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KNOWLEDGE INVENTORY IN A PROJECT BASED ORGANISATION
A study submitted in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Information Management
at
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
by
KAVITHA SHANKAR September 2008
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Abstract Background
Knowledge management is recognised to play a pivotal role for organisations
in the race to gain competitive advantage in the market place. Managing
knowledge in the changing environment in which organisations function, has
become a challenge to managers. This research study attempts to measure
the knowledge in a project based organisation. The knowledge management
stream of literature provides many methods and techniques to manage and
measure knowledge in organisations. A large body of literature concentrates
on the measurement of intangible assets of the organisation. The project
management stream of literature provided limited research in the area of
management of knowledge in project based organisations.
Aim
This study aims to make an account of the existing knowledge in a project
based organisation. The author attempts to use measurement models found
in the knowledge management literature and use it in a framework chosen
from the project management literature in this instance.
Methods
This dissertation is a case study. The context of this study is set in an IT
service provider organisation, EDS in their Sheffield office. An existing
framework from the literature is applied to two project teams of EDS. Some
modifications are made to the framework to adapt it to the context in this
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study. The data collection is through interviews and questionnaires. There
was a 43% response to the questionnaire.
Results
An account of the existing knowledge of the two projects was made.
Observations from the knowledge inventory were presented to the
organisation who found it interesting as it brought out the employees
perception of their level of knowledge. EDS agreed with the observation of
low importance to processes of close down phase, high awareness of risk
management and quality control procedure, the low level of use of the
intranet. EDS was surprised with observations relating to the low level of
business knowledge. EDS mentioned that the observations of this study
could be used as supporting evidence to deal with issues mentioned.
Conclusion
This case study provides an instance of measuring the project knowledge
using measuring criteria identified from intellectual capital and knowledge
management literature. Further research on measurement of project
knowledge would enrich the project management literature and link
knowledge management and project management stream of literature.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor Dr. Ana Cristina
Vasconcelos for the feedback and support she gave me in completing this
dissertation.
I would also like to thank EDS, for providing me an opportunity for doing this
research project. I would like to specially thank Mr. Lukman Faily and
Ms.hJeanette Whitehouse for the time and access to resources provided
towards the completion of this dissertation.
Finally, I would like to thank the University of Sheffield for giving me this
opportunity to learn. The facilities at the Information Commons and the
Department of Information Studies were of great help.
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Contents
Abstract.2
Acknowledgements...4
Contents5
1.0 Chapter 1 Introduction9
1.1 Purpose.10
1.2 Theoretical Perspective..11
1.3 Aims & Objectives...12
1.4 Research Questions13
1.5 Scope of the Research...14
1.6 Limitations of the Research14
1.7 Ethical approval...15
1.8 Dissertation Structure.15
1.9 Chapter Summary...17
2.0 Chapter 2 Research Design18
2.1 Research Approach18
2.2 Research Strategy..19
2.3 Sample Size of Data Collection20
2.4 Data Collection & Analysis method..21
2.5 Criteria for Evaluation.23
2.6 Chapter Summary...25
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3.0 Chapter 3 Literature Review27
3.1 Introduction...27
3.2 Definitions and Concepts from the Literature.29
3.3 Approaches to KM......31
3.4 Intellectual Capital Management & Measurement..33
3.4.1 Skandia Navigator...36
3.4.2 Intangible Assets Monitor...37
3.4.3 Intellectual Capital Index38
3.4.4 Balanced Scorecard...39
3.4.5 Integrated Knowledge Benefit Value Model40
3.5 Project Management Stream of Literature.40
3.6 Project Based Organisation..40
3.7 Project Knowledge Management.42
3.8 Knowledge Management in Information Technology Industry45
3.9 Existing Knowledge in Projects How to identify it?...............46
3.10 Measurement of Project Knowledge....49
3.10.1 Knowledge Inventory Model..49
3.11 Chapter Summary...50
4.0 Chapter 4 Knowledge Inventory Framework..52
4.1 The Organisation.52
4.2 The framework.56
4.3 Modifications to the Framework58
4.4 Data Collection Instrument for defined Domains62
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4.5 Chapter Summary...67
5.0 Chapter 5 Research Results & Discussion.68
5.1 Responses....69
5.2 Knowledge inventory presentation69
5.3 The Knowledge Inventory..70
5.3.1 Process Knowledge71
5.3.2 Business Knowledge.73
5.3.3 Technical Knowledge.75
5.3.4 Knowledge Growth.76
5.3.5 Knowledge Reuse..77
5.3.6 Knowledge Sharing78
5.3.7 Training79
5.4 Usefulness of Knowledge inventory to Organisation80
5.5 Discussion81
5.5.1 Low importance for Project Closure....81
5.5.2 High Awareness of Risk Management83
5.5.3 High Awareness of Quality Control Procedures....84
5.5.4 Use of Intranet.....85
5.5.5 A knowledge Sharing Culture87
5.6 Chapter Summary...89
6.0 Chapter 6 Recommendations & Conclusion.90
6.1 Recommendations.90
6.1.1 Institutionalising Knowledge Sharing..90
6.1.2 Reward System......91
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6.1.3 Effective Use of Intranet91
6.1.4 Project Specific Training92
6.2 Conclusion93
Bibliography.97
Annex 1 Questionnaire.109
Annex 2 Knowledge Inventory.115
Annex 3 Presentation of Results to Organisation.119
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1.0 Chapter 1 Introduction
Knowledge management (KM) is recognised to play a pivotal role for
organisation in the race to gain competitive advantage in the market place.
Managing knowledge in the changing environments in which organisations
function, has become a challenge to managers. Organisations follow many
approaches and invest money and time to find an ideal solution to manage
and measure their knowledge. Technology is often seen as a means of
successful knowledge management. In the recent years the growing
awareness among managers regarding the importance of the employees as
knowledge assets of the organisation has led to the development of many
methods and procedures of knowledge management.
To survive the dynamic and complex market environment organisations are
becoming flexible and are responding fast to the changing needs in terms of
delivering a product or service. This has given rise to the trend of project
organisations. Project teams are characterised by team members coming
together during the life-cycle of the project and then separating to be part of
other project teams. Project teams are knowledge intensive. Managing the
knowledge created within the projects and ensuring its dissemination to the
organisation has become a challenge for organisations.
Organisations require to measure and understand the existing knowledge
within their projects to manage it effectively to an advantage. This research
study tries to measure the available knowledge within a project to enable
organisations to use it to their advantage. An existing framework from the
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academic literature is chosen and applied to particular project teams in an IT
service organisation.
1.1 Purpose
The purpose of this research project is to assess how tacit and explicit
knowledge are measured in project based organisations. After the decision to
undertake the research project in the field of knowledge management a
limited literature review was done to investigate the aspect of the subject that
could be studied.
A growing body of literature mentions about the increasing trend of project
organisation (Disterer, 2002, Lang, 2001, Davenport & Volpel, 2001). This
trend, according to the literature, posed a problem to manage knowledge
within projects for the organisation, which leads to the main purpose of the
study.
IT industry is a knowledge intensive one and is characterised by projects and
project teams. The organisation chosen, EDS, is a multinational company
where knowledge management initiatives have been implemented and used
for several years. This forms an ideal context to measure the knowledge
inventory of projects in the organisation.
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1.2 Theoretical perspective
The literature on knowledge management was reviewed to understand the
subject from the perspective of organisations and knowledge management
approaches followed by them.
