Perkins Eastman, an architecture and design firm, created "practice area communities" (PACs) on their intranet to foster knowledge sharing between staff located across offices and projects. The PACs are organized by practice area and contain insights, lessons learned, and resources contributed by staff, with gatekeepers ensuring quality and growth. This approach helped drive innovation at Perkins Eastman and won them a gold award for implementing communities of practice that connect staff with common interests across the organization.

1. UNITING PEOPLE AND IDEAS AT PERKINS EASTMAN
James Robertson
Knowledge Management Review; JanlFeb 2008; 10,6; ABIITNFORM Global
pg,10
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In an industry where you're only as good as your last innovative project, architecture
and interior design firm Perkins Eastman has embraced "practice area communities"
to ensure a free flow of ideas, experiences and lessons between its employees. This
work won the company a gold award in the Intranet Innovation Awards, run by Step
Two Designs. In this article, James Robertson, managing director of Step Two and a
judge of the awards, takes us on a tour of these communities and analyzes why
Perkins Eastman's approach to the challenge of collaboration works so well.
UNITI G PEOPLE AND IDEAS AT
PERKIN EA TMAN
How "practice area communities" foster expertise and innovation
By James Robertson, Step Two Designs
James
Robertson
is managing
direct"r of Ster
Two Designs and
has worked with
many
organizations to
help redesign
intranet> or
select a coment
management
system, James
has written over
150 articles nd
has rublished
several key
reports on
Iintrnnets.
Pcrkins b.;Istl1un is proud to he J knowledge-bascd
tinn, l·eclJ-sni/.ed lill' ItS I"Juge of SUlxl;or Jesign
cap,lhiJi ' " in thc Jrc,ts of intnnJtional architecture,
urlJ.1ll design 'Jnd interiO!' design.
Since it W;lS t(Jll11,kd in 198 L the ':()l11p~nv hJS
built ~ Il1nlti-bcetcJ pl';lctice around the intel'ests of
its prill,:ip~ll designers, :111d ;]ch.ic:vl.:c! higllle'cls of
Clistomer s~ltisL1ction on :l Jier't portl()lio of
l'rojc:c'ts tor both private- anJ public-sector diellts.
It nfkrs J flltl r'lngc of 1u1Odedge-h'lsed scn'ices,
indllding pr gr'Jning, planning, de,ign, stratcgi,'
phnning and consultln,g, r':'II-cstJ[l.: and ccononlic
analyse, and progr:lll'l nJ;lIl'tg':ll1ent.
Th,' tl.:am .11 l~erkiJ1S F..lsundn is IU1it.:d in the
bdicf thH iUllo':1rive e1esi",n is the result ()f an
llnder'tanding. of dient goals, building [ype,
cuntexr, 'lIld blldgl.: JIid the ,Ynthesi, of the,.:
j'SLle.s by principJ.I-!c'd <lr,·ltitects with pr<)'en
d sign <l hiliti,'s.
This l'llilu.,ophv h~lS .tllnwl.:d the linn to produce
;lw:lrcl-wi nnlig projecl:$ :1nd e'll'I1 tl1: r(,pen uf iIS
clients, resultin!, in 111am' !lrodllctJe 'long tl.:n11
husincss l'd.lti()lIShip~.
The ["'IHciple, n .vhich tile tinn was Ill'iginJlI)'
founded cOlltinue [() lead it In ncw djrec'tions.
ThrDII!,d1 it, Ct'lnsrant dient' to illl()';1te, the
Perkin, r.:1stman [e~IJll ,'~In cullaborate, reseal'ch,
;mel uphutd lts tradition of excdlcnl·e.
Step Two Designs
Step Two De ign is a Sydney·based cons Itaney. specializing in intran I. cnnlent
m nag me t and, nllwledge management.
www.srep/wo.com.Qu
Introducing practice area communities
For C idence of [hosl.: d"torts to UlnO'atc, 011e need
look IlO tllrtha thJ11 Perkins EJsul1an's
il11l'!cmenration of practice are~l communities
(J'A s) on its compa11)' intrJJlet, Orchard (see
Figure 1 un page 12).
