APM Knowledge Specific Interest Group (SIG) conference 2016 Project Management is from Mars, Knowledge Management is from Venus by Judy Payne and Steve Simister Tuesday 1st March 2016

1. Project management is
from Mars, knowledge
management is from Venus

3. Knowledge management
Innovation
Ideas
management
Creativity
Data mining
Information
management
Lessons
learned
databases
Guides and
manuals
Organisational
learning
Communities
of Practice
Sensemaking
Collaboration
Knowledge
sharing
Networking
Storytelling
Conversations

4. Knowledge management, aka...
Organisational
learning and
knowledge
strategy
Managing knowledge
work and innovation
Conversational leadership
Learning from
experience

5. Knowledge
A body of understanding and skills that is
constructed by people and increased
through interaction with other people and
with information
AS 5037-2005 Knowledge management – a guide

6. Knowledge management
A multi-disciplinary approach to improving
organisational outcomes and learning by
optimising the use of knowledge
Based on AS 5037-2005 Knowledge management – a guide

7. The lessons learned fridge

8. The well-managed fridge

9. The fridge with someone to talk to
Contact Nigel

10. IM, not KM
Supply-driven
Little or no context
No way of checking
understanding
WDKWWDK!

11. Learning reviews
Reflection on
experience
Contents can be
analysed and acted on

12. KNOWLEDGE IS
MORE THAN
INFORMATION

13. KNOWLEDGE SHARING
AND LEARNING ARE
VOLUNTARY
Time.
Trust.
Fairness.
What does
anyone know
about....?

14. CONTEXT IS
EVERYTHING

15. Knowledge-enabled
project management
Henley KM Forum research project

16. Is knowledge management in project
environments any different from
knowledge management elsewhere?

17. Four themes from the literature
1. Projects are transient
− creates barriers to knowledge flows
2. Projects combine diverse skills and knowledge
− leads to problems of co-ordination between organisations,
projects and people from different disciplines
3. Project environments are hierarchical and controlled
− creates barriers to knowledge sharing and tension between
delivery and knowledge sharing
4. If projects are autonomous
− it is difficult for them to share knowledge with their
sponsoring organisation(s)

18. Knowledge flows
External
relationships
Individual
employees
Organisation
17
4
8
3
5
2
6
9
Source: van Winkelen, C and McKenzie, J. (2007)

19. What we did
Workshops
With four organisations
to rate knowledge flows
and identify enablers
and blockers
Data analysis
Categorising and counting
enablers and blockers using
four themes from the
literature
Comparison
Of flow ratings with earlier KM
Forum research and of
enablers and blockers with
project management literature
Conclusions and
insights
The answer to our
question!

20. Results – comparison with
earlier research
Knowledge
flow ratings in
this study
(project-based
organisations)
Knowledge
flow ratings in
earlier study
(all KM Forum
members)
No difference

21. Results – enablers and blockers
67 enablers of K flows
• Knowing who is who
• Perception of mutual
benefit
• Good communication
skills
• Good leadership
80 blockers of K flows
• Employed for
knowledge – not
expected to ask
questions
• Poor IT systems and
support
• Perceived need for
secrecy

22. Results – enablers and blockers
• Only 9 of the 147 enablers and blockers
identified were project-related
• All 9 factors were blockers related to Theme 3
Project environments are hierarchical and
controlled, which creates barriers to knowledge
sharing and tension between delivery and
knowledge sharing

23. Blockers related to Theme 3
Flow Description
I-I Project pressure on schedule
I-I Time to do it properly (=priorities)
I-I Timesheets - account for time
I-O Focus on project deliverables
I-O Tension between project delivery and doing good for Govdep
I-O Delivery only thing recognised as performance (monthly reports
and end)
O-I If Project Managers follow process, they can’t address the issue
O-I People too busy to attend training
E-O It takes time

24. Conclusions
• There are more similarities than differences
between KM in project-based organisations and
KM elsewhere
• All the project-specific KM factors we found were
related to time constraints and pressure to deliver
• It seems that in some project environments it’s
OK to repeat mistakes and reinvent wheels as
long as the project is delivered on time!

25. So what?
It isn’t helpful to think of project KM
as different from KM anywhere else –
because it prevents people learning
from general good KM thinking and
practice.

26. Project management is about
getting things done

27. Project
A unique, transient endeavour undertaken
to achieve planned objectives.
Project Management
Project management is the application of
processes, methods, knowledge, skills
and experience to achieve the project
objectives.
APM Body of Knowledge 6th ed. (2012)

28. BUT - Projects also need collaboration

29. BUT – KM is easier in business as usual
environments

30. Unless the environment is right,
knowledge will never be shared

31. Projects are only different if you think they are.
The key is to create a collaborative environment
using the right resources at the right time.
If that sounds too simplistic try doing it!!
“Project Management at its most essential is about people working together to
get things done.” Dr Martin Barnes, Past president: APM

32. This presentation was delivered
at an APM event
To find out more about
upcoming events please visit our
website www.apm.org.uk/events