The Contribution of Communities of Practice to Project Manamgement

2011 ◽  
pp. 104-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Ragsdell
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Level Of Detail ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Process Improvements ◽  
Opportunities For Learning ◽  
Potential Synergy

More and more organisations are using projects as a means of managing their business; increasingly, ‘new initiatives’ are the focus of organisational life. Such initiatives could include cultural change programmes, organisation redesigns, or process improvements. Tackling the sociological and psychological aspects of the project is a great enough challenge, but there is often a requirement to develop a technological dimension too. Accelerating technical advancements brings an extra level of complexity to the projects so that, in general, projects have become more complex—not only do they tend to have a wider variety of customers to satisfy, but they also tend to utilise more sophisticated technology and have more far-reaching implications than ever before. It is not too surprising that some projects ‘fail’; the increased complexity of projects brings an obvious rise in the associated risks. However, the increased complexity of projects also brings a rise in the opportunities for learning through the management of knowledge therein. These are opportunities that are not being fully exploited at present, as illustrated by the continuation of the ‘failure-to-learn’ and ‘learning-to-fail’ themes in the literature (e.g., Lyytinen & Robey, 1999; Cannon & Edmondson, 2004); a more active stance would consciously draw lessons from projects, from ‘successes’ and ‘failures’ alike. Parallel to the growing emphasis on projects in organisational life and their changing nature, there is growing recognition of the interplay between the fields of project management (PM) and knowledge management (KM). Reference has already been made to the opportunities for more effectively managing knowledge within a project setting. This article operates at a finer level of detail and draws attention to the potential synergy between project teams and a much popularised social network derived from the KM arena—that of communities of practice (CoP). In doing so, the disciplines of PM and KM are explicitly bridged and, it is put forward, the prospect of breaking the ‘learning-to fail’ and ‘failing-to learn’ loops is raised.

The Contribution of Communities of Practice to Project Management

2011 ◽  
pp. 2736-2740
Author(s):  
Gillian Ragsdell
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Level Of Detail ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Process Improvements ◽  
Opportunities For Learning ◽  
Potential Synergy

More and more organisations are using projects as a means of managing their business; increasingly, ‘new initiatives’ are the focus of organisational life. Such initiatives could include cultural change programmes, organisation redesigns, or process improvements. Tackling the sociological and psychological aspects of the project is a great enough challenge, but there is often a requirement to develop a technological dimension too. Accelerating technical advancements brings an extra level of complexity to the projects so that, in general, projects have become more complex—not only do they tend to have a wider variety of customers to satisfy, but they also tend to utilise more sophisticated technology and have more far-reaching implications than ever before. It is not too surprising that some projects ‘fail’; the increased complexity of projects brings an obvious rise in the associated risks. However, the increased complexity of projects also brings a rise in the opportunities for learning through the management of knowledge therein. These are opportunities that are not being fully exploited at present, as illustrated by the continuation of the ‘failure-to-learn’ and ‘learning-to-fail’ themes in the literature (e.g., Lyytinen & Robey, 1999; Cannon & Edmondson, 2004); a more active stance would consciously draw lessons from projects, from ‘successes’ and ‘failures’ alike. Parallel to the growing emphasis on projects in organisational life and their changing nature, there is growing recognition of the interplay between the fields of project management (PM) and knowledge management (KM). Reference has already been made to the opportunities for more effectively managing knowledge within a project setting. This article operates at a finer level of detail and draws attention to the potential synergy between project teams and a much popularised social network derived from the KM arena—that of communities of practice (CoP). In doing so, the disciplines of PM and KM are explicitly bridged and, it is put forward, the prospect of breaking the ‘learning-to fail’ and ‘failing-to learn’ loops is raised.