The purpose of l.:ach PAC is to en~lbk
knowlcdge-sharulg bCtyccn indiyidllals; ~1CroSs
project tl.:ams, smc1icJs, ofticcs. ,md practice Meas;
,1I1d throughout the elltire internationJI
org;1I1izJtion. Thl.: knowledg.: that is transterred at
GKh of these threl.: kc1s will l.:lublc Perkins
J::"'tman to c'()l'e intu JJ1 industr), kadl.:r.
P.-C~ Jrc recognized by st,lff as a kl.:' SOllrCC tor
in!(JI'lll.1tilJn and kJ1U'ledgs. Each PAC is
'trtll:tufed to scnT as an ongoing e,iucational and
learning resource t(lr all stafr The reSOlircl.:S
prm'idcd in e;1(h PAC Ml.: the: slim of the CoUl.:ctivc
wisd m uf ,til ~tJtfthat contribllte cH1d participate ­
stl'.:ngr!Jening thl.: tjrl11's knowledgc svstCIl1S.
Each PAC ,1'C:1 is maint'.lined b' up to three
"g~1tekeepcrs" who ha'c IKen rccognized loy the
tirm ,1S industry <lnd practice area experts with
,'xtensh'c c.xpcricf!ce and knowledge.
E.lcJl g-atd<,el.:F1Cr is cucouragcd to Sll;U'C tlKir
knuwlcc1gc, and w bcilit,1tl.: the sharing of
knowkJge b~' other sta.tr. 1-kJIlWhik, :1 Knowledge
Re,flllrCe Team (KRT) member ,eryes as a liais n
ro the: gatel<,l.:cpcr group as a whole, and togcther,
thesc indi'idu,l1s ellSnrc each PAC ,ection of
Or,'hard undcrgol.:s continuous improYcmcnt.
Vhile th> e membcrs rcprcsl.:nt the core group
that dri'cs the declopment of PACs, content in
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2. e'Jch individual PAC is de'l:luped and slured lw at!
pr,Knce ~lrea-spel'itic and linn-wide sLlff. While
e,lch PAC is unitormly strucU!red, there is tlexihilit),
to :lllow for the presentation of pr:lctice are:l­
speeitic knowtedgl',
Eal:h PAC typlcaUy contains getting started
i.n/ll[lllation, in,~ights and le~suns learned,
presenr.Hions and additional n.:sources,
"The PACs 'arc a great 1)laee t"r me to share
what I'e learned on project nd ~llsu to leam
ahout wh~1t others han: done, A.lJd seelng who
su bl1litted the insights is good l)Cl:~H1se I l'an ,1h,lYS
tollow up wid1 the person or the projed team if!
ha'e ~lny question,s," sal's one ['erkins E~lSlll1an
te,lm member.
Origins of the idea
The PACs implemented by Perkins Eastillan arc
examp!cs of ':omnll1nities of pranice", as described
by Etienne Wenger, on of the t(mnding tJlhers of
.'ueial Leami ng ] 'he(lry,'
The fundan1ental purpose of these groups is to
connen st,lt't'with a common interest or JeDvirv
(their "I'ranice", alluwing them to sllare their
knuwledge and expertise,
These communities (If pl-:leril'e ohen cut anuss
urgani/ational or geographic houmbries, allowing
kJlOwledge to be shared aud ideas to be gener~lted,
COl11ll1unitil~~ of practice will gl'ncLlllv ll1eet t;lee­
to-race, ~lS well ,IS cullaborating un line - ,IS,l'en at
Perl,ins Eastman,
These groups also becUll1c "<.'uswdi~U1'" tor their
are,l of expertise, dcvelopin~ standards, tCl11pbtes
and hcst practices, Thcsc ll1~IY be slured with the
wider org~lniz:ltion. or uSl'd within the cunullunity.
