Where Knowledge Management Resides within Project Management 143Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written- Lessons Learned: to capture lessons learned through the Communities of Practice
(focused by discipline) and through interviews for larger more generic project
management-type projects. - A Knowledge Management System: with access to all documents/drawings at a
global level.
SETTING THE STAGE
As a global company, Engineering Consulting XYZ utilizes resources globally for
certain projects. There are approximately 15,000 projects on Engineering Consulting
XYZ’s books at any one time ranging in size from $2,000 to $50 million per annum.
Engineering Consulting XYZ has achieved yearly revenue in excess of $380 million.
The culture at Engineering Consulting XYZ is open and encourages everyone to
achieve their full potential. The culture was developed by the founders of the company
and has evolved with extensive staff consultation. Staff members are encouraged to
network and share information within this culture.
- “Our culture is based around personal values of competitiveness and challenge,
drive and motivation, high professional standards, controlled risk taking, steady
wealth creation, and being good citizens through a demonstration of social and
environmental responsibility in what we do. - Our management style is one of openness, support for colleagues, focussing on
success through sharing of strategic business information and no game playing. - Our management approach is adaptive to change and built on exceptional service
delivery and adding value. - Our people philosophy is based on participative employee development to achieve
each individual’s potential. - Our ownership structure is one of broad based sharing of equity, targeting
continuity of the practice and equitable ownership transfer. - Our commitment is to innovation in product quality that adds value to our Clients’
businesses.” (Engineering Consulting XYZ’s Web site)
Engineering Consulting XYZ’s key goal is to “achieve remarkable success” for its
clients. It works with the client to understand the business and then utilizes the best
people for the job in terms of skills and knowledge (both technical and local).
While Engineering Consulting XYZ is a global company, a high proportion of the
client base is regional and requires project team members with local skills and a knowledge
of regional issues; however, there has been a recognition that some of the most
appropriate skills (people and technology) need to be obtained globally. The Human
Yellow Pages reflects the need to be able to easily identify the appropriate people.
Engineering Consulting XYZ has recognized that people are the key resource of the
consulting company and are critical for it to achieve a sustainable future. A part of this
focus is to attract and retain talented staff. There are programs in place to ensure that
managers are provided with the right people-management skills and staff are able to
develop to reach their full potential.
The project management methodology followed by Engineering Consulting XYZ is
based on the Project Management Institute’s (2000) Project Management Body of