Unstructured knowledge management techniques in the

project management of software development

Elaine Aitkenelaine@blinkie.co.uk

Overview

• Types of knowledge• Knowledge management• Research purpose and findings• Trying something new

• Please ask questions at any time

KNOWLEDGE

Trial and error

Books

Demo

Immersion

Project management equivalents

• Judging contingency• Estimating timescales• Evaluating risk• Assigning priorities• Knowing who to go to• Influencing a team to do what is needed• Getting things done

So embedded that it’s invisible

10/09/08

The wisdom of Rumsfeld

There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know

What about the unknown knowns?

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

What is Knowledge Management?• The mistaken idea that what is in peoples heads (knowledge) is

fundamentally the same stuff as can be documented in words, pictures charts etc (information). ...www.information-alchemy.co.uk/glossary.htm

• A range of practices used by organisations to identify, create, represent, and distribute knowledge en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knowledge management

• The process of systematically and actively managing and leveraging the stores of knowledge in an organisation is called knowledge management. It is the process of transforming information and intellectual assets into enduring value.www.unisa.edu.au/pas/qap/planning/glossary.asp

• Discipline within an organisation that ensures that the intellectual capabilities of an organisation are shared, maintained and institutionalised.www.infodiv.unimelb.edu.au/knowledgebase/itservices/a-z/k.html

Purpose of the research

• What are the perceived benefits of knowledge management?

• What techniques do project managers use to capture knowledge?

• Where are these techniques are lacking?• What could be used at a project level to

improve on existing techniques?

Benefits and techniques

Benefits1. Improved consistency of information - everyone is

referring to the same versions and documents2. Reduced need to reinvent the wheel for every project3. Improved speed of issues resolution by making

existing solutions to past problems available4. Training for new starters - provides a consistent set of

information and experience for them to tap into5. Shared workload - no single person is the sole keeper

of knowledge6. When you are aware that something similar has been

done before, knowledge management makes it easy to find the information you need

What we use

1. Common storage area / intranet for project documents

2. Defect list for technical bugs3. Ongoing issues list throughout a project4. Lessons learned written up and placed in

shared location at end of project5. Post project reviews6. Progress reports shared with wide audience

What’s missing?

What’s missing?• Capturing knowledge that will help provide more accurate

estimates in future• Emails and documents can be hard to keep track of if they

are being contributed to by many people.• Capturing the solution to specific technical issues that have

had to be overcome• Capturing subjective opinions - discussions on how

something should have been done or how successful a particular approach was

• Capturing relationship information - who is helpful and who is not constructive

• Keeping information general enough to be applied in other scenarios without being too vague.

What could be better?Techniques we use Gaps we identified

TRYING SOMETHING NEW

What’s changed?

• Move away from massive semantic databases• No need for organisational buy-in• Accessible, affordable, low-overhead software• Piggyback on existing technology using a KM

angle on it (blogging, wikis)• Project work increasing – short-term set-ups

What has not changed

• We like to believe our problem is unique• If it wasn’t invented here, it can’t be right• If I don’t know you, why should I trust you?

Some suggestions

• Programming patterns• Storytelling• Blogging, discussion groups and collaboration

software• Semi-structured interviews• Rich personal interaction

Programming patterns• “During a retrospective, the project team can

identify likely patterns [...] A critical moment can be a decision, a turning point, or an action that overcame an obstacle or made a difference in some other way. ”Rising & Derby (2003)

• General approach – allows adaptation to encourage adoption

• Memorable name – helps to spread the pattern• Share info about the problems encountered on

projects

Storytelling

• The act of listening puts the listener into a problem solving frame of mind.

• Primed to look for connections and solutions to the problem presented to them.

• Extrapolate from the specific scenario described in the story to try to gauge how it might be relevant to them.

Blogging, discussion groups and collaboration software

• Particularly useful in sharing knowledge in cross-cultural environments.

• Improved personal interactions and builds trust

• Draws on experiences from wider range of people

• Allows minority views to be recorded

Semi-structured interviews

• Motivate individuals to share information by conducting interviews ... Get them to describe events, provide examples and a narrative.

• Found that interviewees had difficulty in understanding how much they really knew.

• The process of questioning them with a view to extracting examples was found to help individuals to share their tacit knowledge.

Rich personal interaction

• Direct personal interaction is most effective• Frequent interaction is required, not just close

physical proximity• Informal interaction is more effective than formal

networks• Benefits– Builds trust– Increases innovation– Improves information redundancy

How to help

• Provide– Opportunities to discuss experiences, informal

and formal– A way of capturing and sharing people’s stories– Key lessons learned as general patterns to be

applied to all projects– A place to capture dissenting opinions and capture

discussion

Questions?• Programming patterns• Storytelling• Blogging, discussion

groups and collaboration software

• Semi-structured interviews

• Rich personal interaction

• We like to believe our problem is unique

• If it wasn’t invented here, it can’t be right

• If I don’t know you, why should I trust you?