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Improve

Technique 4.1: Reuse Is Review (Exam Only)

reuse is review

Article Quality

Core Idea

  • Reuse = review
  • Articles are validated and improved when they are used
  • Quality comes from day-to-day use, not separate review steps
  • Knowledge base is collectively owned

Collective Ownership

  • This is our knowledge base
  • Represents the best we know right now
  • Anyone interacting with an article is responsible for its quality
  • Best validators = people who use the article

Why We Improve During Reuse

  • We cannot predict future value of knowledge
  • If an issue is worth solving → it is worth saving
  • Capture everything, let reuse determine value

The 80/20 Rule (Very Exam Important)

  • ~80% of articles are rarely reused
  • ~20% of articles solve ~80% of issues
  • This pattern is normal and expected
  • We do NOT pre-judge which articles matter

Demand-Driven Quality

  • Articles that are reused get improved
  • Articles never reused are not reviewed
  • Prevents wasted effort
  • Makes KCS scalable and efficient

Self-Service Impact (Exam Context)

  • Self-service demand is much higher than assisted support
  • Many issues are:
    • Solved via self-service
    • Never logged as incidents
  • We lack context to predict what knowledge will be valuable later

Early Adoption Behavior

  • Let reuse identify valuable articles
  • Improve only what is being used
  • No dedicated QA or editorial team required
  • Avoid after-the-fact knowledge engineering

Built Proficiency Phase

Just-in-Time Publishing

  • Enough Publishers to publish quickly
  • Fast feedback loop required
  • Requestors participate by:
    • Reporting unclear articles
    • Reporting incorrect resolutions
  • Corrections must be fast

What NOT to Do (Exam Traps)

  • Review every article ❌
  • Pre-approve all articles ❌
  • Editorial QA teams ❌
  • Delay publishing for perfection ❌

Solve Loop Responsibility

  • Responders are responsible for:
    • Articles they use
    • Fixing or flagging issues
  • Each reuse improves article quality
  • Focus effort only where value exists

Key Exam Lines (Memorize)

  • Reuse is review
  • If it's worth solving, it's worth saving
  • The best people to review knowledge are the people who use it

Improve – Technique 4.2: Flag It or Fix It (Exam Only)

flag it or fix it

Core Idea

  • Everyone is responsible for article quality
  • Rule: Flag it or Fix it
  • Improvements are driven by real use (demand)
  • Reinforces collective ownership

Flag It vs Fix It

Fix It

  • Do it if:
    • You are confident
    • You have the correct KCS license
  • Fix immediately, in the moment

Flag It

  • Do it if:
    • You are not confident
    • You lack the license
  • Flag triggers review by SME or Publisher

Applies to: - Content standards - Technical accuracy - Completeness

Fix It vs Create a New Article

When to Create a New Article

  • A unique resolution is required
  • For a specific environment
  • No existing article (or maintained source) exists

Judgment is required.

One Article per Resolution (Guideline)

  • Generally:
    • One article per resolution and cause
  • Same issue + different environments + different resolutions → separate articles
  • Not an absolute rule — driven by clarity for the audience

Multiple Resolutions in One Article (Allowed)

  • Same cause, different resolution options:
    • Temporary workaround
    • Permanent fix
  • Each option should explain:
    • Effort
    • Impact on the user

Work in Progress (WIP) Articles

  • WIP articles are valuable
  • Even without a resolution:
    • Show issue is being worked
    • Prevent duplicate effort
    • Enable collaboration
  • Never judge future value:
  • If it's worth solving, it's worth saving

Do NOT Overextend Articles

  • Do not try to cover all possible scenarios
  • Resolve the requestor's issue
  • Expand only if reuse demands it
  • Problem statements evolve over time

Acceptable Redundancy (Healthy)

Redundancy is OK when it helps clarity.

Examples

  • Same issue, different audiences
  • Different experiences, same resolution and cause
  • Different issues, same resolution but different causes

Redundancy becomes a problem only when it harms: - Findability - Usability

Duplicate Articles (Inevitable)

  • Duplicates happen in healthy KCS environments
  • Two causes:

Productive Duplication (Normal)

  • Different wording or environments
  • Articles evolve through reuse
  • Eventually both appear in search
  • Then → merge

Problematic Duplication (Anti-KCS)

Caused by: - Article creation goals - Not searching early/often - Fear of editing "others'" articles - Individual ownership culture

Dealing with Duplicates: The Merge (Very Exam Important)

Merge Rule

  • Merge newer article(s) into the oldest
  • Archive or delete newer articles

Why Keep the Oldest

  • Preserve:
    • Metadata
    • History
    • Original incident links
    • Reuse counts
  • Older article usually richer
  • Less work overall

Key Exam Traps

  • Ignore bad content ❌
  • Create new article instead of fixing ❌
  • Delete oldest article ❌
  • Avoid editing others' articles ❌
  • Try to predict future value ❌