Don't Waste Knowledge

Done right, knowledge capture and transfer set project teams up for success. Here are six best practices for boosting project outcomes through knowledge management.

1 Facilitate continuous sharing and learning by building communities.

Communities allow project team members to answer each other's questions. They also foster sharing of new ideas and methods.

2 Discuss lessons learned at key milestones.

These conversations allow teams to understand successes and address failures—and build consensus for the best path forward.

3 Build knowledge management into the project.

When knowledge management practices are integrated into the delivery framework, project managers are more likely to share and reuse knowledge.

4 Curate information to elevate crucial knowledge to the program level.

Defined processes for identifying and collecting valuable nuggets of knowledge help to disseminate lessons learned throughout the organization.

5 Couple accountability with support to build buy-in.

Project managers should be responsible for knowledge capture and transfer—balanced with central support for time-intensive documentation activities.

6 Seek feedback to gauge value.

An organization's knowledge management practices are only worthwhile if project managers find them valuable.

Source: Managing Project Knowledge, APQC, April 2017. The report summarizes best practices at six global organizations: BAE Systems Inc.; Faithful+Gould Ltd.; Fujitsu Ltd.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Volvo Group Trucks; U.S. charitable foundation (anonymous)