholders, and custom CSS to match your company’s brand in Dark Mode. Once configuration for Dark Mode is complete, Dark Mode can be enabled for all users.
We strongly recommend taking the steps outlined in this video before enabling Dark Mode for all of your users.
Learn more about our accessibility roadmap on our website.
Full Width Search Bar? Yes, please.
Our new Full Width Search Bar brings us step closer to the Next Generation Search public beta in December.
Enjoy!
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.
KA Connect 2024 Videos Now Available!
We’re excited to announce that all of the videos from KA Connect 2024 are now available.
Enjoy!
Investing in Synthesis AI, LMS, and Expanded Integrations
I shared my vision at KA Connect 2024 for how the AI revolution, in tandem with our old friend Knowledge Management, are going to impact the AEC industry. I'm excited to share this vision with you and discuss how Knowledge Architecture is preparing for this transformative era by investing in the future of Synthesis, our next generation intranet platform for AEC firms.
The Promise of AI and Knowledge Management
While AI is evolving and promising, it's not perfect on its own. The real magic happens when we combine AI with robust Knowledge Management practices. This combination is set to revolutionize our industry, and here's why:
High-quality, firm-wide knowledge is crucial for AI success
KM practices will unlock AI's true potential in AEC
We're at the beginning of a transformative era for our industry
Our Investments in the Future
At Knowledge Architecture, we're actively working on integrating AI into Synthesis, as well as providing new functionality and expanded integrations to bring more high-quality firmwide content into Synthesis.
Here are some of our key investments:
AEC-Specific Video Transcription: We released an AEC-specific video transcription model to convert videos into searchable text earlier this year. Now the high-quality content contained in videos is accessible to AI and is improving accessibility.
AI Search: Our next-generation search will create new AI-powered search summaries that will answer questions by synthesizing the most relevant information from videos, posts, documents, and web pages across your firm's knowledge base, as well as provide citations for easy validation and deeper dives. AI Search will go into public beta in December of this year.
Expanded Integrations: Over the last year we’ve connected Synthesis with additional leading AEC platforms like Unanet, aec360, Microsoft Dynamics, and Zendesk to complement our existing integrations with Deltek, OpenAsset, and Newforma. We're also exploring future integrations with SharePoint, Teams, and Freshworks, as well as releasing a Search Connector API to allow you to push content from other systems into Synthesis and make it all available for AI Search.
Synthesis LMS: Our upcoming Learning Management System will be designed to enhance learning and development within your organization while also contributing a wealth of new, high-quality content to your knowledge ecosystem. This structured platform for continuous learning will feed directly into our AI Search, making all of this new content searchable on your intranet. Synthesis LMS will go into public beta in 2025.
Looking Ahead
The above investments in AI, combined with strong Knowledge Management practices, will fuel what I believe will be a golden era for Knowledge Management. While Knowledge Management has been around formally since 1995, we're now on the cusp of realizing its full potential. Our investments in Synthesis AI, Synthesis LMS, and expanded integrations are all aimed at helping you harness this potential.
As we navigate this new landscape together, I encourage you to consider how these advancements in AI and Knowledge Management might transform your current and future initiatives. How might AI-powered Knowledge Management enhance your firm's capabilities?
I'm excited about this new era and look forward to discussing how we can help your firm prepare for it. Let's explore how Synthesis can position your organization at the forefront of this AI + KM revolution.
Continue the Conversation
Want to learn how Synthesis can help your firm make the best use of its knowledge?
PODCAST | How Knowledge Management Drives Firm Excellence via Practice Disrupted
Corey Squire, long-time friend of Knowledge Architecture and Director of Sustainability at Bora Architecture + Interiors, appeared on the Practice Disrupted podcast last week to explore his approach to using knowledge management to elevate a firm’s performance and sustainability standards within the built environment.
It’s a super interesting take on how to use knowledge management to both unlock the promise of sustainable design and free up subject matter experts to shape your firm’s vision and culture.
And if you like this episode, we highly suggesting watching Corey’s Intranet Tour of Chaco, Bora’s Synthesis intranet. It’s amazing!
And if you still want more, check out Corey’s KA Connect 2024 talk Knowledge Management: The Secret to Unlocking Sustainable Design.
What do award winning AEC intranets look like?
We are pleased to announce that two members of the Knowledge Architecture community, with submissions based on Synthesis, our AEC intranet platform, are SMPS Marketing Communication Award (MCA) 2024 winners.
Congratulations Consor and Harris & Associates! We are proud to partner with you.
Consor won the Award of Excellence for the Internal Website Category as well as the People’s Choice Award
Creative Brief
In a world where connectivity and collaboration are paramount, our company's internal website stands out as a beacon of innovation and unity.
In 2022, Consor successfully unveiled a refreshed brand after acquiring and merging nine firms, thus revamping our image. However, the internal division still existed. Our leadership team shifted focus toward internal communications and our segmented intranets—some acquired firms already had an intranet, others did not. Our team sought to introduce a new platform to unify teams by consolidating content from nine firms into a single user-friendly system.
