Summary This meeting consisted of eight speakers talking for ten minutes each about different aspects of their experience of working during this time, followed by the usual syndicate sessions, where experiences were shared in more detail, so that we can manage better as we move forward into a still uncertain future. Speakers The eight speakers […]
How can we manage knowledge more effectively in project environments? This was the question posed in the most recent NetIKX seminar, led by Judy Payne, an independent consultant and co-author of Managing Knowledge in Project Environments .
How do project managers define KM?
Judy began by comparing the 2012 and 2019 versions of the APM Body of Knowledge (BoK) definitions of knowledge management (KM). The 2012 entry reads ‘Knowledge management is the systematic management of information and learning. It turns personal information and experience into collective knowledge that can be widely shared throughout an organisation and a profession.’ Many participants felt that this confused the concepts of information management and knowledge management and failed to cover important aspects of KM such as managing tacit knowledge. The 2019 definition, however, is considerably broader, describing KM as ‘the holistic, cross-functional discipline and set of practices concerned with the way organisations create and use knowledge to improve outcomes.’ We agreed that this was an improvement, but the issue of defining KM to those outside the discipline remains. Judy pointed out that knowledge managers and project managers often have different mindsets, and it can be difficult to integrate KM into the project management body of knowledge.
The KM context within project management can be complex, as much of the KM which occurs within project management is not explicitly recognised as such – and conversely, much of what is labelled KM is often information management. Within a project environment, KM is often treated as a series of separate activities rather than as a tool to help produce better outcomes. There is a widespread belief that KM is simply a matter of capturing ‘lessons learned’ at the end of a project, whereas capturing knowledge is only one aspect of KM. In fact, KM practices can and should be integrated into the way a project is managed and the working environment.
Waterfall or agile? What does this mean for KM?
Judy then went on to compare the linear and iterative approaches to project management: within a linear (‘waterfall’) environment, knowledge is static, knowledge creation and application are separate and knowledge boundaries develop between stages, whereas in an iterative (‘agile’) project, knowledge is dynamic and flows well throughout the project and knowledge creation and application can be integrated. However, KM can pose a particular challenge in an agile environment due to the lack of documentation. One participant noted that although knowledge transfers well from one sprint to another, it is lost at the end of the project. The ‘correct’ approach is often dependent on the organisational culture, with some more traditional organisations being uncomfortable with the pace of the agile approach.
Sharing our experiences
For the breakout sessions, we were presented with three questions: what are your stories (good or bad) about KM in project work?; what are other examples of ‘hidden’ KM in project work? and how might KM thinking help you in future project work? Feedback from the sessions uncovered a number of common themes, including the fact that sometimes projects are ‘hidden’ in KM rather than the other way round – many of us had experience of working on something that could have been approached as a project but was not. Another theme was the way in which project managers focus on a linear progression with a clear outcome that can be measured in terms of material impact, whereas the benefits of KM cannot always be demonstrated so neatly: it was suggested that maybe we need to focus on benefits rather than objectives and on outcomes rather than outputs. Many thanks to Judy and to all who attended and contributed to this informative and highly interactive seminar.
By Carlin Parry. January 2021
This meeting was a regular Knowledge Café that David Gurteen held especially for NetIKX members. We heard David set out the reasons he felt the world had changed beyond all recognition since the second world war. He listed the familiar story of the internet, transport advances, global finances and social media but also more unexpected aspects that give our world a new complexity. Then he invited us into break-out groups to share our own ideas on this fascinating topic. After a break, David focused our attention on his favoured area of expertise; the need for new leadership styles and the power of conversation. He was very clear that people did not need a title of leader to develop the power of leadership. We joined second break-outs to take our networking further. Then we shared ideas in a stimulating plenary. The meeting showed the value of the Knowledge Café approach, but also was a masterclass in using Zoom as the communication media. NetIKX will take the ideas and the methods forward for the future.