The focus of the literature in the knowledge management stream was on
what approaches the organisations need to follow to manage their knowledge
and analysis of the successful organisations which have effectively managed
to leverage economic advantage.
The literature in the project management stream described the trend towards
project based work that organisations were adopting to handle the changing
business environments and the difficulties and the management of different
aspects of the project for its successful completion. (Bresnen et al, 2003)
A small body of literature, but a growing one (Liernie & Ribire, 2008; Kasvi et
al, 2003) discusses the issues in managing knowledge in project based
organisations. The focus of this body of literature was on why the knowledge
management was different in project environments and what challenges
organisations have to overcome to manage knowledge within projects. Some
frameworks and methods are found in the literature to provide a solution for
managers. (Jackson & Klobas, 2007; Kang 2007; Donk & Reizebos, 2005)
The lack of solutions for the problems was reported in many journal articles
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While reviewing the literature about knowledge management approaches and
issues in organisations, the lack of research in the area of knowledge
management in project based organisations was evident. (Donk & Riezebos,
2005; Liebowitz & Megbolugbe, 2003) This became the principle reason for
pursuing this dissertation. The project management body of literature deals
on issues of knowledge sharing & knowledge management techniques for
project based organisations
The main issue recognised in the literature is the lack of tools and techniques
that help managers to leverage the knowledge within the project to its
advantage. The knowledge inventory approach proposed by Donk & Riezebs
seemed to be an answer to this. (Donk & Riezebos, 2005)
1.3 Aims & Objectives
The main aim of this research study is to make an account of the knowledge
inventory of a project in the organisation.
The Cambridge English dictionary describes inventory as a detailed list of all
the items in a place. In the same vein Knowledge Inventory would mean all
the knowledge assets the organisation would use to achieve its objectives
and goals. Knowledge assets would include both tacit (human capital) and
explicit (codified knowledge with hardware and software)
This research aims to make an account of the knowledge inventory of 2 of
the project teams at the chosen organisation. Existing project documentation
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available with the organisation will also be used for this purpose. This
research attempts to find out the employees perspective of the existing
knowledge within the team.
Objectives
To understand what knowledge is available within a project in a project
based organisation.
Understand if it is useful to take an account of the knowledge assets
(both tangible and intangible) within a project.
Investigate if an existing framework can be applied to the organisation
to measure the knowledge within a project.
This dissertation aims to report on the findings providing an account of the
knowledge inventory aspects of the projects in the organisation.
1.4 Research Question
In the light of the purpose of this project and the review of the literature the
research questions are mentioned below.
Can the knowledge inventory be measured in a project based organisation?
1. What are the types of knowledge that are useful to the organisation
in a project environment?
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2. What areas of the project should the knowledge inventory be
measured?
3. What tangible and intangible assets contain the useful project
knowledge identified?
4. Is a list of useful knowledge and knowledge assets be of use to the
managers in the project environment?
The research questions 1 and 2 correspond to the first objective mentioned in
the earlier section. The research questions 3 & 4 correspond to the second
objective mentioned. All the research questions together correspond to the
third objective mentioned.
1.5 Scope of the Research
The research study will be conducted at the Sheffield office of an IT service
provider organisation, Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Two projects will be
chosen based on the availability of the staff to understand and carry out the
measurements. The study will be conducted during summer 2008 in the
months of June, July and August.
1.6 Limitations of the Research
There are some limitations to this study. Not being a part of the organisation
would mean that the data collected can be subject to bias of the
organisations employees contacted for interviews and is secondary in nature.
The availability of managers for interviews was a limitation to the study. The
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study being conducted in a busy organisation, the number of completed
questionnaire results that was obtained could be considered as a limitation to
the study.
The study was limited to two projects involved in software development.
There are two main reasons for this limitation. First, among the types of
projects, the software development ones were the most knowledge intensive
ones and would have many issues of hidden knowledge. The majority of the
projects were software development ones and this reflected the core activity
of the organisation. Second reason is the limited time in which the data
collection and analysis had to be done to complete this research study.
1.7 Ethical Approval for the study
This dissertation involved interviewing employees of an organisation. The
study was placed as a Low risk one. The University of Sheffield has
approved the ethics application submitted with regard to this study.
1.8 Dissertation Structure
This section will provide the structure of this report to aid the reader to
understand the flow of the dissertation.
Chapter 1 is the Introduction to the dissertation. This chapter provides the
main purpose of the dissertation along with the research questions, aims &
objectives, limitations and the structure of the report.
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Chapter 2 is the Research Design. This chapter explains the methodology
followed to conduct the research study and methods of data collection and
analysis. The chapter also provides an explanation of the criteria the author
has considered to design this research.
Chapter 3 is the Literature Review. This chapter provides some key
concepts and definitions in the area of knowledge management. Two
streams of literature are reviewed Knowledge Management and Project
Management, to understand the background research done in this area.
Chapter 4 is the Knowledge Inventory Framework. This chapter describes
the framework that is used in this study to answer the research questions.
The modifications that the author has adopted to fit the context of the study
and the data collection instrument are described in this chapter. This chapter
also provides s description of the organisation in which this study is
conducted.
Chapter 5 is the Research Results and Discussion. This chapter presents
the knowledge inventory measured using the methodology defined and
provides gives an account of the answers to the research questions that were
defined in the first chapter.
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Chapter 6 is the Recommendations and Conclusion This chapter provides
some recommendations to the organisation based on this study and the
conclusion of this research study.
1.9 Chapter Summary
This chapter provides an introduction to the dissertation. The purpose of the
study, aims & objectives and the research questions are mentioned. The
theoretical perspective on which this research study is based is also
explained.
The scope and limitation of the study are described. Finally this chapter
provides the structure of this manual for the reader to better understand this
dissertation.
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2.0 Chapter 2 Research Design
This chapter describes the methodology followed for the research project, its
data collection and analysis. The research design of any study aims to
provide a framework for the collection and analysis of data. (Bryman, 2001)
The significance of describing the methodology followed in the research,
early in the report, is that it provides the basis for the reader to understand
the data and the interpretation to arrive at the results of this research. The
rationale behind selection of the methodology of research, data collection
and determining sample size are also explained in this chapter.
The author sees it appropriate to present the research design of this study to
the reader before the review of the literature as the main framework that is
used for the data collection and analysis in the study is drawn from the
literature. An early explanation of the research design provides the reader
with the knowledge of the intent of the literature review and the explanation of
the framework that is done in the following chapters.
2.1 Research Approach
This research follows a deductive approach. The idea for the research
stemmed from a review of literature. An examination of the idea, lead to the
research questions. This research was conducted to attempt answering the
questions, by collecting relevant data and analysing it. The design of this
research study adapted from the steps described for deductive strategy of
research, by Blaikie. (Blaikie, 2006)
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2.2 Research Strategy
This research is a case study that is based on qualitative approach though a
small amount quantitative data is collected and analysed to support the
qualitative data. Case studies are studies in which the researcher explores
in depth a program, an event, an activity, a process, or one or more
individuals (Cresswell, 2003). A case study is limited in time and the kind of
activities that are studied. This allows the researcher to employ a variety of
data collection procedures to ensure that the case in question is studied in
depth (Sake, 1995).
Yin classifies case studies as critical, unique and revelatory cases. A critical
case is one where a hypothesis is defined and the results from the case
study either supports the hypothesis or proves it to be wrong. The Unique
case is one in which the organisation or the case is unique and is the focus of
the study. The Revelatory case is one in which the researcher finds an
opportunity to research on a scientific phenomenon (Yin, 1984)
However, Bryman mentions that many case studies are conducted as they
provide suitable context for certain research questions to be answered
(Bryman, 2001). He defines such case studies that do not strictly fall in the
above mentioned 3 catagories as exemplifying case.
