to share is to multiply

DNV | KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Management and Facilitation of Project Networks

1+1=36÷3=18 12/2=24 6÷8=48 100/10=1000

2 32 3

to share is to multiplyCOST OF IGNORANCE /// Costly mistakes are repeated, as earlier ones were not recorded or analysed

■ achieve their goals more effectively by reusing

experiences of other projects;

■ adapt wider experiences to their local, sector or

market conditions;

■ consider and fuel new areas for innovation;

■ respond more quickly to project needs and mobilise

expertise to support project teams;

■ transfer new knowledge to accelerate ramp-up in

operations.

Organisations are seeking to leverage the benefits of

project-based work by harvesting and sharing newly

gained project knowledge. Systematic learning from

project activities contributes to acceleration of project

delivery, increase of deliverable quality and reduction

of project cost across the company.

1+1=3 /// do you share your experiences and lessons learned across projects?

to share is to multiply to share is to multiplyto share is to multiplyModern organisations deliver many of their products

and services through projects and programmes, in

which a multitude of stakeholders might be involved,

both internal as well as external. A wealth of

experiences and lessons learned are developed in

these project environments every day. Reality however

shows that ‘local’ knowledge developed in projects is

heavily underused and remains untapped, especially in

multi-national or multi-location contexts. As a

consequence, opportunities to reuse knowledge across

the project landscape or in operations are missed.

Capturing and sharing of experiences and lessons

between projects should enable organisations to:

■ prevent unnecessary duplication of effort and

thus reduce project costs;

■ learn from mistakes and avoid them in future or

parallel initiatives;

4 5

COST OF IGNORANCE /// 1 or 2 key employees hold crucial knowledge, putting continuity at risk1+1=3 /// project networking

Project networking is about making connections between professionals in a project environment.

It is about capturing and sharing the wealth of knowledge gained in projects and includes support of

emerging communities of people with common interests, knowledge and practical experiences.

Project networking is focused on three areas:

1 /// Learning in projects: the organisation of lessons learning at key milestones and critical points

on the project timeline.

2 /// Learning between projects: the identification, capture and sharing of good practices,

joint problem solving and exchange of lessons learned between concurrent projects.

3 /// Learning from projects: the capture, validation and dissemination of project knowledge

to inform a wider community of practice and future projects.

We believe that in a project environment, lessons learning and knowledge sharing should be integral

to programme and project management discipline and not be left to coincidence.

Since 1998, DNV has developed and deployed a suite of tools that support project networking.

The examples provided on the following pages show a selection that illustrates the variety of

methods and results that DNV can offer.

6 7

COST OF IGNORANCE /// Good ideas and best practices are not shared, raising costs and missing opportunities1+1=3 /// project networking

Knowledge Markets are informal but structured

events that help a project community to efficiently

match knowledge needs and knowledge offers.

Participants can establish and explore common

themes that deserve joint knowledge development

and sharing. As a by-product, participants get to

know each other better or deepen already existing

relationships. At the end of the knowledge market,

an analysis of key sharing themes is undertaken

and knowledge sharing activities can be initiated.

Debriefs follow a structured format and seek to

capture reusable experiences and lessons learned in

agreed areas. Outputs inform others in the project

community to enhance their own project progress.

Project debriefs seek to build reflective capacities in

projects and instil lessons learned from others into

the project’s next phase. Successful debriefs require

an open and honest atmosphere and are best

facilitated by experienced debrief facilitators.

Sharing Events are designed to help learn

how others are tackling thematic issues that are

common to the project community. Sharing events

are participative, interactive and lead to concrete

outcomes to be readily re-used. A sharing event

enables participants to work with peers in their

field, thus accelerating what they otherwise would

be doing alone or in a smaller group. Well-timed

events prevent the duplication of effort and the

repetition of mistakes.

Peer Assists are sessions in which a problem

holder is assisted by peers to resolve a project issue.

Peer assists follow a structured, 10-step format that

guides participants to formulate the root problem,

identify underlying causes and offer a systematic

way of proposing alternative problem resolutions.

