What is the IBM Knowledge Factory?

Bert De Coutere: The IBM Knowledge Factory is our global eLearning production unit. We specialise in making all forms of eLearning, ranging from web lectures to traditional courses to multi-roleplayer games for all kind of topics in all kinds of sectors. I guess about fifty percent of what we make is for internal IBM use, and the other half is for our clients. Today the IBM Knowledge Factory spans ten centres around the world with over 450 dedicated professionals who share a common approach and role set in regard to eLearning content creation.

Let me tell you a little bit about the history of the IBM Knowledge Factory. IBM has been creating web-based training since the dawn of eLearning, and in the beginning we had some independent centres operating around the world. Via a gradual and natural process, all these teams came together under a global structure and later became commonly known as the IBM Knowledge Factory.

There have been three stages to its development. We like to call the first the 'renaissance-man model'. At that time, all centres did the complete work, A-Z, for a particular project, and it usually involved super-beings who knew all about instructional design, the authoring tools, the content area, multimedia production, project management, LMS integration, etc. One or a few people were responsible for an entire project.

Many of our local competitors still operate on that model. We, however, abandoned it in favor of a real factory model with strict roles and steps in the production process and a team-based development approach. We did this because the renaissance-man model breaks down if you go to a much larger scale or need updates afterwards.

We wanted a predictable outcome in terms of time, cost, and quality regardless of the availability of a few super-beings and a production process that could scale up to large amounts of content. Some people feared it would come at the cost of creativity, for example, but the contrary actually proved to be true. Specialisation also enabled us to lower cost.

In the third phase, we added global sourcing to our factory model. Now the things that need to happen close to the customer - such as the analysis and storyboarding - will be done by the local team, but the production, multimedia and translation will be done by one of our three global resource centres, in Madrid, Shanghai, or Bangalore. This further lowered the cost of production and leveraged scale effects in an ever-changing world of technology.

What role does it play for content development at IBM?

Bert De Coutere: As said, we make eLearning both for internal use and for our clients. The value of our Knowledge Factory is that we can now handle very large volumes and peaks because of the global and collaborative approach we use. All ten centres use the same role set and methodology, so we can spread work across the globe.

Some centres also specialise in a particular area. For example, our Italy centre hosts the worldwide centre of competence for instructional design and makes most of the learning games. Our people in India have a lot of experience in ERP training. Our centre in Madrid is excellent at translating learning content. We can shift and share work across the globe, and for really big projects I guess almost all centres are involved at some point.


The next step for the IBM Knowledge Factory and content development within IBM will be how to add a new role to the development process. The learner is taking his place nowadays. Call it 2.0 if you want, call it super-SME, call it whatever you like, but we need to figure out how to add the learner to the content-production process without giving up all we have accomplished. We do not want to take a step back on learning effectiveness, on predictability of the output, or on scale. But we do want to get the end-user involved. It's going to be interesting to see how this evolves.

Could you give us an example of a global project?

Bert De Coutere: There is a big telecom player, for example, that outsources its entire learning production to us. We have people in the USA working together to determine the curriculum and analyse the course needs. Some design and the production are done via India primarily, but with our other global resource centres in Madrid and Shanghai on standby for peak demands. In Brussels we coordinate the translation efforts of the courses.

Another example I'd like to share is the one of a big Dutch bank. We created all the eLearning for their new HR portal in multiple languages. One of the courses needed to be ready on the first of January, which is a difficult period because of holidays. Because it was actually produced in China, that was no problem at all because they celebrate New Year on another day. So you see that going global has nice side effects like these. The voice of that course also speaks perfect English, and unless you knew, you wouldn't be able to tell it was made and recorded by our team in China.

What are the lessons you've learned so far?

Bert De Coutere: First of all, don't let the status quo stop you from moving on. We went to a factory model before it was common to do so and when eLearning was still considered an art rather than a profession. We went to global resourcing before other business units in IBM did because it made sense and increased scale effects while lowering costs. Because the way you create eLearning works fine now doesn't mean it is going to in the future. Learning is changing on more than one front, and the way content gets created is one of them.

We had a lot of obstacles of course. As I've mentioned, some feared that going from the renaissance-man model to the factory model would have a negative an impact on creativity. That didn't happen, however, because people could now focus on their piece and excel in it. Also, when we initially went to global production, we got some 'us against them'. The situation, however, has turned around dramatically. For example, I frequently hear one of my US colleagues strongly defending 'his people'. The irony is that he's actually referring the people on his team working in India!

Second, make sure that any eLearning production process you set up is collaborative in nature. The best learning is made in team. Our people, be it instructional designers, graphical artists, or project managers, can all work together on projects and all have their role to play, but not in splendid isolation. A well-defined methodology, project communication, and a collaborative toolset are key drivers for success here.

The third lesson is that the world is indeed a small place after all. Don't think of global learning in terms of how you localise, translate, and deliver to a global audience alone. Involve the world in the creation of the learning, and use the places and people where their contribution is optimal. But do this all within the same structure, role set, and methodology.