David Gurteen is a writer, speaker, and conversational facilitator. The focus of his work is Conversational Leadership – a style of working where we appreciate the power of conversation and take a conversational approach to the way that we connect, relate, learn and work with each other. He is the creator of the Knowledge Café – a conversational process to bring a group of people together to learn from each other, build relationships and make a better sense of a rapidly changing, complex, less predictable world. He has facilitated hundreds of Knowledge Cafés and workshops in over 30 countries around the world over the past 20 years. He is also the founder of the Gurteen Knowledge Community – a global network of over 20,000 people in 160 countries. Currently, he is writing an online book on Conversational Leadership. You can join a Knowledge Café if you consult his website.
2pm on 20th May 2020, The British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS
The seminar was announced via the NetIKX website and explained that the seminar would be presented using the Zoom platform.
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There were no Tweets from this meeting as we got used to our new ‘Zoom’ format.
See our blog report: Gurteen knowledge cafe
Visit David’s website: Gurteen Knowledge at www.gurteen.com
This site includes KM book reviews, news and useful quotations.
You can sign up for David’s regular newsletter from this site.
2017 has been the tenth anniversary of the founding of NetIKX and this meeting was a celebration of this. The programme focused on the situation of knowledge and information professionals in 2017. Talks to set the scene were from Peter Thomson on major changes to the world of work and from Stuart Ward, Chair of NetIKX at its inception, who focused more closely on how KM and IM people can provide value in the workplace in this changing world. Then participants were invited to discuss the key ideas that they thought were the most relevant and put questions to a panel composed of people active and influential in our field.
What are the important trends in employment that we face and what is the role of communities like NetIKX that operate in this field? We looked back over the last ten years to set the scene for the changes we need to prepare for in the coming years. We also involved people from related organisations such as CILIP. ISKO UK and LIKE.
There were two introductory talks and first Peter Thomson looked at major changes to the world of work. Stuart Ward, Chair of NetIKX at its inception, focused more closely on how KM and IM people can provide value in the workplace in this changing world. Then, in a usual NetIKX syndicate session, participants were invited to discuss the key ideas that they thought were the most relevant. After this, to gain a wider perspective, questions based on these discussions were put to a panel composed of people active and influential in our field. These were David Haynes (Chair of ISKO UK), David Gurteen, David Smith (Government KIM Head of Profession), Karen McFarlane (Chair of the CILIP Board), Steve Dale and Noeleen Schenk (Metataxis Ltd, who has also been running a series of meetings on the future of knowledge and information management).
After a lively panel Q and A session, there was time for further discussion and networking over generous celebratory refreshments.
Peter Thomson is an expert on the changing world of work and its impact on organisations, leadership and management. He regularly speaks on this topic at conferences and has worked with many groups of senior managers to inspire them to change their organisational culture. He headed up the HR function for Digital Equipment for Northern Europe for 18 years leading up to the dawn of the Internet. On leaving DEC, Peter founded the Future Work Forum at Henley Business School. He was Director of the Forum for 16 years, during which time he studied the changing patterns of work and the leadership implications of these trends. At the same time he formed Wisework Ltd, now a leading consultancy in the field of smart working. Peter is co-author, with Alison Maitland, of the business bestseller Future Work. He is also editor of a new book Conquering Digital Overload, which is about to be published. As a consultant and coach, he works with leadership teams and individuals to help them gain the maximum business benefit from new working practices. As a writer and researcher he is fascinated by the evolving role of leadership and management as we move into the ‘Gig Economy’.
Stuart Ward has been involved with NetIKX and its predecessors for over 15 years. With others he launched NetIKX 10 years ago and was the first Chairman. Stuart has wide experience in information and knowledge management and ICT, gained in business and as an independent consultant; he is interested in strategies that help to maximise the value of knowledge and information for organisations. Stuart began his career in IT and project management and, after developing a keen interest in improving the use of information in organisations, he became Director of Information Management at British Energy. In 1997 he established Forward Consulting to help organisations improve performance through information and knowledge management. He has worked with clients in both the public and private sectors. As an Associate of the IMPACT Programme, he managed their Information and Knowledge Exploitation Group from 1997 to 1999 and then again from 2004 to 2006. He was instrumental in developing the theme of the Hawley Committee: Information as an Asset with practical tools for use in business. In previous roles, Stuart has been a visiting lecturer at City University, Chairman of the Judging Panel for the British Computer Society Annual Business Achievement Awards, and chaired conference organising committees for Aslib. He is also currently an Associate of the College of Policing.
