Knowledge management in development projects

The effective management of knowledge is now recognised as a vehicle through which the construction industry can address its need for innovation and improved business performance. The failure to capture and transfer project knowledge, which is usually buried in unread reports and arcane filing systems, or lost because people move on, leads to the increased risk of ‘reinventing the wheel’, wasted activity, and impaired project performance. Knowledge is therefore considered vital in creating competitive advantage in the new economy. Much of the growth in many global firms has been credited to knowledge, as new technologies and innovations are applied to the market and workplace. Knowledge management is therefore increasingly seen as an integral part of an organization’s competitive strategy as it facilitates continuous improvement through learning and innovation. This is now increasingly recognised by most sectors of industry, with many organisations appointing a Knowledge Manager or Business Improvement Manager, with responsibility for articulating and implementing the organisation’s knowledge management strategy. This paper argues that knowledge management is equally important in development projects and advocates the application of knowledge management practices to these projects. It introduces the key phases in knowledge management (creation, storage, sharing, modification, etc.) and explores how these can be implemented in development projects. The application of knowledge management to development projects is expected to result in numerous benefits including the transfer of lessons learned from one project to another, improved transfer of knowledge between developed countries and developing countries, and better management of human resources. This paper starts with a review of key knowledge management concepts, and outlines some of the characteristics of development projects. It then discusses the potential for knowledge management in development projects and concludes with a summary of the practical benefits to be gained.