142 Owen and Burstein
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Project completion is an important phase of the project life cycle in capturing
knowledge and preparing it for transfer to other projects. Postimplementation reviews/
lessons learned can either occur via the project team members or an independent
reviewer. Lessons learned provide a full description of the project with examples that can
be used on other projects. In some instances, lessons learned only focus on the success
of the project (Disterer, 2002). There is a need to focus on both the positive and negative
lessons to ensure that successes are identified and publicized and mistakes not repeated.
At NASA, to ensure that lessons learned get to the right people, they are “pushed” out
to people who have similar profiles and can benefit from the lessons (Liebowitz, 2002).
The challenge is to ensure that knowledge is captured without taking project team
members away from their day-to-day tasks. For lessons learned to be effective (both
positive and negative), they need to be indexed or searchable for easy retrieval of
knowledge for future projects or project phases.
The reason for knowledge reuse failures can be that knowledge capturing processes
are too informal, are not incorporated into the organization’s processes, or are not
supported by the structure of the organization (Komi-Sirvio, Mantyniemi, & Sepannen,
2002).
The Organization Used in the Case Study
Engineering Consulting is a multidisciplinary global engineering consulting com-
pany operating across five different business units: buildings and property, heavy
industry, resources environmental, and infrastructure. They are a global, internationally
recognized leader in the marketplace. Engineering Consulting XYZ is employee owned
and has grown organically and via strategic mergers with organizations with similar
cultures and values. Its mission is “to focus on valued client relationships to achieve
remarkable success for them. The firm has a commitment to service, quality, and high
standards of safety and business ethics.”
Management of Engineering Consulting XYZ follows a global management struc-
ture. The management structure reflects the regional, business, and functional unit
structure. Engineering Consulting XYZ employs a wide range of professionals, including
architects, engineers, project managers, scientists, economists, and planners servicing
a wide range of clients and market sectors.
A key strategy for Engineering Consulting XYZ for the next three to four years is
to invest time in the future of the business. This strategy looks at a number of measures
where time invested today will secure the long-term future for the company. Knowledge
management is highlighted as a key area in which time should be invested on an ongoing
basis. To assist in achieving these strategies, there is most likely a reliance on knowledge
— explicit, tacit, and implicit.
Engineering Consulting XYZ has recognized the importance of knowledge manage-
ment within its organization by appointing a knowledge manager and creating an
environment that fosters knowledge sharing. The knowledge management strategy is
people-centric or personalized rather than systems driven.
In support of its strategy, Engineering Consulting XYZ is pursuing the following:
- Communities of Practice: to try and recreate the informal networks in a slightly
more formal way across regions. - A Human Yellow Pages: to help identify and contact the right person when faced
with a problem.