Knowledge Base

ASU has been using Salesforce Knowledge since 2014, launching the Public Knowledge Base (PKB) on January 14, 2014 and the Authenticated Knowledge Base (AKB) on July 15, 2014. Since launch, we have achieved the following:

Onboarded 36 functional groups (all colleges except Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law) and 205 Knowledge users.
Published 1,102 Knowledge Base articles.
Received a total of nearly 440,000 article page views and 386,000 unique page views since launch for PKB and AKB combined.
Created PKB and AKB article feedback feature so that students and guest users now have the ability to rate whether or not they found an article helpful and if needed, provide comments or suggestions for improvement.
Integrated the My ASU department and college box so that the top five trending articles for each college or department are visible through the “?” located in the upper right corner of their My ASU box.
Gave students the ability to suggest an article through My ASU whenever they are unable find an article that solves their question.
Consolidated article types to a single category, which resulted in reducing the amount of Knowledge reports while also supporting the goal of streamlining the article creation process and increasing user-friendliness.
Improved search through the modification of existing search algorithm and the addition of a view all articles page, enabling students to more easily find articles in the AKB.
Attached Knowledge Base articles to cases with the most recent release of 2015.

There are several important projects in fiscal year 2016 that will significantly enhance the platform, such as:

Creating Knowledge reports through Cloud Amp reporting app, enabling us to pull data variables through Google Analytics into KPIs and dashboards within Salesforce.
Overhaul PKB to mimic experience of AKB through an unauthenticated experience.
Create Knowledge Base gamification to recognize and reward Knowledge Champions.

Salesforce Knowledge FAQs

What is Salesforce Knowledge?

Salesforce Knowledge is a knowledge base where users can easily create and manage content, known as articles, and quickly find and view the articles they need. Users can write, edit, publish and archive articles using the Articles Management tab or find and view published articles using the Knowledge tab.

What is the difference between the AKB and PKB?

The ASU Knowledge Base is separated into two primary channels, the Authenticated Knowledge Base (AKB) and the Public Knowledge Base (PKB).

The AKB is designed and built to be accessed specifically by students through their My ASU Service Center. The AKB does require authentication prior to accessing the knowledge base.

The PKB is designed and built to be accessed directly by visiting the ASU PKB or by any website guest searching via ASU’s global search for Knowledge Base results. This audience typically includes parents or future students who have yet to apply to ASU. The PKB does not require authentication in order to access the knowledge base.

Additionally, we have created an exclusive category limited to Starbucks College Achievement Plan (CAP) students. These articles contain information that is pertinent to only Starbucks CAP students.

How do students find Knowledge Base articles?

Students are able to access Knowledge Base articles multiple ways:

Students can access the Knowledge Base through their My ASU Service Center, where they have the ability to search the Knowledge Base and view articles to help answer their questions.
Knowledge Base articles will also appear within global ASU search results.
The top five trending articles for each college or department are visible through the “?” located in the upper right corner of their My ASU college or department box.
ASU Help Desk agents attach related Knowledge Base articles to cases when students request support.

Can guests access the Knowledge Base?

Yes. Any guest, which typically includes parents or future students, can access the Public Knowledge Base (PKB) by directly visiting the ASU PKB or through searching via ASU’s global search for related Knowledge Base articles.

Can students and guests rate articles?

Yes. At the bottom of every article, both students and guests have the ability to rank whether an article is found to be helpful or not and leave comments if they found the article unhelpful. These comments are reviewed by the Knowledge Manager of the Student-Centric Initiatives team.