The author looks at this case study as an exemplifying case as the chosen
organisation being an IT service provider is both project based and
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knowledge intensive. This is an ideal context for the research questions that
this study attempts to answer, that the author has defined from the review of
the literature.
This puts forward the question of validity of the research. As per Bryman, an
exemplifying case is a particular context in which the research question is
answered. Hence this research does not claim that the results can be
generalised. The criteria for evaluation of the research that was considered
while designing it are explained later on in this chapter.
2.3 Sample size for data collection
To attempt to answer the research question, an ideal sample of the
population requires to be chosen. Project based work is adopted by
organisations in many industries like, aerospace, construction, research &
development (R&D), consultancy and information technology (IT). (Lytras &
Pouloudi, 2003; Desouza, 2003)
The IT industry is recognised as a knowledge intensive one and is mostly
organised into projects. (Disterer, 2002). The authors previous association
with the industry and the availability of an organisation that agreed for the
study to be conducted within it helped determine the sample for the data
collection. To size the case study according to the time available and the type
of projects that were undertaken at the Sheffield office of the organisation,
two projects were selected to be included in this research study.
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2.4 Data Collection & Analysis method
The data collection in this case study is done in two phases. To attempt to
answer the research questions, a framework is selected from the literature
review done for this research. To identify the measurables that will be used in
the framework, the appropriate people from the identified sample of the
population are interviewed. The interviews were unstructured ones based on
the ideas given by Patton (Patton, 1990). The interview was guided by the
review of literature done by the author in the subject of knowledge
management in project based organisations. This forms the first phase of
qualitative data collection. This data is analysed to define what is to be
measured, the scale of measurement and the validation criteria. This leads to
the second phase of data collection. The data that is collected in the second
phase of the data collection of the study is analysed to prepare the report that
presents the arguments and the analysis of facts that this study will result in
and attempts to answer the research questions that were defined initially for
this study.
This case study employs Interviewing as the method of data collection for the
first phase of the data collection. In the second phase a survey questionnaire
is circulated to the identified project team. The questions on the
questionnaire are designed to obtain descriptive answers from the
respondents. For this reason the author considers this case study to have a
qualitative approach in spite of having interviewing and questionnaires as
data collection methods.
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A pilot run of the questionnaire was conducted using 3 of key project team
members. The team members were asked to talk through the answers of the
questionnaires and provide inputs on the usability of the questionnaires from
the teams perspective.
Data Analysis
This research employs many tasks in the analysis of the data collected. This
study applies a framework identified from the literature to a particular case.
The analysis, to a large part is guided by the sequence of tasks defined by
the framework. All the interviews in the first phase of data collection were
recorded and then transcribed. From the transcriptions the main themes are
noted and matched to the categories that are identified by the author through
the review of the literature. (Silverman, 2005)
The pilot run of the questionnaire, where the respondents talked the author
through the answers and also provided with suggestions to modify the
questionnaire, were recorded and transcribed. The suggestions mentioned
were incorporated in the final questionnaire that was circulated to the chosen
team members. The responses were used in the preparation of the report
that is the final step defined in the framework.
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2.5 Criteria for evaluation of the case study
This research study considers 5 criteria for its evaluation. The author has
selected these criteria based the quantitative and qualitative research criteria
defined by Bryman in his book Social Research Methods (Bryman, 2008).
Most of the data collected is of the qualitative nature. The report that is
developed at the end of the data collection is based mostly on the qualitative
data collected but also uses quantitative data.
There are three major criteria for a quantitative study as described by
Bryman - Reliability, Replicability & Validity (Bryman, 2008). The criteria that
are considered for a qualitative study according to Bryman are Credibility,
Transferability, Dependability, Confirmability & Authenticity. (Bryman, 2001).
The author considers the following 5 criteria for the evaluation of this study
based in the environment in which the study was conducted. A brief
explanation of the criteria valid for this research study along with how this
research study deals with each criterion is given below.
Dependability & Reliability
This is the first of the three evaluation criteria for social research that looks at
the ability of the study to be repeated by others. (Bryman, 2008). According
to Bryman, Reliability in a quantitative study checks if the measure that is
defined in the study can be applied in different samples of population
(Bryman, 2001). In a qualitative study this criteria can be interpreted as
dependability that ensures the studys trustworthiness (Silverman, 2006).
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The criteria of dependability in the case of qualitative data and reliability in
the case of quantitative data are ensured in this research study. The
framework used in this study has two stages of data collection. The method
of developing the instrument used in each of these stages would be similar in
the case of any population or sample size. The interviews conducted as part
of this study were recorded and transcribed. This data was used in the final
phase of the framework. Some degree of bias from the author may be
present in interpreting the data from the interviews.
Replicability
This is the second evaluation criteria and evaluates a research study in terms
of the adequacy of the details provided so that the study can be replicated by
another researcher. (Bryman, 2008) This research study provides the source
of the framework that is used. The modifications that have been adapted to
the framework for the purpose of this study have been explained. The data
collection and analysis methods that are followed for this study have also
been explained.
Credibility
This criterion considers the acceptability of the research findings by others.
(Bryman, 2008). This criteria is ensured in this study as the author discusses
the findings with the organisation in which the study was conducted (Refer to
Section 5.4, Annex 1 & Annex2 of this report). The research results chapter
elaborates on this.
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Transferability
This criterion of qualitative data deals with the aspect of ability of this study to
be carried out on a different sample and the information provided by the
author for the reader to understand the environment in which the research
was conducted. (Miles & Huberman, 2002). In this case of this study the
author ensures this by providing a description of the organisations in which
the research was conducted.
Confirmability
This criterion ensures that the author of the study does not present the
results of the research with a personal bias. (Bryman, 2001). In this research
the author tries to provide a factual description of the observations and
interpretation of the data from the questionnaire.
2.6 Chapter Summary
This chapter describes the methodology that will be followed to conduct this
research study.
This is a case study and follows a qualitative approach for data collection and
analysis. From the review of the literature the research questions are arrived
at. To answer these questions a framework proposed by Donk & Riezebos
(2005) is applied to a particular context (2 projects of an organisation in this
case study) .
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The rationale for the selection of the sample size is described in this chapter
along with the data collection and analysis methods.
Finally the criteria for evaluation that were considered while designing this
research have been described and an explanation of how each criterion is
dealt with, in this study is discussed in this chapter.
The next chapter provides the reader with the background research that as
been conducted in this area and some of the key concepts and definitions in
the subject of knowledge management.
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3.0 Chapter 3 Literature Review
3.1 Introduction
Knowledge Management (KM) has become an important business initiative in
many industries. Since 1990, when it started being recognised as a separate
business area, the growing importance of knowledge management in
businesses is evident by the number of initiatives taken by various
organisations in that direction like Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Ernst & young,
Philips (Davenport & Volpel, 2001). The different positions created in an
organisation like Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO), Knowledge manager,
knowledge architect, also indicates the place KM has secured in business.
