In the Know
Knowledge Management Principles
and Practices for Project Managers
Cory Banks
KM Specialist
Corporate Projects Division

Opening Thought
“The more extensive a
man’s knowledge of
what has been done,
the greater will be his
power of knowing what
to do.”
Benjamin Disraeli
British Prime Minister & Novelist
1804 ­ 1881
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Overview
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What is Knowledge Management?
“A trans­disciplinary approach to improving
organisational outcomes and learning, through
maximising the use of knowledge.
It involves the design, implementation and review of
social and technological activities and processes to
improve the creating, sharing, and applying or using
of knowledge.
Knowledge management is concerned with
innovation and sharing behaviours, managing
complexity and ambiguity through knowledge
networks and connections, exploring smart
processes, and deploying people­centric
technologies.”
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KM Framework
Knowledge Management Framework
Knowledge Management Framework
PEOPLE PROCESS CONTENT
Tacit Knowledge The Way Explicit Knowledge
Expertise Evolution Governance/Policy
Wisdom Trial and Error Strategy
Culture Improvement Performance
Learning External
Communities Transaction
TECHNOLOGY
Expertise Locater, Collaborative Workspace, Knowledge Base, Intranet, Email
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KM Heuristics
1. Knowledge can only be volunteered, it
cannot be conscripted.
2. We can always know more than we can tell,
and we will always tell more than we can
write down.
3. We only know what we know when we need
to know it.
Snowden, D; Journal of Knowledge Management; Vol 6 ­ No. 2 ­ 2002 .pp 100 ­111
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Related Concepts
Learning &
Development
Sociology Complexity
Succession Decision
Planning Making
KM
Anthropology Innovation
Knowledge Organisational
Workers Learning
Culture
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Framework
Learn
Learn
Before
After
Learn
During
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Based on Learning to Fly: Chris Collison & Geoff Parcell
http://www.learning­to­fly.org/

Headstart (Peer Assist)
The Journey
A
• “Map making”
• Learning
• Discovery
• Sharing
• Improving
• Not Cheating,
B
Working Smarter
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Communities of Practice
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PIR ­ Not Identifying Learnings
Perceived Learning
Actual
Learning
ROOT
CAUSE
CAUSE
INCIDENT!
PROCEDURE

After Action Reviews
Previous Process
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Post Post Post Post
Implementation Implementation Stage Implementation Implementation
Review Review Review Review
Closure
Reviews Reviews Review Reviews Review
Rollup Rollup Rollup Rollup Rollup
REQUIRED ACTIVITIES, SCALABLE PIR
Continuous Improvement / Collaboration
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Proposed Process

Delivery Framework
Investigate Plan Design Implement Close
Stage K on Demand
→Phase → Mentors & Coaches
→ Communities
→Activity
→ Email Lists
→ Purpose
→ Inputs/Outputs
→ Resources (Int & Ext)
→ Assets
→ Learnings
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Relationships
Expert
Community
Post Networks &
Learn Learn
Headstart
Implementation
Expertise Locator
After Before
Reviews
Learn
After Action
During
Reviews
Repository
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Key Points
Learn Before
• Ask “Has this been done before?”
– Research (Internal & External)
– Learn
• Peer Assist
– No individual has all the answers.
– Two heads are better than one.
Learn During
• Seek Advice / Share Discoveries
– Through Communities
– Reduce the reinventing of the wheel
Learn After
• Reflect & Improve
– You haven’t learnt anything until you change
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Recommended Reading
Learning to Fly
– Collison & Parcell
Thinking for a Living
– Davenport
QKM Forum – Yahoo! Groups
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Questions

Thankyou