Knowledge

A knowledge article has a title, body, status and service reference. It begins in Draft, moves to Review and can be Published with an actual publication date. Archived distinguishes material the team no longer wants to use as current guidance. The service link helps the Knowledge Editor keep an article close to the work that generated it, including incidents and problems concerning that service.

The article is a working record, not a replacement for an incident update. An incident update tells the team what happened in one case and who recorded it. An article explains a repeatable service action or known finding that colleagues can use again. The editor should check the content before publication and record the publication time when it becomes available to the team.

• Draft. Write the title and body, and link the article to the relevant service.
• Review. Check the steps and service context before the article becomes current guidance.
• Publish. Record the publication time and move the article to Published, then archive it when superseded.

Choose who may write and review articles. Define what a reader should find in the body: the symptom, the intended action and the point at which the team should seek another owner. Agree how service owners check technical accuracy. Decide when an article should be archived rather than edited. For a finding from a problem investigation, make sure the published language reflects the confirmed root cause instead of an early theory.

Suppose a problem investigation identifies a recurring service fault and a reliable response. The Knowledge Editor drafts an article for the affected service, using a direct title and steps in the body. The Service Manager checks it in Articles in review, asks for correction if the service context is wrong and lets the editor publish when the content is ready. The published date records when the guidance became current. Later, if the service changes, the editor can review replacement guidance and mark the old article Archived. The problem still keeps its own owner and root cause, and an individual incident still retains its update history.

Before moving an article out of Review, have a person unfamiliar with the case follow its steps and check that the linked service is correct. The body should explain the action clearly enough for a shift colleague to use it. The review should also catch instructions that depend on an obsolete asset or change window. Only then does the publication time mark useful current guidance.

• Articles in review — Drafted guidance awaiting a publication decision.
• Open problems — Investigations whose findings may need reusable guidance.

See knowledge publication and problem investigation.