Our team, in collaboration with AEC software developer Knowledge Architecture (KA), spent months gathering content and data to develop "Beacon," Consor's company-wide intranet. With a vast repository of documents, project details, and contact information, Beacon has become the central hub for all internal communications and provides easy access and transparency to enhance engagement.
Our intranet was thoughtfully designed to:
Cater to employee needs, creating an engaging and personalized experience. Even the name "Beacon" was chosen by employees through a vote, showing their sense of ownership.
Act as a tool and provide employees with all necessary information at their fingertips, from HR and IT information to customized posts.
Welcome new hires to Consor as part of onboarding and familiarize them with the firm.
Beyond its utility, Beacon embodies our commitment to innovation—through regular feedback and iterative enhancements, we ensure our platform remains agile, adaptive, and aligned with the ever-evolving needs of our staff.
Harris & Associates won a Merit Award for the Internal Website Category
Creative Brief
Our entry highlights the seamless refresh of our company intranet, HarrisLink. The previous version lacked significant updates for over eight years and required a thorough content cleanup and reorganization to reflect our firm’s growth and business needs. The new, 100% cloud-based, mobile-friendly intranet helps engage our diverse and hybrid employee population, acts as a hub for knowledge management and information sharing, and increases efficiencies through improved information architecture that allows our employee-owners to find the information they need quickly.
We customized our messaging to engage diverse audiences, highlighting the benefits of the new platform, Synthesis 6 by Knowledge Architecture, through extensive market research. Our strategy prioritized transparency, accessibility, and inclusivity, aiming to improve user experience by simplifying content creation, streamlining discovery, and cutting search time.
Our new system surpasses the previous SharePoint-based intranet in flexibility, empowering users with enhanced creativity in page design and multimedia integration. Seamless integration with VantagePoint and OpenAsset ensures easy access to Harris' information. By shifting from self-managed SharePoint servers, we've lightened the IT load and cut costs, delivering substantial savings for Harris.
We applied the "Essential Content Update" method, refining content and enhancing information architecture for improved usability. Our phased approach, encompassing content evaluation, architecture development, branding, and implementation, minimized disruptions to daily operations.
We gauge success using set metrics, such as project milestones, user feedback, and cost savings. After launch, we maintain content, provide thorough user training, and prioritize innovation, collaboration, and strategic planning to ensure sustained engagement and satisfaction with our HarrisLink intranet.
RECORDING | Moving from Firefighting to Strategizing: How Knowledge Management Can Transform AEC Marketing
In this SMPS Learning Lab webinar, we explore inspiring knowledge management strategies with Katie Robinson of LS3P.
Featured Guests
Katie Robinson, Chief Marketing Officer, Principal, LS3P
Susan Strom, Chief Client Success Officer at Knowledge Architecture
Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture
Webinar Summary
In the fast-paced world of Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC), marketing professionals often find themselves in a constant state of firefighting—dealing with pressing issues and urgent deadlines. But what if there was a way to shift from this reactive mode to a more strategic, impactful approach? This SMPS Learning Lab explores how Knowledge Management can be the key to transforming AEC marketing, offering benefits that extend from personal career growth to enhanced team effectiveness and firm-wide performance.
Knowledge Management is not just a technical or operational function—it has profound implications for marketing. By effectively managing knowledge, AEC marketing teams can move from simply responding to urgent demands to strategically planning and executing campaigns that align with long-term business goals.
Katie Robinson experienced this constant state of firefighting 20 years ago when she joined LS3P as a marketing coordinator. In her words, “I didn’t want to live like this anymore.” She was wasting too much time searching for assets, project information, and resumes to put together competitive proposals. So she took responsibility for Knowledge Management and the rest is history! Today she is a Principal and the Chief Marketing Officer at LS3P.
This SMPS Learning Lab dives into the real-world application of Knowledge Management at LS3P. Katie shares lessons learned from:
Building and leading the Knowledge Management program at LS3P
Establishing LS3P’s Data Managers program
Launching F.R.A.N.K., LS3Ps new Synthesis intranet
Overcoming organizational barriers to change
This session aims to inspire AEC marketers to embrace Knowledge Management as a strategic tool that can elevate their roles within their firms. By moving from firefighting to strategizing, marketers can significantly enhance their impact, driving both personal and organizational success.
Webinar Timeline
Introduction
00:00 Welcome
01:08 What is Knowledge Management?
05:16 Opening Exercise: 3 KM Elements Your Firm is Currently Using
07:37 One Bright Spot in Marketing’s Knowledge Management Approach
09:17 Speaker Introduction: Katie Robinson
Katie Robinson, LS3P
12:15 Marketing + Knowledge Management
14:26 Where LS3P Started with Project Data
16:26 Collecting Project Data in Vision
20:07 Who Will Collect the Data?
