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methodology, and technical documentation from earlier projects. Documents are stored
by project number in hard copy and on the network server. At the tacit level, project team
members reused knowledge from earlier projects, either their own knowledge base or via
informal networks. Explicit knowledge is usually originated from earlier projects that the
project team member has worked on, implying that they do not search electronically or
physically for a document but rather use their tacit knowledge to obtain the documen-
tation. Documentation is used as a starting point or for convenience while there is a
reliance on networks to obtain more detailed and complex knowledge. As one project
team member said:
We use the proposal for convenience because all the words and text are there, so it’s
readily used and saves you having to reinvent the wheel. But the hard questions like
financials and methodology you will usually talk through with the person from the
project.
Lessons learned from earlier projects are used at the plan stage to try and ensure
that mistakes are not repeated or successes are applied. Most of the lessons learned that
are applied are informal lessons. As one person interviewed stated:
Particularly when you are setting it up, you try and incorporate the lessons learned.
So if something didn’t work last time, you might set the team up a little differently and
have different steps in your methodology to try and capture lessons learned previously.
There’s a lot more in your head than you are able to document.
During project implementation, there is a reliance on both explicit and tacit knowl-
edge; however, there is a greater reliance on personal knowledge. If explicit knowledge
is reused, it is obtained by asking an expert for the documentation rather than an
electronic search being carried out. A key reason that knowledge is reused is to deliver
a solution where any potential pitfalls are known in advance allowing them to be
overcome. As one project team member interviewed stated:
You start by discussing how to go about solving a technical problem and how they go
about it to ensure that mistakes are not repeated.
Knowledge Creation and Transfer
Knowledge is continually created and transferred within and between projects. In
one area of Engineering Consulting XYZ, to overcome the issue of knowledge transfer
a mentoring scheme has been implemented to allow the knowledge to be transferred to
a number of people within and to become part of organizational memory.
A project director is appointed to each project to mentor the project manager, and
review the project. The project director mentors the project manager by meeting with the
project manager and discussing the project. Roadblocks, issues, potential risks, and risk
mitigation strategies are discussed in these meetings. Knowledge is transferred from the
project director to the project manager as he generally has more experience, but
knowledge is also transferred to the project director in terms of understanding the status
of the project and what impact it may have on the other projects and programs of work.