Project management is from Mars, knowledge

management is from Venus

Knowledge management

Innovation

Ideas

management

Creativity

Data mining

Information

management

Lessons

learned

databases

Guides and

manuals

Organisational

learning

Communities

of Practice

Sensemaking

Collaboration

Knowledge

sharing

Networking

Storytelling

Conversations

Knowledge management, aka...

Organisational

learning and

knowledge

strategy

Managing knowledge

work and innovation

Conversational leadership

Learning from

experience

Knowledge

A body of understanding and skills that is

constructed by people and increased

through interaction with other people and

with information

AS 5037-2005 Knowledge management – a guide

Knowledge management A multi-disciplinary approach to improving

organisational outcomes and learning by

optimising the use of knowledge

Based on AS 5037-2005 Knowledge management – a guide

The lessons learned fridge

The well-managed fridge

The fridge with someone to talk to

Contact Nigel

IM, not KM

Supply-driven

Little or no context

No way of checking

understanding

WDKWWDK!

Learning reviews

Reflection on

experience

Contents can be

analysed and acted on

KNOWLEDGE IS

MORE THAN

INFORMATION

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

AND LEARNING ARE

VOLUNTARY

Time.

Trust.

Fairness.

What does

anyone know

about....?

CONTEXT IS

EVERYTHING

Knowledge-enabled

project management

Henley KM Forum research project

Is knowledge management in project

environments any different from

knowledge management elsewhere?

Four themes from the literature

1. Projects are transient

− creates barriers to knowledge flows

2. Projects combine diverse skills and knowledge

− leads to problems of co-ordination between organisations,

projects and people from different disciplines

3. Project environments are hierarchical and controlled

− creates barriers to knowledge sharing and tension between

delivery and knowledge sharing

4. If projects are autonomous

− it is difficult for them to share knowledge with their

sponsoring organisation(s)

Knowledge flows

External

relationships

Individual

employees

Organisation

1 7

4

8

3

5

2

6

9

Source: van Winkelen, C and McKenzie, J. (2007)

What we did

Workshops

With four organisations

to rate knowledge flows

and identify enablers

and blockers

Data analysis

Categorising and counting

enablers and blockers using

four themes from the

literature

Comparison

Of flow ratings with earlier KM

Forum research and of

enablers and blockers with

project management literature

Conclusions and

insights

The answer to our

question!

Results – comparison with

earlier research

Knowledge

flow ratings in

this study

(project-based

organisations)

Knowledge

flow ratings in

earlier study

(all KM Forum

members)

No difference

Results – enablers and blockers

67 enablers of K flows

• Knowing who is who

• Perception of mutual

benefit

• Good communication

skills

• Good leadership

80 blockers of K flows

• Employed for

knowledge – not

expected to ask

questions

• Poor IT systems and

support

• Perceived need for

secrecy

Results – enablers and blockers

• Only 9 of the 147 enablers and blockers

identified were project-related

• All 9 factors were blockers related to Theme 3

Project environments are hierarchical and

controlled, which creates barriers to knowledge

sharing and tension between delivery and

knowledge sharing

Blockers related to Theme 3

Flow Description

I-I Project pressure on schedule

I-I Time to do it properly (=priorities)

I-I Timesheets - account for time

I-O Focus on project deliverables

I-O Tension between project delivery and doing good for Govdep

I-O Delivery only thing recognised as performance (monthly reports

and end)

O-I If Project Managers follow process, they can’t address the issue

O-I People too busy to attend training

E-O It takes time

Conclusions

• There are more similarities than differences

between KM in project-based organisations and

KM elsewhere

• All the project-specific KM factors we found were

related to time constraints and pressure to deliver

• It seems that in some project environments it’s

OK to repeat mistakes and reinvent wheels as

long as the project is delivered on time!

So what?

It isn’t helpful to think of project KM

as different from KM anywhere else –

because it prevents people learning

from general good KM thinking and

practice.

Project management is about

getting things done

Project

A unique, transient endeavour undertaken

to achieve planned objectives.

Project Management Project management is the application of

processes, methods, knowledge, skills

and experience to achieve the project

objectives.

APM Body of Knowledge 6th ed. (2012)

BUT - Projects also need collaboration

BUT – KM is easier in business as usual

environments

Unless the environment is right,

knowledge will never be shared

Projects are only different if you think they are.

The key is to create a collaborative environment

using the right resources at the right time.

If that sounds too simplistic try doing it!!

“Project Management at its most essential is about people working together to

get things done.” Dr Martin Barnes, Past president: APM

This presentation was delivered

at an APM event

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