(Earl & Scott, 1999)
In the highly competitive environment in which businesses work in present
days, the management of the knowledge within the organisation is its major
source of competitive advantage. (Disterer, 2002; Leseure & Brookes, 2004)
With globalisation and improvements in technology, organisations face new
challenges in achieving their business goals. Management of their various
assets like patents, business processes, innovations or physical artefacts
have become sacred. (Kreiner, 2002) In the last decade organisations have
increasingly realised that managing the physical assets like technology or
infrastructure is not sufficient to gain the competitive advantage. The
attention of organisations has shifted to the intangible assets that are major
contributors of the organisations success (Disterer, 2002). Managing a brand
image, developing good customer relationships are some of the examples of
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the shift of the attention that the organisations have made. (Kannan & Aulbur,
2004)
Another major trend that the organisations have adopted is that of project
based working. (Jackson & Klobas, 2007; Disetrer, 2000) Many organisations
organise their work into projects where employees come together during the
lifecycle of the project and then disseminate to join other projects. Due to the
restricted time and resources that are made available and the intensive form
of working, projects are often vehicles of innovation and delivery. (Sense,
2008) Managing the knowledge gained within the project is a challenge for
organisations.
Methods of managing and measuring knowledge in organisations have been
researched by many researchers. Wenger, Liebowitz, Wiig, Schindler &
Eppler are a few of the researchers who have done significant work in the
field of KM.
The project management literature mentions many studies that focus on tools
and techniques to improve the management of resources in a project
environment. But this stream of literature lacks in research relating to the
management and measurement of project knowledge, though a mention of
this is made in many publications (Jackson & Klobas, 2007; Kang, 2007).
The author notes that there were no significant references in the project
management literature from the studies that focus on the management of
project knowledge in organisations that have been published.
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This study tries to measure the knowledge existing within a project using a
framework from the project management stream of literature. The
measurables are drawn from the knowledge management stream of literature.
To understand the context and the background research relating to this study,
the author takes the reader through a review of the Knowledge management
literature and the project management literature. The author ends this
chapter by introducing the only framework that she found in the literature that
focused on measuring the existing knowledge in a project based organisation.
3.2 Definitions and concepts from the Literature
Before proceeding to review the literature in detail about the management of
existing knowledge in organisations and analysing the dimension of KM in
project based organisation, it will be useful for the reader to revise some
definitions and concepts in the field of knowledge management.
Knowledge management has been researched by many scholars in different
perspectives like theoretical, strategic or organisational. (Braganza, 2004).
This research project only deals with aspects of the organisational
perspective of knowledge management.
The literature on knowledge management has many definitions and
references to tacit and explicit knowledge. The idea of tacit knowledge
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perhaps originated from the Russian philosopher Michael Polyani whose
famous quote we know more than we can say is mentioned in many books
and journals. (Polyani, ed Prusak, 1997). The Japanese scholar Nonaka first
used it in the organisational context. The book The Knowledge Creating
Company by Nonaka & Tachiuchi introduces many useful concepts of
knowledge management from an organisational perspective. (Nonaka &
Tacheuchi, 1995).
Tacit knowledge can be defined as that knowledge that is embedded in the
human brain and cannot be expressed easily (Davenport & Volpel, 2001)
Explicit knowledge can be defined as that knowledge that can be codified
structured and communicated easily (Braganza, 2004).
Some authors mention a third kind of knowledge, implicit knowledge that
which can be articulated but has not yet been done. (Cortada & Wood, 2001)
The management, including creation, storage, dissemination and usage of
the existing tacit and explicit knowledge is known as knowledge
management. (Liebowitz, 1999). The term was given by Karl Wiig in an
international conference and he defines knowledge management as the
systematic, explicit, deliberate building, renewal and application of knowledge
to maximise an enterprises knowledge related effectiveness and returns
from its knowledge assets. (Wiig in Leibowitz, 1999)
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3.3 Approaches to KM
Organisations use many strategies to manage their knowledge to leverage
economic and financial benefits. The literature discusses two main
approaches Codification and Personalisation. (Greiner, 2007)
The codification approach involves collecting and storing knowledge in
databases, document management systems or specific knowledge
management systems based on technology to provide the employees with
easily accessible knowledge. The knowledge management system at Xerox
called Eureka (Bobrow & Whalen, 2002) is an example of the codification
strategy. In the Eureka system the experiences of engineers and technicians
are captured in a database so that it is accessible to all employees globally.
(Bobrow & Whalen, 2002) The codification strategy is generally used by
organisations that required using the same knowledge again and again, like
that in the construction industry. (Hansen et al, 1999).
Some organisations employ expert systems to manage organisational
knowledge. Expert systems are computer based systems that can replicate
one or more human expert minds. An example of an expert system used to
manage knowledge, is the Protocol Hypermedia System (PHES) built by the
George Washington University. This system provides its users with advice
and recommendation about a countrys business culture. The system does
this by providing pictures, video clips, voice recordings etc (Desouza, 2004).
This is an example of the application of this strategy.
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The personalisation approach is based on the concept of sharing
knowledge through interactions between experts. In this approach the
specialist knowledge is not separated from its owner. The organisation
encourages the sharing of the specialist knowledge by facilitating face to face
meetings with other employees. The concept of Communities of Practice
explained by Wenger is one of the techniques that facilitate knowledge
sharing (Wenger et al, 2002). The literature provides various other
techniques for organisations to follow like the yellow pages of experts
contact details that are available on the intranet of Philips, for all employees
to access, so that in case of any assistance an employee can browse
through the yellow pages to contact the relevant expert (Davenport & Volpel,
2001).
Centres of excellence (CoE) in another technique followed by large
organisations. These are particular business units that are recognised for
their capabilities as the experts of an area, and are appointed as a source for
knowledge creation and dissemination for that area. CoEs are generally
established by large multinational companies that have business centres in
different geographical locations and identifying and using the existing
capabilities to the organisations advantage is a challenge. For example
Hewlette Packard has set-up a CoE in Singapore for a particular area of their
manufacturing. Philips has a canter of competence for the area of
communication terminals (Frost et al, 2002).
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Management of intellectual capital Organisations have increasingly felt
the importance of managing their intangible assets to gain advantage in the
market place. Intellectual capital form elements of the intangible assets of an
organisation (Petty & Guthrie, 2000). By managing and increasing the
intellectual capital (IC) within the organisation, knowledge can efficiently be
managed to leverage benefits from the recourses (Marr et al, 2003). Many
management approaches and measurement tools for IC management have
been researched and documented in the literature. The next section deals
with the definitions of IC from the literature, the stance organisations take
with the management of IC and the tools and frameworks that have been
developed to measure IC of the organisation.
3.4 Intellectual Capital Management & Measurement
The importance of management and measurement of intangible assets in an
organisation is well established in the literature. (Kannan & Aulbur, 2004 ;
Petty & Guthrie, 2000 ; Brennan & Connell, 2000; Arenas & Lavenderos,
2008). KM has grown mainly due to organisations realising that intangible
assets like the experience and expertise of the employees need to be
managed efficiently to achieve the organisational goals and have a
competitive advantage in the market place (Desouza, 2004).
Leif Edvinssson, the intellectual Capital director of Skandia, is first known to
use the term intellectual capital in the companys annual report in 1993
instead of intangible assets that was commonly used by the financial
professionals. (Brennan & Connell, 2000) Petty & Guthrie provide a
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distinction between the intellectual capital of an organisation and its
intangible assets. They mention that IC is a part of the intangible assets of
the organisation and knowledge management is the process by which the IC
in the organisation is managed. (Petty & Guthrie, 2000) The author follows
this line of thought for the purpose of this dissertation.