When does online collaboration work?
An eXallliJ13tion of olIline l'oUahuration sp~Kes i.n
practice Ylliddv UJlcuvcr, two l'l'iuul succcss f1etors:
1, There is a clear purpose for staff to use the
collaboration tools.
Staff must be able to sce th:lt their posts will
ha'e a direct imp'lCt on a p,lrrieul;u' issue, or will
provide some t',lngihlc bC1H:nt (till' the
orgallization, ur fur othel' st~ltf). In practice, thc
gre;1tcst paJ'ticipatioJl is g~lined whcn tbe me uf
the discussion torum dircct! ' benefits an
indiidual's job or sinlation (the "what's iJI it tCJr
me" bcwr),
2, There is a common sense of community
among users of the tools, givin~ pa.rticipants
the confidence to post entries.
Online disulssions must alsC) draw upon ,1
comll10n sense of cUll1n1uJlity if thcy'rl' to he
successnI1, Statl will ,11',1'S be rclueunt to pust
messages into a puhlic t(Jrul11, without having
KEYPOINTS
Perkins Eastman is a major architectural firm with a c1
knowledge between staff located in widely dispersed
ar "eelf to share
offices.
Practice rea communities PACs) were established on th firm's intranet to
share staff e perUse, and exchange both explicit and tacit knowledge. This in
turn helps drive innovation across the organization as a whole.
The PACs directly support Innovation across the whole organization; connect
staff with common inte~sts across disparate company-Wide offi s; and
present valuable information in a highly visual and usable way.
This is a trong Implementation of the concept of "communities of practicen
, a
key KM technique, and won Perkins Eastman a gold award in the 2007 Intranet
Innovations Awards,
,wy sense of who might be I'eading it, 01' what
thev might do with rhe rusts, This is always
,'iewed as ~q po[(:mial!y dangerous situation,
whel'e thc l~ossibLe l'onseLjllcnces arc unl<.nowll,
Th~re must J,hu be a common hasi.' for the
discussions, >ome cultul'al 01' 0111er dement that
can pro·ide r]le backdrop tCl[ meaningful
(om-crsations, As a gl'neral rule, online
J isellssions wtll'k hest when they support an
existing cOl1l1l111nitv.'
SubmiUing insights
At Perkins F.a'>tll1'lIl, insights can be directly
submitted by s[atl 'ia an online tl>rIn easily found in
ea<:h of the PACs,
The torm encourages stJ1'f to discuss the
yuestion or prohLem, ,lily arg-ul11ellt or debate
around the issul'. what innov~lti'e or UniljLle
solutions the' l'~lJl1l' lip with to (wc'rcome the
challenge and ~ln' applic1bk kssons learned,
Additioualh', ckL1ils of the pr'k'tice area community
(ur cOl11l11uuities that this is ~1l'plieable to arc also
I'equested'
More than simply asking 'tatl'tu share tbeir
illsights or kssolls kll'lled. the insight submission
h::>ru Jlso breaks do'n the l'omponent.~ of an
insight into e,lsily lIndeL,tood questions, Specitically
knuwi..ng wh~1t is being asked of dlcrn, statT lln
more e~lsily codify theil- Llcit knowledge and shafe it
with othen,
Balancing formal and informal methods
Mo,t "coJ1lmuniti~s" in org~ll1il.atiol1S take on
either 'cry t(;rmal or very intcl1'Inal structures, The
l>i(:5 at Perkins Easnmn Jr-,lw on rhe strengths of
both typ.:s, as each PAC is maint<lincd and
d<::'c1uped ia bod1 forl1l~lj and informal means.