2pm on Thursday 16 November, The British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS
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See our blog report: The Future of Work for Information and Knowledge Professionals
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David Gurteen, well known as a keynote speaker and conversational facilitator, ran a Knowledge Café on the topic of Entrained and Entrenched Thinking.
Knowledge cafés are a powerful tool for knowledge managers. David Gurteen is one of the foremost exponents of this method. David defines the essence of a knowledge café thus: “The only hard and fast rule is that the meeting is conducted in such a way that most of the time is spent in conversation – it is not about one person presenting to the group”.
We were privileged that David was willing to run such an event for NetIKX. This knowledge café focused on issues around shaking up people’s ideas and the chosen and challenging topic was entrained and entrenched thinking. This proved to be of interest and value to those who attended, allowing them to explore “thinking out of the box”.
Avoiding [entrenched and] entrained thinking
The concept of an ‘entrenched’ opinion is all too familiar! Someone has a point of view and is ‘dug in’ to defend it – perhaps against an imagined other someone in another trench, with an opposite point of view. When these behaviours get in the way of reasoned discourse and good decision making, we might use conversational strategies to break the impasse.
‘Entrained thinking’ is a less familiar concept, but also hampers good collective decision making and opinion forming.
Normally a NetIKX meeting includes a ‘syndicate session’. The structure of a Gurteen Knowledge Café is different. For this meeting, the following issues were considered:
• What factors in people’s backgrounds, and even professional education, lead to them having a ‘blinkered’ view of the range of available opinions and policy decisions, especially at work? How might this be mitigated?
• When we meet together in groups to discuss and decide, what meeting dynamics get in the way of considering the broadest possible range of opinions and inputs? Could we run such meetings differently and obtain better results?
• What are the first two questions forgetting to consider?
David Gurteen is a keynote speaker and conversational facilitator.
He works in the fields of knowledge management, organisational learning and conversational leadership. He gives keynote talks, designs and facilitates knowledge cafés and runs workshops around the world.
He is best known as the creator of the Gurteen Knowledge Café – a versatile conversational process to bring a group of people together to learn from each other, share experiences and make better sense of a rapidly changing, complex, less predictable world in order to improve decision making and to innovate.
He has facilitated hundreds of knowledge cafés and workshops in over 30 countries around the world over the last 13 years.
He is the founder of the Gurteen Knowledge Community – a global network of over 22,000 people in over 160 countries and he publishes his regular monthly Knowledge-Letter, which is now in its 16th year.
2pm on 16th March 2017, The British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS
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See our blog report: Gurteen Knowledge Café
See David Gurteen’s website, https://knowledge.cafe/knowledge-cafe-concept
Article on Global Trust in Media: https://digiday.com/media/global-state-trust-media-5-charts/
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A story is a recounting of events based on emotional experience from a perspective.
We use stories to:
• build maps of the world we experience so we can make decisions about how to act;
• make decisions about what to believe in, what we see and hear;
• transfer knowledge and information;
• playfully simulate possible outcomes before we commit to a course of action;
• condense experience into packages that re-expand in the minds of listeners.
Stories engage our attention, influence our beliefs or actions, and provide a “partial suspension of the rules of the real” that helps us safely explore the future. Participatory Narrative Inquiry (PNI) is an approach in which groups of people participate in gathering and working with raw stories of personal experience in order to make sense of complex situations for better decision making.
Ron Donaldson, an expert practitioner in the art and science of storytelling techniques, facilitated a highly interactive and engaging workshop demonstrating the use of PNI in exploring a topical issue relevant to knowledge and information sharing. Delegates obtained new insights into the topic, as well as practical experience in how to apply storytelling techniques to issues and problems they face in their own organisations.
Ron Donaldson is a knowledge ecologist and facilitator, experienced in applying Participatory Narrative Inquiry (PNI), Cognitive Edge ideas around complex systems and TRIZ, the Russian Inventive Problem-Solving methods.
