Don't Waste Knowledge

ISTOCKPHOTO

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)

This material has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright owner. Unauthorized reproduction of this material is strictly prohibited. For permission to reproduce this material, please contact PMI.