The formal aspect of tile PAC is tltat up to three
desi.u.n~ltl'lt indi'id uab act ~lS gatc:keepers ­
passionatc and COllulutted to improving dle PAC.
fI [(lreUer, the tlmnal g, tekeeper helps to ensure
that the rigbt indi·idual. :l1'C tocused on each PAC,
alld that thev take a lcadel'~hip rule in its content,
,-]uality ~1l1t1 growth,
KM R(tV/Cw I V...lun-,e 10 Is~u~ 61/.1nuary/f..bruary 2008
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Figure 1: The Perkins Eastman intranet, Orchard
Till': intlxm:.J1 rompollent of earh PAC comes
from the in$i"hr-' ~ll1d lessons Icarned suhmitted,
~1l1d troll1 thc we'l.lth uf otJ1er type, uf C(liltent
submitted b)' all staff, surh ,1S related Jrticles m
useful web sites,
Sample plans
The tOols l:,)l1t~i ll'J ,ithin each PAC Include
About the Intranet Innovation Awards
The Intranet Innovation Awards Me global awards that celebrate new
ideas and innovative approaches to the design and delivery of intranets
with the aim of sharing them with the wieler community.
Uniquely, these awards recognize individual intranet improvements, not
intranets as a whole, That's because every idea, 110 matter how small,
adds to the wider understanding of successful intranets,
Perkins Eastman won a gold award in the Intranet Innovation Awards
2007 for its:
• Strong implementation of the concept of "communities of practice", a
key KM technique;
• Direct support for innovation across the whole organization;
• Effective means of connecting staff with common interests across
different offices;
• Clear sense that its "practice area communities" are visited regularly
and deliver value to the organization;
• Seamless integration between the intranet and architectural plans
stored ,in AutoCAD;
• Highly visual method of delivery information,
Other gold award winners for 2007 included: City of Casey (Australia);
Environment Agency (UK); Nycomed (Switzerland/Denmark); Sungard
AvantGard (USA/New Zealand); QBE (Australia); and Fiat (Italy).
SJmple plans, examples of pre'ious projects, with
mct.ri 'S , nd Ie, sons IClrIlI::d included.
th illcoq1or3ting these insights into U1C,
~)rogl"illning documents - sample plan layoLlts - the
insi~bts and l's50ns learned a.re ddivcred in a
format that's most used bv sutl and that prOides
the optinul k'd of context,
Additionally, sample pbn galkries ~)resent
illt(>rill~ltion in a stre~1l1llU1ed manner using a
"grcybox smart ~nd()w script", The greybox scrif)t
quickly [o;lds mOlT der.lilcd content for users and
allows them to <..juiekl)' identify what intor111Jtion
may or m~l)' not be rc!c'ant to their se,lrch,
.A.ny new insiglm are published on the Orchard
homqnge JS a com~)'.lny news headline, linking to
tbe uew ilbi~J1t and de;lrlv identifying tlle
contribntor. This policy instills a .sense of pride in
contributurs, crc.ltU1g :lll cnvironment t!rat supports
such tl'pes of input,
Kl1owlcdge-shJril1!,< is a b.etor in performancc
re1.ews. During. annual Jppraisals, the level of
p~rtieipc1tiou is quantiti.ed and plays a role in career
,kdupment ~ls.sessment,
Crosstalks
"Crosstalks" are practice area-spccitlc jJn.:sentations,
f.1l'i1itated by senior staff and/or project teams, to
discuss prohlems and shan: cre:1tive sollltiDns. 'vVhile
prescnted trom one oftice, thc monthly crosstalk
presc'ntatin!lS arc broadclst tirm-widc, 'ia 'vVcbEx,
The pn.:sentJtiun and speaker's notes arc m~lllc
anilabk ~lf1:er the presentation tor access by any
staff who were unable to attend.