Many researchers have studied IC as a means to manage the intangible
assets of an organisation. Arenos & Lavenderos mention that organisations
and governments have sought to manage their IC as a means of gaining a
sustainable competitive advantage in the market place (Arenos &
Lavenderos, 2008). They also imply that the lack of clarity between the
theoretical perspectives that knowledge is a means of competitive advantage
and the practical application of knowledge management in the organisations
casuses the initiative in this direction to be not as effective as intended.
Empirical studies show that organisations are encouraged to manage and
measure IC because of the support it provides towards the achievement of its
strategic objectives. (Kaufman & Schneider, 2004)
IC can be defined as the economic value of two categories of intangible
assets of a company: Organisational (Structural) capital or Human capital
(Petty & Guthirie, 2000). Examples of the organisational or structural capital
are proprietary software or the various networks of distribution built, culture of
the organisation etc. Examples of human capital are the employees of the
organisation and external resources like the customers.
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Arenos & Lavenderos have identified 45 definitions for IC in the literature.
According to them all these definitions have 3 basic constituents that form the
IC in an organisation (Arenos & Lavendros, 2008)
Employee related Human Capital
Process or organisation related Structural Capital
Customer related Relational Capital
Brennan & Connell explain why the measurement and reporting of IC is
required by organisations. Many times there are huge differences between
the market value of an organisation and the value that can be derived out of
the financial statement of the organisation. This difference is due to the
presence of the IC assets that are not included in the financial balance sheet.
(Brennan & Connell, 2000) This has triggered research into the measurement
of and reporting of IC. The 3 constituents mentioned earlier form a basis for
this measurement.
Accounting standards have tried to deal with this issue by classifying different
elements like the human capital and structural capital so these can be
accounted for to provide a more realistic picture of an organisation than what
the financial statement does. (Brennan & Connell, 2000) Empirical studies
show that many organisations define and track IC parameters and that KM is
an important means of managing the IC assets of the organisation (Bontis,
2001)
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Roos et al explain the two streams of research into the field of IC : Strategic
and Measurement. The strategic stream deals with how knowledge is created
and used within the organisation. The Measurement stream deals with how
the existing knowledge and the elements of IC can be measured by the
organisation. (Roos et al, 1997)
Many researchers have proposed methods for measuring IC. A classified list
of empirical and theoretical research carried out in this field is presented by
Brennan & Connell in their article. (Brennan & Connell, 2000).
Some of the significant measurement models developed is discussed in the
next section. The author uses these to arrive at the measurement parameters
for this study.
3.4.1 Skandia Navigator
The Skandia Navigator developed by Leif Edvinsson is one of the
pioneering works in the measurement of IC. The first large organisation to
publish a statement regarding the IC assets of the organisation was Skandia
in 1994, along with its financial statement. (Mouritsen et al, 2001)
The Skandia navigator model is one of the best models to measure KM as
mentioned by Govender & Pottas. This model tries to provide a picture of the
flows and transformations of IC in the organisation instead of IC at a
particular point in time. (Govender & Pottas, 2007). This model classifies an
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organisations assets as financial and intellectual. The model provides for an
organisations value to be looked at from 5 perspectives financial, human,
process, development and customer.
The Skandia navigator model considers IC as the sum of human capital and
Structural capital (Bontis, 2001). The human capital consists of the skills and
knowledge associated with the employees of the company. This provides the
human perspective of the organisation. The structural capital is all the
resources that the organisations provide, like the technology or supplier
relations, for the employees to work effectively. The structural capital is said
to be all that gets left behind when the employees leave in the evening
(Bontis, 2001). The process, development and customer perspective of the
organisation is provided by the structural capital. The traditional financial
statement published gives the financial perspective of the organisation.
Kaufman & Schneider point out that the Skandia navigator though being very
comprehensive is mostly directed towards audience within the organisation
and not to those external to it. The model is designed on the school of
thought that the management of the organisation has the responsibility to
transform the human capital to structural capital. (Kaufman & Schneider,
2004).
3.4.2 Intangible assets monitor
The Intangible assets monitor developed by Sveiby, is a framework that
helps organisations account for their intangible assets. These assets are
classified into 3 main categories External structure (like customer
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relationship, supplier network, brand image of the organisation), Internal
structure (like the organisations culture, administrative processes,
technology) and employee competence (like the education level, experience)
(Sveiby, 1997).
The framework proposed 3 main indicators for measurements of the
intangible assets. They are growth & development, efficiency and stability.
The management of an organisation decide the indicators that are required to
be monitors for each category of the assets based on the strategy of the
company. The appropriate measurement indicators are arrived at using
questions that are part of the proposed framework. This framework suggests
that the list of measurement indicators should not be more than a page but
can have supporting explanations. (Sveiby, 1997)
The main advantage of this framework is its presentation of intangible assets
in a quantifiable manner that is easy to understand and measure. (Kaufman
& Schneider, 2004).
3.4.3 Intellectual Capital index
The Intellectual Capital index or IC index is described as a second
generation practices that attempts to consolidate all the indicators to a single
index (Bontis, 2001) This model was first used by the company Skandia as a
supplement to their financial statement. (Bontis, 2001) This model attempts
to provide the organisation with an idea of how the intellectual capital of an
organisation can change over time. This model was developed by Roos et al
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and is based on the measurements defined in the Skandia Navigator. (Roos
et al, 1997)
The model divides the total vale of the organisation into financial and
Intellectual capital where the intellectual capital is formed of human &
structural capital. The Human Capital is further split into Competance,
attitude & intellectual property. The structural capital is further split into
Relationships, Organisation and Renewal & Development. (Govender &
Pottas, 2007)
3.4.4. Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard was proposed by Kaplan & Norton in1992 and is
intended to provide the managers with a comprehensive view of their
business. This model integrates the financial measures of the organisation
into the measurables identified by the strategy of the business. The balanced
scorecard is seen as a management system that can able the managers to
get the exact view of the business and hence encourage improvement in the
key areas of the business. (Kaplan & Nortan, 1992)
This model provides for four perspectives of measurements Performance
for customers, Internal processes, innovation and Financial. The organisation
determines the parameters that need to be measured
The main advantage of the model lies in the integration of the financial
aspects of the organisation with its intangible aspects. This model has its
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limitations regarding the dynamic representation of the parameters.
(Govender & Pottas, 2007)
3.4.5 Integrated knowledge benefit value model
The Integrated knowledge benefit value model proposed by Govender &
Pottas, provides for a comprehensive tool to assign a financial value to the
knowledge management initiative of an organisation while measuring the
intangibles of the organisation. This model tries to incorporate the
advantages of the previous models of measurements proposed. There are
three main value elements in the model Human Capital, Relational Capital
and Structural Capital. Detailed metrices are defined for each of the value
elements. Finally a formula is provided to calculate the value of the
knowledge management in the organisation. (Govender & Pottas, 2007)
3.5 Project management stream of Literature
In this section a review of the project management literature from the
knowledge management perspective will be presented. Tools and techniques
relating to project management approach are not dealt with in this report as
this study concerns with the management of knowledge in a project
environment.
3.6 Project Based Organisation
Many organisations across varied industries work by organising into projects,
so they can handle the challenges they face in terms of flexibility, speed of
delivery of a product or service, or availability of experts. Projects are
considered to be the best process for development of new products and for
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innovation. (Bresnen et al, 2003) Organising by Projects gives the firm the
advantages a traditional organisation cannot offer like quick information flow
across departments or hierarchical consideration in taking decisions (Disterer,
2002).