98

COST OF IGNORANCE /// Employees use outdated and non-validated information in action1+1=3 /// project networking

Lessons Learning tools include guidelines for

undertaking systematic project learning and include

tools such as the AAR (After Action Review), SMILE

(Significant Milestone Review) and PPR (Post-Project

Review). DNV lessons learned toolkits include

templates for capturing and tagging the resulting

lessons learned.

Benchmarking through the capture of agreed

project data against individual project plans.

The data shared focusses on important criteria

from an organisational perspective. Leaders

in a project community can be identified and

approached to share the underlying success

factors. Equally, the wider project community

can be linked to good practice, that when shared,

further enhances overall programme delivery.

Webinars are short, online, facilitated sharing

events that aim to quickly address a knowledge

gap or to exchange ideas or information. Webinars

provide an opportunity to draw on expertise from

outside the community, without the burden of

travel for both participants and presenters. As

webinars can be recorded for future scrutiny, the

content can be re-used.

The Project Learning Hub is a secure, information

exchange website that enables users to connect

with peers, retrieve key documentation and to

collaborate on joint knowledge products. The HUB

also promotes the aims and benefits of each project

and helps to showcase its achievements

and expertise.

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WE LEARN

1 ■ Create a learning plan: what do you expect to learn, when are

you capturing the lessons, with whom and how?

2 ■ Execute the learning plan, through use of project learning tools

e.g. After Action Reviews / Critical Incident Analysis, etc.;

3 ■ Review lessons with peers identified earlier;

4 ■ Update improved project plan drawing on lessons to date.

/// Capture new knowledge

WE STRUCTURE

1 ■ Validate project knowledge assets e.g. CVs, project references, etc.;

2 ■ Tag assets for easier access and re-use;

3 ■ Identify any needs to amend corporate procedures,

systems, training etc;

4 ■ Liaise with owners of the Corporate Learning Cycle.

/// Safeguard new knowledge for wider use

WE SHARE

1 ■ Arrange project close-out and lessons hand-over to

the organisation or programme management office;

2 ■ Process, annotate and submit key activity

documentation. Address issues relating

to IP and confidentiality;

3 ■ Post project close out report to intranet and

promote new knowledge assets to stakeholders;

4 ■ If activity is selected for a broader dissemination,

nominate speaker(s) for training courses or sharing days.

/// Undertake planned sharing activities

WE ASK

1 ■ Check: standard procedures and guidelines;

2 ■ Identify knowledge gaps, training needs, coaching and mentoring

needs and implement;

3 ■ Identify colleagues with knowledge and experience who can offer

peer assistance and ensure you have a budget to engage them;

4 ■ Review lessons of previous, similar activities.

/// Adopt existing knowledge and adapt project plan accordingly

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PROJECT NETWORKING

KNOWLEDGE MARKETS

SHARING DAYS

DEBRIEFS

CLINICS

COMMUNITY WEBSITE

DISSEMINATE KNOWLEDGETO WIDER (ORGANISATIONAL)

COMMUNITY

14 15

COST OF IGNORANCE /// Loss of critical knowledge due to retirement and mobility of workforce1+1=3 /// project networking

DNV has developed significant international experience across a variety of industries in designing,

coordinating and facilitating project networking for joint industry projects, research and development

portfolios, technology demonstration programmes and project networks.

Clients who benefit from project networking and learning are those responsible for:

■ New onshore or offshore installations;

■ Large decommissioning programmes and projects;

■ R&D programmes;

■ Joint Industry Projects;

■ Sharing best practice across organisational and geographic boundaries.

DNV provides the following services that cover all aspects of effective project networking programmes:

■ Design and facilitation of knowledge sharing activities for individual projects;

■ Organisation and facilitation of (large-scale) knowledge markets, sharing events and peer assists;

■ Supporting programme management offices with benchmarking for learning;

■ Design and implementation of effective joint industry projects and project networks;

■ Recommending and managing IT environments that support project networking and knowledge

dissemination.

Our delivery modes are consultancy, programme management, coaching and (in house) training.

WHAT ARE YOUR COSTS OF IGNORANCE?

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For more information please contact Rob van der Spek, Director of Knowledge Management Advisory Services

/// t +31 (0)6 54781900 /// e rob.van.der.spek@dnv.com, kmservices@dnv.com /// w www.dnv.com/knowledgemanagement