Knowledge decays quietly
Processes change, products evolve, teams reorganize, and temporary workarounds become permanent. A document can remain easy to find while its instructions are no longer true. That makes stale knowledge more dangerous than missing knowledge because users may trust it.
Every article needs an owner
Ownership does not mean one person writes everything. It means someone is accountable for deciding whether the content remains valid. Assign an owner, a review date, and a simple way for users to flag incorrect guidance.
A knowledge base is a living service, not a storage room.Working principle
Use operating signals
Repeated questions, failed resolutions, high search-without-click rates, and frequent escalation after an article is used are signals that content may be unclear or stale. Review priority should follow operational impact, not only calendar age.
Key idea
Create, own, observe, review, retire. That lifecycle is more valuable than simply increasing article count.