A project can be defined as temporary organisations with specific objectives
detailed tasks and restricted time and budget. (Disterer, 2002). this trend of
project based working is on the increase. Many authors confirm this through
their study (Winter et al, 2006; Cooke-Davis & Arzymanow, 2003; Disterer,
2002)
Members of a project team may be from different organisations like a
consultant or a specialist in a software tool and from different geographical
locations. (Kasvi et al, 2003)
Projects are usually set up in unconventional ways which do not have the
formal structure of traditional organisations. This gives the organisation
certain advantages but also poses certain challenges. (Schindler & Eppler,
2003). The main advantage of organising in projects is the fast delivery of a
product or service that is set as the project goal. This advantage often poses
a problem of autonomy. Frequently projects are seen as small portion of an
organisation that works independently. These projects are seen as not being
influenced by processes or changes that happen in the parent organisation
(Donk & Molloy, 2008).
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Many authors have written about the potential knowledge resident within
projects in a project based organisation. The difficulty that organisations face
to learn from past project experience are also well documented in the
literature. (Prusak, 1997 ; Scarbrough et al, 2004).
3.7 Project Knowledge Management
Project management literature extensively deals with issues of reducing the
risk of project failure, techniques of project management, quality standards
for project management etc. The importance of KM in project based
organisations has been studied by very few researchers. (Liernie & Ribire,
2008) Thought KM has gained importance in academic and organisational
context and many aspects of KM are being researched, KM in project based
organisations has had limited attention from researchers.(Kasvi et al, 2003)
The aspect of tools and techniques that help measure and manage project
knowledge is not comprehensively researched. (Donk & Reizebos, 2004)
Management of knowledge gained in a project poses certain challenges for
the organisation. Project teams often face change in members as old team
members leave the project and new ones join. This makes it difficult to
establish a systematic process to store the knowledge gained within a project.
When project teams consist of experts from different disciplines, finding a
common language to codify the knowledge is difficult. (Bresnen et al, 2003)
Kasvi et al mention the kinds of knowledge that could be gained at the end of
a project like the specific knowledge relating to the technology that was used
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in a project or process knowledge regarding the usage of the end product or
service, knowledge of organisation specific modes of communication etc.
(Kasvi et al, 2003)
Due to its limitation of time and intense form of working all stages of the
project like the start up, development, design etc are learning intensive.
Hence different types of knowledge are gained during the different phases of
a project.
The standard documentation like the requirements document or a user
manual that is prepared by the project to meet certain standards are often not
useful to capture the experiences of employees. Such standard
documentation tries to put in words the standard business practices or
describe the output product or service of the project. Knowledge gained in a
project does not get added to the organisations knowledge. This is termed
as project amnesia by Schindler & Eppler in their article. (Schindler &
Eppler, 2003)
Many organisations follow the process of recording the lessons learnt from
closed or completed projects in a database. The End of Engagement
Summary document prepared at the end of every project at IBM or the
practice of documenting the project experiences at the Swiss Bank UBS are
some examples. (Schindler & Eppler, 2003). Experience of handling a new
tool leading to its critical evaluation or experience of dealing with external
agencies leading to an improvement in the project management are some
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examples of knowledge gained through projects. This kind of knowledge
when available across projects in an organisation increases its performance.
(Jackson & Klobas, 2007).Often these databases or documents are not used
by employees because they mainly contain narration of incidents but not the
learning from them. (Newell et al, 2006). Knowledge attached to particular
individuals for example like the knowledge gained by an employee while
solving a problem during the life cycle of the project are not captured in these
documents or databases. The importance of managing tacit knowledge within
projects is expressed in the study by Owen et al where the social interactions
among employees are important in the process of knowledge management
within project teams. (Owen et al, 2004). Schindler & Eppler stress on the
point that loss of knowledge gained within a project is a big problem for
knowledge intensive industries. Organisations can save money and effort by
not repeating their mistakes if the KM in a project based organisation is well
understood. (Schindler & Eppler, 2003)
Liernie & Ribires study on KM as a means of project management provides
empirical evidence that managing knowledge within a project provides many
advantages for its managers (Liernie & Ribire, 2008). Their study showed
that managing the tacit or explicit knowledge or both in a project, reduces
project costs, increases learning from previous projects, achievement of
functional and technical requirements and reducing risks among others
(Liernie & Ribire, 2008).
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Knowledge sharing among projects and employees within projects is an area
that has been researched by a few researchers in the recent years. (Jackson
& Klobas, 2007). The empirical study by Kang shows that sharing knowledge
within projects is an important contributor to its success. (Kang, 2007). The
study shows how it is important for tacit knowledge to be converted to explicit
knowledge or have avenues to be shared with other employees, to be
leveraged as an asset to the organisation (Kang, 2007).
3.8 KM in the Information Technology (IT) industry
KM has gained a lot of attention in the research & corporate world in the IT
industry. (Dingsoyr et al, 2005). IT projects face increasing pressure to
perform in terms of timelines, cost, quality and customer service. Efficient
management of the project is crucial for achieving its goals. The quality of a
product or service delivered by an organisation in the IT industry depends a
lot on the quality of its employees and the resources available to the
employees. A good calibre of team members produces a good quality
product or service that the project team aims to deliver (Natali & Falbo, 2002).
To achieve its goals accommodating the increasing demands on the service
of IT projects organisations turn to the better management of their most
important resource The organisational software engineering memory
(Natali & Falbo, 2002)
Knowledge gained through a project forms an important input to future
projects. (Disterer, 2002). Boundaries of projects and project organisations
usually become barriers that contain knowledge within the project. Due to
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globalisation and advancements in the communication technology project
teams are becoming more complex. This necessitates the learning for the
organisation from earlier and concurrent projects (Disterer, 2002).
Efficient management of their existing knowledge will give the organisation
the advantage of reduction in cost and increased quality and productivity.
(Liernie & Ribire, 2008)
3.9 Existing knowledge in a project How to identify it
Marr et al in their journal mention that for an organisations knowledge
management initiative to be successful it is important for the people who are
driving the KM initiative to understand who uses, what knowledge for what
benefit to the organisation. (Marr et al, 2003)
This is applicable to projects as they are defined by some as temporary
organisations that come together for a specific purpose (Schindler & Eppler,
2003). Unless managers understand the different types of knowledge that is
available within the project, it will not be possible for them to manage it
effectively. The lack of effective management of knowledge within project
teams leads to loss of project knowledge. This causes the organisation to
reinvent the wheel in many situations and projects as the knowledge gained
in earlier projects had not been disseminated to others or made explicit.
(Scarbrough et al, 2004)
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To manage the existing knowledge within a project it is important for the
managers to understand the types of knowledge that is existent within the
project. The project management or the knowledge management literature
does not deal with this aspect in detail. Leseure & Brooks define 2 major
types of knowledge Kernel and Empirical. Kernel knowledge is knowledge
of core competency of the project on which the goal of the project is
dependent on. The empirical knowledge is the project specific knowledge like
that of certain administrative processes or documentation requirements.
Empirical knowledge may be different for each project within the organisation.
(Leseure & Brookes, 2004). Disterer points to process knowledge as an
important element within projects. (Disterer, 2002) Social practices that
encourage knowledge sharing are given importance in the article by Jackson
& Klobas, so the extent of knowledge sharing among employees of a project
becomes a measurable. (Jackson & Klobas, 2007). Brookes et al give the
different social practices that can be implemented by an organisation for
effective management of tacit knowledge. (Brookes et al, 2006).
Organisational culture is an important factor while considering the existing
knowledge within the project. Many studies have dealt with this subject.
