Introduction
The knowledge you have access to gives you choice; and choice is important for the coordination of action and advantage. This article shows how knowledge can be applied for benefit in a project situation. Companies who are not project based will find value in this article by substituting project with end-to-end process.
The Value of Knowledge on Projects
It’s Monday morning and a new project is about to begin. I’m sitting outside with my coffee, wondering “How do I teach the team the value of knowledge?”, “How do I help them understand why knowledge and its management will be so beneficial to their project?” It’s an important question and one that is asked repeatedly.
My role on the team is that of knowledge manager. I’m responsible for the knowledge on the team and how the team uses it. At least, that’s what the team thinks. By the end of the project they will realise the responsibility was theirs. My real role is to help them understand the why and how.
Time passes…
It’s now my turn to present. I begin by drawing the following graph on the board.
“Ok team. Here we are at Day 1. Looking at this graph we can see that it will take some time to do this project and that we have a number of possible completion dates. Why a number? Well, we don’t know exactly everything that’s going to happen on this project and because of that some completion dates are more or less likely than others. They are all shown by the range on the curve and the highest point aligns with our most likely completion date.”
“So the question is now, what can have a bearing on the range of completion dates. And what can we do to shift the curve. Either by bringing the whole curve forward or by narrowing it.”
“Before we go further I just want to remind you how we used Wide-band Delphi Estimation to arrive at these dates. A couple of weeks ago we brainstormed the list of tasks to be completed. That list reflected the experience that we all had, either as individuals or in teams in the past. Once we had the list, everybody was given a copy and asked to estimate each task - giving three estimates for each. A realistic estimate based on what was most likely to happen, an optimistic estimate representing what would happen if all went perfectly, and a pessimistic estimate for if everything went pear-shaped. The range is important because we know we can’t control all risks. We also took note of the explicit and implicit assumptions behind our estimates.”
“Then last week we came together again and worked through, task by task, the differences in our individual estimates. Each of us explained what we thought would happen and why. Where there was discrepancy, our assumptions helped us to explain it and as a result, many points did shift - in both directions. This was a direct reflection of the knowledge available to the team.” I let the team sit and reflect for a minute before I drew another graph on the whiteboard.
…
This graph was a little different from the first. The earliest completion date (the optimistic finish) was moved back. More importantly, the curve was much thinner representing a narrower band of possible completion dates. It was also taller, showing greater confidence in the most realistic completion date, which had now moved in. So although the earliest date was later, the most probable completion date was earlier. The latest completion date had moved in significantly. This is where the value in knowledge management activities lay.
“This is what knowledge management will do for this project. We can use knowledge management to give us greater surety over the project timeline and also a direct translation into savings brought about by quicker delivery and less effort spent on the project over all.”
“The most probable completion date is brought forward as a direct result of effort put into knowledge management activities.
Specifically for this project, the activities will include:
- Learning how knowledge moves and plays in an organisation so that it can be recognised and turned into choice.
- Regular meetings to share knowledge and coordinate action and advantage
- Story writing to solidify and capture the lessons of the team for new team members and future projects.
These activities all have a positive effect that will be realised at the back-end of the project. And these are just the direct benefits. With an awareness of knowledge many of the traditional blocks to moving forward will disappear. Other activities and ways of working will also be introduced to you.” Janet spoke up. “So you’re suggesting that we could shave weeks off the project at $10,000 a week just by asking what we’ve learnt the week before.”
“Yes. I am. And here’s an example. Imagine learning early on in the project that one of the interviewing teams has found a new way of interview that gets better results quicker. During a weekly knowledge sharing meeting, they share their ideas with the other interviewers. This allows everybody to move forward quicker.”
I had given the team a taste of knowledge management’s value to the project. There is still a deal of activity selection and refining to complete. That will take into account the specifics of the team and its existing knowledge.
“I have one request to make of you. Take a few moments to think about this and relate it to your past experience. For those of you who feel you have a good understanding, please write down a story giving your actions and the value you’ve received in a past situation. For those who think they don’t yet have a good understanding, please take the time to explain the concepts above to somebody else and note the questions it raises.”