Process > Knowledge Management

Project Management Institute is seeking proposals from scholars both within and outside the field of project management for research with a direct application to any aspect of the Project Management Body of Knowledge or its practice.

A subset of knowledge management, technical succession planning is a process that identifies an organization’s critically important information, who possesses it, and how to pass it on to others if they leave. Here is a seven-step model for implementing a technical succession planning program, and suggestions for overcoming some inevitable barriers.

Preliminary results from an ongoing research project suggest that it is not the experience and competence of individuals that matters most to project success; rather, it is the team members’ willingness to share and combine their knowledge.

When organizations pay attention to the institutional infrastructure of learning, projects have a much better chance of succeeding, according to Blaize Horner Reich, author of an award-winning research paper on knowledge management in IT environments. Here, she shares some best practices, including the need to create ‘knowledge channels.’

Idiots delight! This new book on knowledge management is a must for your bookshelf.

The value of well-executed knowledge management is huge. So why--when times are tough and pocketbooks are tight--are companies being short sighted by not pursuing knowledge management strategies?

Projects benefit from tools that promote communication and collaboration among stakeholders and team members. By increasing understanding of goals, priorities, issues and expectations, tools such as Microsoft SharePoint also help to identify — and eliminate — areas of duplication, improving productivity.

Many organizations understand the need to build and mature a business analysis center of excellence but are scratching their collective heads over how. Where do you start? What does it look like? Who owns it? How does it evolve? Here is some step-by-step guidance.

You may think of capital solely as the financial backing for your venture (or those decorative tops of columns in front of "important" buildings). There is an even more important kind of capital--intellectual capital, and the root of that is knowledge.

Straight from the gantthead mailbag, here's some Knowledge Management refreshers on definitions and implementations, unleashing the knowledge trapped in your head and keeping an eye on technology.

Having a readily accessible team of in-the-know people is like having a wild card in a hand of poker. The everyday cards have understandable value, but the wild card can be an almost invisible, fluid-like agent to be called upon as needed.

Knowledge management can be even more powerful when you have (gasp!) actual people working on the managing part. Let's call those people "Infomediaries," and let's see what role they play in your organization.

When implementating a program or portfolio management solution, it is better to have 80 percent of the potential users of the system (adoption rate) using 20 percent of the system functionality, than to have 20 percent of the users exercising 80 percent of the system functionality.

Before corporations jump into the knowledge management fray, they should understand that the solution to KM problems is not only technical in nature but requires key organizational and policy elements in order to be successful and sustainable.

A project management knowledge portal can play an integral role in how an organization successfully executes initiatives, serving as a dynamic, collaborative space where project leaders and teams draw on the accumulated lessons learned, experiences and wisdom of their peers and mentors.

Agile adoption outside of software is nothing new--it dates back very close to the origin of today’s agile methods, predating the term “agile”. However, what is new and noteworthy is the rate and scale of non-software agile adoption being witnessed today. Now--as more companies than ever are exposed to agile methods in their IT practices--these methods are being employed beyond the regular IT domain.

Danger, Will Robinson! If you're getting lost in knowledge management space, it's time for an idiot check. User stories--narratives on how systems solve a particular business problem--may be your ticket back home.

A knowledge management system is no good if people can't--or won't--use it. Don't gloss over usability measures, or you'll end up shooting yourself in the foot.

Is your work more industrial-worker based or knowledge-worker based? The way people work together on projects has changed. Have your project management methods kept up?

PMOs might take a page from New York City’s war on crime, which produced a sustained drop in reported crime. By focusing on solutions instead of symptoms, then targeting the most serious strategic or execution-related pain points, a PMO is more likely to make a transformative impact.

You've read a lot about content management, but forget it all. Wrong assumptions have put the focus on getting information in front of people--but not the right information. The key to effective content management? An underlying understanding of how it should serve knowledge management.

The lessons of September 11, 2001 and the findings of the 9/11 Commission provide more evidence that it's not what you know, but what you do with what you know that counts.

Interest in project portfolio management tools (and PMOs) is holding steady, according to a review of inquiries at one top research firm.

The KM e-mailbag produces important questions about different kinds of management, but it all boils down to knowledge.

What mattered most in 2005? Intelligence and information, probably more so than they did in any other year. Now what can we learn as we head into 2006?

This article highlights a few lessons learned to help future managers adjust easier to the managing requirements in an outsource model.

What does it take to become a knowledge manager? Here's how to connect all of the dots in the KM development picture.

After more than 20 years in the financial services industry, this writer thought he knew exactly what to anticipate moving into his new role as a software vendor project manager. He was wrong...

Business functions not working perfectly? No need to squawk...knowledge management is the prime ingredient in every recipe for success. Take a look at how a KM approach will promote a healthy appetite in every department.

Do you have a dual personality? A PM that also has a foot in the business analyst camp has a “leg up” on the competition for jobs--and has more job security.

Egad! Are we all stupid?! Maybe we just don't "get it" with the current direction of knowledge management. Are we spending too much time cataloging and not enough time connecting people? Help me pry my arm outta this rotary and I'll tell you...

Project blogs can work. Organizations have the potential to put blogs to valuable use. First hand, they can gather customer feedback, identify trends in team responses to issues, risks or project updates and provide "real" responses to specific messages seeded by the provocateurs--all through an online interface.

Forget what the PM's background is, forget where their expertise lies. What is the optimal amount of business knowledge that a PM should have on a project? How well do they need to understand the business to be successful? Are you becoming the man or woman who knew too much?

Six universities have received academic research grants from Project Management Institute to study new theories in project management, including decision-making processes, retaining specialist knowledge, and more holistic stakeholder management.

Like chicken soup for the organization, a long-term KM plan can make everyone feel better. Take a look at this CMM roadmap for KM that any company can be comfortable with.