(Adenfelt & Lagerstrom, 2006)
Some methods of making the project knowledge explicit have been
discussed in the project management literature. Process based solutions
focus on the sequence of various tasks that would lead to gathering project
knowledge. Document based methods focus on representing experiences on
a defined format. (Schindler & Eppler 2003)
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The literature does not provide a suitable tool to measure or account for the
existing knowledge in a project. (Donk & Riezebos, 2005).
From the review of the literature so far it is obvious that the type of
knowledge that poses a challenge for organisations to manage is of a tacit
nature. The knowledge that is often lost at the end of a project is also tacit
knowledge. (Rhodes & Garrick, 2003)
To understand the existing knowledge within a project it is important to
identify the knowledge that is useful and required for future projects. The
author could not find any journal articles or books within the project
management literature that could address this issue directly, there were
journal articles that gave a broad overview of the same.
A review of the intellectual capital literature provides an insight into the
management of intangible assets of an organisation. This is in line with the
tacit nature of the project knowledge stated above. In this study the author
tries to fit the measurables drawn from the IC frameworks reviewed earlier in
this chapter (Refer Section 3.4) into a framework that measures the project
knowledge. The next section deals with this aspect.
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3.10 Measurement of Knowledge in Project based
organisations
All the IC models discussed earlier provide methods of measuring the IC of
an organisation. KM is a vehicle to manage and enhance the IC. The author
could not find literature in project management as well as KM that dealt
specifically with the measurement of IC in a project based organisation.
Examples from the literature have been quoted earlier in this section to
establish the fact that KM in a project based organisation and intern the
management of IC poses certain unique challenges that are not common to
traditional organisation.
3. 10.1 Knowledge inventory model
The knowledge inventory model proposed by Donk and Riezebos, is
perhaps one of the very few models that address the specific issue of
measuring knowledge in a project based organisation. (Donk & Riezebos,
2005). The model is used to measure the knowledge inventory of a project
based organisation in the engineering industry. From a review of the
literature they select the types of knowledge that would be existing and
relevant within the project team in the chosen industry and then develop and
define methods for measuring these types of knowledge. This model is
specific to the construction industry.
The author tries to apply this model to the IT industry in the chosen
organisation. The type of knowledge required in each industry can be
different. Project knowledge that is useful and required in the future is usually
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tacit. (Rhodes & Garrick, 2003). IC deals with the intangibles in an
organisation, as discussed earlier in this section. Hence the author attempts
to adapt the knowledge inventory model to the IT industry by drawing from
the IC literature, analysis of the proposed models of IC measuremet and the
project management literature which provide insights into the types of
knowledge that can be measured within a project. The next chapter
discusses the model by Donk & Riezebos in detail and explains the
modifications adopted for applying it in the IT industry.
3.11 Chapter summary
After reviewing the knowledge management stream of literature and the
project management stream of literature the author finds some similarities
and differences in the way both of these streams look at knowledge
management in organisations. Both the streams of literature stress more
upon the importance of explicit knowledge and physical artefacts. While a
large body of research is available in the KM stream regarding the
management and measurement of intangible assets, the author finds many
journal articles reporting the lack of sufficient research in the area of
measurement of project knowledge in the project management stream of
literature.
The lack of research in the management of project knowledge in general and
in particular measurement of existing knowledge in project environments is
noted in this chapter.
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This chapter also brings to the front the disparity between the extent of tools
and approaches developed in the knowledge management for organisations
and those to manage project knowledge in project based organisations.
This case study attempts to string both the streams of literature by measuring
the existing knowledge in a project environment and define the parameters to
be measured using the available research done in the intellectual capital
literature.
The next chapter will describe in detail the framework that will be applied in
this case study along with the modifications the author has made to fit the
context of this study and the data collection instrument that is employed are
described.
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4.0 Chapter 4 Knowledge Inventory framework
This section will describe the Knowledge inventory measurement framework
proposed by Donk & Riezebos (2005) that will be used to answer the
research questions defined and test the hypothesis that is developed in the
initial stage of the study. The modifications that have been adapted to suite
the chosen organisation and instruments used for data collection are also
elaborated in this chapter. For the reader to understand the context of
applying the proposed framework and the modifications adopted for this
research, a description of the organisation in which the study was conducted
is seen essential.
4.1 The Organisation
This research study was conducted at the Sheffield office of a large
multinational IT service provider EDS. EDS was established in 1929 and has
offices in 23 countries. The organisation works as various project teams
typical of the IT industry. There are various types of projects that are
undertaken by EDS. The principle ones and those that this research study is
concerned with, are software development projects.
Knowledge management initiatives have been undertaken for a long time in
the organisation. The organisational intranet, accessible by all employees,
has different sections catering to different kinds of KM initiatives. Some of
them are
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Communities of practice There are 4 areas which have specific
communities of practice, Industry, Technology, Business process and
Service Offering.
Knowledge repositories There are many repositories dealing with
different areas of the business. Like repository for Standards that gives
the various standards that exist in the software industry. Perhaps the
most used repository at the Sheffield office was the Best Practices
repository that provides knowledge and information about the processes
and documentation that are essential for the project.
eRoom Is a virtual space provided for the employees to store their
ideas or files.
Directory of Experts The intranet provides a subject wise directory of
experts along with their contact details. This is accessible to all
employees.
Discussion Boards These are facilities available to all employees to
discuss issues relating to their area of work with other employees across
the globe.
Enterprise Knowledge management transformation programme is the recent
organisation wide initiative that binds all the intranet sites that provide
services to enhance the employees knowledge into one central knowledge
management system. Currently different parts of the intranet are used by
groups of employees to assist them in their work. Due to the large number of
pages in the intranet of the organisation, many parts of it are accessed by the
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employees. To leverage the full potential of the intranet and the KM initiative
of the organisation this programme was launched in 2007.
At the Sheffield office many kinds of projects are undertaken. For the
purpose of this study only the software development projects have been
selected. The Department of Works & Pensions (DWP), a government
organisation is a major customer for EDS. At the Sheffield office software
development projects are undertaken in 7 areas of the DWP. The
development projects undertaken by the organisation are ongoing ones and
have different release versions of the application developed. Developments
relating to the release version of application are handled by separate project
teams.
The organisation chart concerning the scope of this study is given in the
diagram below (Figure 1)
Programme Manager
USER
Project Team LMS 28
Project team LMS 29
Project team XXX
Project Manager
Project Team members Data base administrators
Programmers Testers
Etc
Project Manager
Project Team members Data base administrators
Programmers Testers
Etc
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Figure 1
The software development projects follow a standard project lifecycle
consisting of 4 phases Start up, Execution, Monitoring and Close down.
The author sees it fit to explain in brief each phase of the lifecycle as this
would enable the reader to understand the measurement scales and
validation criteria mentioned later on in this chapter.
The Start up phase involves the planning for the time and resources
required. This phase for the project involves the production of a number of
project documents Project Plan document, Risk assessment document,
Requirement specification document, Quality control documents,
Administrative process document and Resource allocation document.
The project manager for the project is usually appointed during this phase.
The phase also involves various meetings of the project manager with the
team.
The Execution phase involves the design and development of the
application as per the requirements specified in the start up phase. Internal
procedures of quality control and risk assessment and mitigation are involved
in this phase. Documentation for the design, programming, quality control
procedures and risk log are prepared during this phase.