21:42 Checking Our Progress
22:59 The Data Manager Project Role
25:30 Additional Benefits of Project Data Collection
27:04 Synthesis Intranet Integration
29:04 Project + Employee Directories
30:09 Experiential Knowledge
31:42 Getting Started with Knowledge Management
Q+A
33:28 How did KM affect your professional journey?
35:39 What kind of resistance did you face?
37:04 How do different marketing roles respond to the data collection task?
38:14 What about marketing works well with data collection?
40:01 How did you format the data for the initial data collectors?
42:22 What's a good starting point for a small firm?
45:27 How do you build updates into your process?
47:03 How do you maintain enthusiasm for updating the data?
49:08 How do you get leadership on board?
51:38 How do you maintain consistent data across departments?
54:28 Do you have a written data or KM strategy?
55:47 Can you describe the purpose of Vantagepoint, OpenAsset, and FRANK?
Additional Resources
KA CONNECT TALK | Smarter by Design: A Knowledge Management Manifesto for the AEC Industry
In his KA Connect 2016 talk, Christopher Parsons shares his vision for the future of Knowledge Management in the AEC industry. Watch this video to learn what knowledge management is, why it matters, and strategies for managing knowledge and building knowledge management teams.
KA CONNECT DEEP DIVE | LS3P on Managing Project Metrics
In this 2020 Deep Dive session, Katie shares tips and tricks for establishing a firmwide “Data Manager Program” including lessons learned, capturing institutional knowledge from senior leadership, managing change, significant benefits of the program, and strategies for implementation.
INTRANET TOUR | Launching Synthesis @ LS3P
In this recent Intranet Tour, Katie shares a high-level tour of LS3P’s Synthesis intranet, F.R.A.N.K., key roles and responsibilities that made the implementation a success, and critical implementation moments and lessons learned.
INTRANET TOUR | Sustainable Approaches to Collecting High Quality Project Information and Stories @ TowerPinkster
Featured Guests
Jill Overacker, Manager of Marketing + Communications
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this Intranet Tour of Dottie, TowerPinkster’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guide will be Jill Overacker.
Featured Guests
Jill Overacker, Manager of Marketing + Communications
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this Intranet Tour of Dottie, TowerPinkster’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Our tour guide will be Jill Overacker.
High-quality project information empowers AEC firms to compete more effectively and learn from their past work. Building a comprehensive data history and collecting valuable data moving forward requires a collaborative effort which doesn’t happen overnight.
So, where do you begin?
TowerPinkster is a 215-person architecture and engineering practice with five locations serving nine commercial markets. They have experienced rapid growth through acquisitions, which was a catalyst for them to invest in project data in new ways.
In this Intranet Tour, Jill will share how TowerPinkster:
Leverages OpenAsset and Deltek Vantagepoint for project data storage
Engages employees with project data and stories on Synthesis
Involves a broad team in project data improvement
Enjoy!
Webinar Timeline
INTRODUCTION
00:00 Welcome and Speaker Introduction
02:10 Presentation Overview
04:00 About TowerPinkster
PROJECT DIRECTORIES
06:20 Dottie Project Directory + Filters
09:50 Dottie Project Profile
13:20 OpenAsset Project Profile
18:00 OpenAsset Image Tags
19:00 OpenAsset Project Filters
DATA COLLECTION STRATEGIES
21:40 Project + Employee Data 2021
23:55 How did we get here?
24:54 Choosing OpenAsset
28:00 What data do we need?
28:55 Strategies for Collecting Data (Deltek)
35:44 Choosing Synthesis
INTRANET TOUR
38:50 Home Page
39:55 #NewImages Posts from OpenAsset
40:25 Overview of Communities
KEY TAKEAWAYS
43:50 Change is Hard
44:40 Keep Moving
45:10 Have a Roadmap
Q+A
46:10 Q: Do you have dedicated knowledge management staff?
47:47 Q: Who gets the project data request emails?
49:17 Q: Can anyone post on the home page?
50:30 Q: Which section of Dottie gets the most team member engagement?
51:36 Q: Can you expand on the Design Share meetings?
53:02 Q: How do you find common language for tags?
55:38 Q: Is the Design Share group a community of practice or open to everyone?
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SYNTHESIS VIDEO 2 | Coming August 5th
We're pleased to announce that Synthesis Video 2 will be released into General Availability on Monday, August 5th. All of your existing videos will be transcribed in advance of this release.
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
Enjoy!
PODCAST | Exploring the Power of Effective Knowledge Management in AEC with e-verse
Our own Christopher Parsons appeared on the e-verse podcast last week to explore our approach to Synthesis AI, AEC knowledge management, company building, employee retention with Valentin Noves.
And if you like this episode, we highly suggesting subscribing to the AEC Trailsblazers podcast. Valentin and his team are doing a wonderful job!
🎙 Spotify
🎙️ Apple Podcasts
🎙️ YouTube