6 Steps for Knowledge Management in an Outsourced/Insourced World

Dr. Andrew Makar is an IT program manager and is the author of the Microsoft Project Made Easy series. For more project management advice, visit the website TacticalProjectManagement.com.

  Knowledge Management   Lessons Learned  

The IT outsourcing/insourcing pendulum always seems to swing between outsourcing and insourcing in an effort to reduce non-value-added tasks, save cost, optimize resources or retain intellectual property. Regardless of the insourcing/outsourcing decision, proper knowledge transfer and knowledge management remain key factors when implementing either type of sourcing project. Below are six steps to successfully implement a knowledge transfer plan based on a previous IT infrastructure insourcing project.

The project goal was to insource the hosting of several key systems that were supported by different infrastructure and application vendors. The company’s internal staff would support the infrastructure and first- and second-level application support. The current support vendors would provide third-level support with limited access to the new systems. As part of the insourcing plan, knowledge transfer and knowledge management were key deliverables for a successful project transition critical success factors to “go live”.

Step 1: Define the current processes. Any time a new team member or an entire support team is taking on new responsibilities, it is important to define the knowledge transfer scope. Before any activities can be transferred, the operations and support processes need to be identified and well defined.

In the project example, the …

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