In addition to st,lff submissiolls, insights are also
harvestcd duri ng tile crosstalks and lessons learned
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Figure 2: The Senior Living PAC space at Perkins Eastman
_...--.......­
.­
sessions, As suff eng;lge in di,tlogue, a KRT
Il1cmher ukes notes and hegins to 'udifV
JpprUllri"te p'lns of thl' eUl1ers'ltion, AJicrw'lrds,
staff will further elaborate on '3ch insight until it's
fully codified and n:'IJy fix indusiun in the PACs,
By codifying kssol1s le;lmc:d, archi'ing
presentCitiom J,nd Spl'olkc:r's notc:s, elLlbling caw
search tlU'llugh Guuglc, ,md or~ .nizillg the
information in 'I ll1allner tllat's intultie, the system
is eJ,sy IIJI' new cll1plovees to lIuderst.lnd.ll1d
participants .jllidJ!'leJrtl ho ttl sh"['e in the
bng,uagL' anJ history of Perkins f..1stI11Jn ::Ind. more
specificallv. eJLh of t11l: l'A ,s.
Organizational benefits
Thc timc s.n·LJlg l'reJll'd bl' the PACs i signifiL:'l.nt.
Through the structure uftbe PAC' (sec Figurc 2,
abo'C:), elnpl()yee~ arc able to LJuid<.ly loc,He the
rcsources and information that is critical tu their
wurk,
When project teams arc disbanded or staff
members leaw thc finn, their coditied insights ;lnd
bsons kamed Jive on in d1C PACs, In dlis lorum.
current and future .st'ltfwho wcren't ill'oh'ed in
the project ,Ire 'lbk to usc these insights and
lessons kamed, -and arc .1bJc to undcrstand the
critical conn::Xtll,ll bdors, sec any suppol'tin~ ur
rde'ant dOCIII11CllLltioIl. and applv them t their
own projeds.
The PACs and (ras ralks 31 (l providL' ,1 sl'nsc of
(llll1llllllUtV tu the tirm. Staff i.n multiple ffiCl'~ ll:c1
connected hy the ,'ummOll gUJI uf (ksiti-n excellence
in a pranicc.1rc'1; the su III of their cxperience and
backgr llnd - dri'lllg a much strong.er practicc,
explicit knowledge that h'lS been codi tied as well as
tacit knowJedge exchange in real'time. Pro'iding
staff with multiple furm"ts Ic)r knowledge sharing
and continuous !earning, PACs prm'ide a new way
for them to iUllO'ate Jnd cOllsistently delin:r
award-winning projects.
"Scnse Il1Jkilll:'-" throughout the organization is
alSI) pussihlc, as suff in f',l'ographil'ally dispersed
ufnees ,u'e ;lble to connect in tlle samc location and
in the same tiJrm.lt, Vhile thc PAC space online is
G1p.1blc of capturing a great dcal of coditied
knowledge, bringing- ~tatf togl·thc!' tClr disL'ussion
"nl! dialogue is the optirn3l tixmat till' tacit
kn wkdge CXdlJnge too.
Sharing witlt st"-l} VhJt onc oltice is doing, or how
it h'lS o'crcoIIIl' ,I (hal1enge l".1l1 g,reatly bendit
another aftice tb,1t is dcaling with similar i~sL1es,
$(ci.ng the Lillique and inno'"ti'e wurk of other
ofticcs dri'es the illlJgilution of colleagncs tlnn­
wide, The ti'l'e cxchange of kno",Jcdg,e and ideas in
thesc sessions acts as a catalyst tor ill1lO'Jtive dcsign
and industry excellence,
Resources
1. Wenger, E,; ilcDermott, R,; Snyder, W,i1.
(2002', Ci/ltivatinJT Communities of Practice,
Han ani Bus'Il1ess School Press, Boston,
2. for morc in t')['Ination on online: discussiuns, sec
the following drtil'le: ",ww.stetltwo.col11.au/
p'lpers/k11lC._diseu5si()llfi}I'UIII~
Contact
James Robertson
Step Two Designs
The PACs prm'ide J ulth Cltknl1wkdf!:c, both jamesr@steptwo,com.au
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