MaKE: a knowledge management method

Purpose – Within knowledge management (KM) there is a need to develop KM methods that help prioritise requirements and assist in information systems (IS) development strategy. This paper aims to present MaKE™, a KM method that is designed to address this need. Design/methodology/approach – MaKE was developed using an action research approach. Findings – Organisations face a number of challenges in KM. MaKE addresses a number of them, including how to: align organisational performance and IT expenditure; adopt a sensible balance between IT and human involvement; address problems that stem from top‐down models of information strategy; assist in business innovation; address redefined value chain issues in the web technology world; realise the significance of the virtual and intangible as well as the physical; create and apply new knowledge as well as be effective in the ongoing renewal of existing knowledge; engage people in the paradigm shift away from industrial‐economic thinking and towards a knowledge perspective; link business objectives with knowledge‐sharing initiatives and technologies available to address them within a framework; and apply people‐centred KM tools to a whole organisation or across organisations. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation is the amount of testing that has occurred to test the contribution of MaKE in relation to each of the challenges referred to above. Originality/value – There are many original concepts within MaKE. For example MaKE First Steps is the first KM process devised to assist in collaboratively defining knowledge in organisations.