The Monitoring phase involves the testing of the developed application
based on defined criteria that are arrived at after consultation with the end
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users. Activities of this phase are sometimes done parallel to the activities of
the execution phase
The Close down phase involves the delivery of the application to the end
user and closing down the project. This phase involves review meetings to
discuss the project and also documentation that records the project learning.
4.2 The framework
Donk & Riezebos, in their journal article,(Donk & Riezebos, 2005) propose a
framework to make an account of the knowledge inventory of a project in a
project oriented organisation.
According to the framework, the decision makers of the organisation are
assumed to be the users, who measure the knowledge inventory to aid
decision making on resource allocation and training. The employees are
assumed to be the knowledge resources for the purpose of applying this
framework
The type of knowledge to be measured (mentioned as the domain) and areas
where the knowledge has to be measured (mentioned as the range), will be
defined with the help of the users.
There are 3 main stages of the framework.
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1. First defines what to measure. The Domains or types of
knowledge - Entrepreneurial, Technological, Project management,
which are useful in a project based organisation, that is to be
measured and the Range (employees, project phases & markets) of
knowledge to be measured. The range specifies the places where the
availability of the knowledge will be measured.
2. Second measures what is defined Existing knowledge with in
the project, in the domain defined earlier are measured. The
measurement is done using questionnaires and interviews. Variables
are defined and value given to the variable. The scale of measurement
is defined and the validation criteria are specified in the second stage.
These are done in consultation with the defined user in the
organisation. Sample population to whom the questionnaire will be
circulated are also arrived at in consultation with the defined user.
3. Third reports on the measurements depending on the
measurements made in the second stage reports are prepared on the
knowledge inventory of the project. Reports can be prepared for
individual or organisational level. An example of the individual level
provided by Donk & Riezebos (2005) is a report on the knowledge of a
particulate employee. The organisational level or the aggregate level
report was defined as a report of the knowledge inventory of the
different project teams in the organisation
This framework is represented in the diagram below adapted from Donk &
Riezebos, (2005). (Figure 2)
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Figure 2
Two stages of data collection were specified by the framework. One stage of
data collection is done by interviewing the user of the knowledge inventory to
specify the intended use of the knowledge inventory and what requires to be
measured. The other stage employs surveying method to measure the
knowledge inventory according to the definitions in stage one.
This framework for measuring knowledge inventory was developed and
applied to a Dutch engineering company. Some modifications to the
framework are required for the purpose of this study, to adopt it to the
development project in IT service industry that is considered in this case.
4.3 Modifications to the framework
The main changes to the framework are in the first stage where the types of
knowledge and its range, that is to be measured is defined. Donk & Riezebos
propose three domains of knowledge that would be useful to measure in an
Report
Employees
Markets Project Phases
Entrepreneurial
Technical Management
Identity
Measure
D o
m a
i n
R a
n g
e
Scales
Validation
Item Level
Aggregate Level
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engineering firm Entrepreneurial, Technical and Project Management. In
the case study they described, Entrepreneurial knowledge dealt with the
acquisition of new markets, Technical knowledge dealt with compiling
documents required and Project management knowledge dealt with the how-
to knowledge at the different phases of the project work. (Donk & Riezebos,
2005). In the context of this case study the author did not see these three
domains appropriate. The project team works with a fixed market (described
earlier in this section). The project management knowledge required was
concerned with the different areas of the project which the author noted
through browsing the organisations intranet.
The author made a list of the types of knowledge that would be useful in a
project environment within the IT industry from the review of the intellectual
capital literature and project management literature. The various
measurement criteria of the Skandia navigator (Mouritsen et al, 2001), the
intangible assets monitor framework by Sveiby (Sveiby, 1997) and the
balanced scorecard developed by Kaplan & Norton (Kaplan & Norton, 1992)
were taken as major sources by the author to arrive at the list. The different
issues in the management of project knowledge researched by authors
available from journals like the work by Leseure & Brooks mention about the
Emperical & Kernal knowledge in a project environment (Leseure & Brooks,
2004) or the importance of knowledge sharing (Jackson & Klobas, 2007)
provide the author with an insight to the types of knowledge that may be
useful in a project environment.
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After discussions with the defined user, the programme manager at EDS, of
the knowledge inventory, the 3 domains of knowledge that is essential for the
project teams success at the organisation were defined as the Process
Knowledge, Business Knowledge and Technical Knowledge.
The process knowledge provides the employees with the know-how of
documents to be prepared, understand the sequence of tasks in the project
and provide the list of expected deliverables.
The business knowledge aids the employee to better understand the context
of the product that is being developed by the project. This knowledge
enhances the employees understanding of the whys of the different tasks
carried out during the project.
Technical knowledge is the skill that is gained from structured education and
work experience that enables the employee to complete the task that is
expected within the project team.
These 3 types or domains of knowledge was measured for all the employees
of the project team and across the project phases Start up, Execution,
Monitoring & Close down (elaborated earlier).
The other main modification is at the third stage. This stage of the framework
is reporting the findings regarding the knowledge inventory. For the
Knowledge inventory to have a realistic picture of the existing knowledge in
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the project, some parameters outside the defined domains are included in
data collection.
The rational of including these parameters while reporting lies in the literature
about measurement of intellectual capital. The chapter 2 of this manual gives
a detailed account of the definition of intellectual capital, its importance and
how it is measured in organisations. Parameters relating to employee
competence, organisational culture and organisational resources used by the
project team are included in the report.
In this research study an account of the level of process knowledge, business
knowledge and technical knowledge existing within the project will be made
and the knowledge inventory report will include the findings about the 3
domains of knowledge and other parameters.
The modified framework is shown in the diagram below. (Figure 3)
Figure 3
Stage 3 : Report
Employees
Project Phases
Process Knowledge
Business Knowledge
Technical Knowledge Stage 1 : Identity
Stage 2 : Measure
D o
m a
i n
R a
n g
e
Scales
Validation
Report on
Defined Domains
Report with
IC parameters
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4.4 Data Collection Instrument for defined domains
The second phase involves the measurement of knowledge through the
design and circulation of the questionnaire. The scales and validation criteria
for the knowledge that is to be measured are defined. For this the parameters
that would be monitored and measured required to be identified. These were
identified from the review of the literature as mentioned above. A
questionnaire was developed to measure the knowledge inventory within the
project. The questionnaire was designed to take an account of the existing
level of knowledge within the team across the project phases and in the
different areas of application. The parameters along with the corresponding
question number is given in the table below
Parameters that are measured through the Questionnaire
Parameter
Question that indicates this
parameter
Process Knowledge 1,8
Business Knowledge 2,8
Technical Knowledge 3,4
Growth of organisational knowledge 5
Knowledge reuse 6
Knowledge sharing 7
Table 4.1
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The parameters process knowledge, technical knowledge and
business knowledge are explained earlier in this section. The significance
of the parameter growth of organisation knowledge lies in it providing an
insight on the extent to which the organisational resources, like the intranet,
are being used. Knowledge reuse parameter measures the extent to which
the knowledge gained through previous projects are used to execute tasks in
the current project. This parameter also provides the extent of knowledge
sharing in the organisation, which forms the next parameter. Knowledge
sharing parameter provides the insight into the social interaction among
project team members and among team members of other projects.
These parameters are measured in each phase of the project and in the 6
areas in the project lifecycle where the knowledge can be applied. The 6
areas of application are Project scheduling, Risk assessment,
Requirements specification, Quality assurance, Process improvements and
Resource allocation. The author arrived at these areas of application from the
information systems development lifecycle (SDLC) (Avison & Fitzgerald,
2001) and from the interview wi
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