Taking an ecological perspective means that you focus at the community level and catalyse the flow of meaning, knowledge and realisation of insights within a narrative landscape. The sharing of knowledge in an organisation is much more analogous to an ecology that needs to be nurtured than a precisely defined machine that can be managed. Ron is particularly fond of the idea that Ecology has at times been called the ‘subversive science’, since it subverts our egocentric insistence on separateness, and with it, our inclination to ride roughshod over the rest of the natural world.
2pm on Tuesday 22nd March 2016, The British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS
Learning Objectives:
• To understand how to create the starting conditions for new relationships and collaboration
• To understand how to remove constraints and disrupt linear thinking, to allow an anticipatory awareness of the present to emerge
• To know how to seed, trigger and encourage creative thinking and to experience storytelling as a way to share knowledge and ideas
Not available.
See our blog report: Storytelling for Problem Solving and Better Decision Making
Ron Donaldson’s website is https://rondon.wordpress.com and his Twitter account: https://twitter.com/rondon. To find out more about PNI see https://narrafirma.com/home/participatory-narrative-inquiry/.
See also Past Event Information September 2020 where Ron discussed his involvement with TRIZ
Steve Dale gave an excellent presentation on the ‘hot topic’ of ‘gamification’. Quite simply, ‘gamification’ is the process of applying game elements to non-game applications using the fundamentals of human psychology to address motivation, ability levels and ‘triggers’.
Steve instanced a number of examples – from a multitude: within the NHS (a gamification app to encourage exercise); within local government (Halton Borough Council puts RFID tags on bins to track correct recycling by households and rewards good practice by awarding points that can be redeemed at local shops); within the market place (Supermarket club cards and loyalty cards).
Steve cautioned against an unthinking approach to adopting ‘gamification’ within an organisation. He emphasised the need to think carefully about organisational culture and to ensure that organisational goals are clear. After Steve’s talk and questions we moved on to syndicate sessions where five groups devised a gamification strategy to achieve an objective within their organisation. We then talked about the strategies.
Stephen Dale is the founder and Director of Collabor8now Ltd, an organisation focussed on developing collaborative environments (e.g. Communities of Practice) and the integration of knowledge management tools and processes to support business improvement. He is a KMI certified knowledge manager and the author of several published research papers on collaborative behaviours. Over a 30-year career he has led major change programmes and developed knowledge and learning strategies for clients across public, private and not-for-profit organisations. He is one of three community facilitators for Warwick Business School’s “Knowledge & Innovation Network (KIN)”, a not for profit member organisation committed to developing and sharing best practice.
2pm on 18 March 2014, The British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS
If there is anything on the flier that is not included in the meeting write up, add it here.
Steve’s presentation was available at: http://www.slideshare.net/
This site does include some Steve Dale slides, but it is not currently being managed. Contact NetIKX if you want more information
See our blog report: Incentivising knowledge sharing behaviours
For more information on Steve Dake go to http://about.me/stephendale
You can also see another write up of this session in the journal “Managing Information” Vol. 21 Issue 2 2014 pp. 26-28. ISSN13520229. by Graham Coult. This is a subscription journal available at http://aslib.com/resources/mi_intro.htm
Karen took us on a tour of the Knowledge Council’s work so that we were all aware of the latest developments in the Government’s thinking. She encouraged us to be encouraged by the Government’s serious embrace of KIM ideas and practices.
Karen McFarlane, Chair of the Government’s Knowledge Council and Government Head of Profession for Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) a Specialist with extensive experience of operating at senior levels as a knowledge and information professional in the UK government sector. She is experienced in: information management; knowledge management; records management – paper and electronic; intranet management; information governance; information risk management; information security; library and Information services.
September 2013, 2pm The British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS
No slides available
See our blog report: Embedding knowledge capture & retention
See another excellent blog report: ‘True tacit knowledge can’t be passed on when people leave…’ by Paul J. Corney
This meeting also included the NetIKX AGM
Stephen Dale, Director, Collabor8now Ltd
Mark Field, Principal Knowledge Manager, Department for Education
September 2010, 2pm The British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS
No slides available
#netikx
No blog available
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This meeting was particularly relevant to our many members working with Government
Graham Monk, Head of Resources and Capability, Department for Work and Pensions
May 2009, 2pm The British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS
No slides available
Blog no longer available
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