Linking Communities of Practice and Project Teams in the Construction Industry

2011 ◽  
pp. 335-339
Author(s):  
Gillian Ragsdell ◽  
Kaye Remington
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Project Management Professionals ◽  
Potential Synergy ◽  
Joint Enterprise ◽  
Project Management Professional

Continuing from Ragsdell’s (Article, The Contribution of Communities of Practice to Project Management) discussion highlighting potential synergy between project teams and CoPs, Remington and Ragsdell move into the practical arena. This article interrogates the usefulness of CoP in the construction industry and the challenges they pose for project management practice therein. Emphasis is on the role of CoPs in addressing the problem of project knowledge transfer within and between project teams. The concept of community of practice (CoP), defined initially by Lave and Wenger (1991) and later developed by Wenger (1998) and others (Barab & Duffy, 2000; Gherardi & Nicolini, 2002; Skyrme, 1999), has only recently received attention in the project management professional literature (Galarneau & Rose, 2002; Love, Huang, Edards, & Irani, 2005; Morris, 2002). This is perhaps a little surprising since, on initial analysis, the project environment would appear to comply with all three of Wenger’s three dimensions of a CoP (Wenger, 1998, pp. 72-85). There exists a level of mutual engagement in practice between parties who are involved in projects. A project is certainly a joint enterprise between a number of individuals who might come from a variety of organizations and backgrounds to achieve agreed goals. At the wider level, within the project management professional community, there is a shared interest in improving practice. At least among project management professionals, there is a shared repertoire of language, routines, stories, and cultural artifacts. However, the peculiar nature of the range of initiatives that are referred to under the generic name projects suggests a number of structural and organizational barriers to free exchange and development of knowledge within the CoP model described by Wenger and others. This article goes on to explore a number of characteristics, peculiar to construction projects, which might influence effective application of the CoP concept.

A Healthcare Project

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocco Reina ◽  
Teresa Cetani ◽  
Assunta Lacroce ◽  
Marzia Ventura
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Medical Record ◽  
Electronic Medical Record ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Level Of Knowledge

The paper aims at analysing the complex relations between knowledge management and project management on an empirical case in healthcare system represented by Electronic Medical Record (EMR); the effective goal is to underline the approach and the practical methods used by the project teams to maximize the level of knowledge plugged in EMR in two selected Italian hospitals. First, the research analyzes the main references about knowledge management and project management; then, it shows the job research, based on interviews and questionnaires given to the key professionals involved in the project.

scholarly journals Identification of Enterprise Social Network (ESN) Group Archetypes in ESN Analytics

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Riemer ◽  
Laurence Lock Lee ◽  
Cai Kjaer ◽  
Annika Haeffner
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Clustering Techniques ◽  
Group Type ◽  
Enterprise Social Networks ◽  
Enterprise Social Network

With the proliferation of Enterprise Social Networks (ESN), the measurement of ESN activity becomes increasingly relevant. The emerging field of ESN analytics aims to develop metrics and models to measure and classify user activity to support organisational goals and outcomes. In this paper we focus on a neglected area of ESN analytics, the classification of activity in ESN groups. We engage in explorative research to identify a set of metrics that divides an ESN group sample into distinct types. We collaborate with Sydney-based service provider SWOOP Analytics who provided access to actual ESN meta data describing activity in 350 groups across three organisations. By employing clustering techniques, we derive a set of four group types: broadcast streams, information forums, communities of practice and project teams. We collect and reflect on feedback from ESN champions in fourteen organisations. For ESN analytics research we contribute a set of metrics and group types. For practice we envision a method that enables group managers to compare aspirations for their groups to embody a certain group type, with actual activity patterns.

Varieties of Virtual Organizations and their Knowledge Sharing Systems

Virtual Teams ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 186-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Hornett
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Work ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Management Styles ◽  
Team Leaders ◽  
Unrealistic Expectations

Provided in this chapter is an analysis of the differences between virtual teams and communities of practice. The chapter links two growing phenomena: virtual organizing and knowledge sharing (knowledge management), based on empirical work from both fields of research. By integrating various types of virtual organizing with corresponding knowledge-sharing systems, the author provides a framework that virtual team leaders, members, and consultants can use to improve management of virtual endeavors. This chapter suggests that calling nearly everything a “Community of Practice” creates unrealistic expectations for spontaneous organizing and knowledge sharing. Indeed, the managers of Virtual Project Teams have organizing challenges that are very different from stewards of Communities of Practice. Practitioners struggling with “one-size-fits-all” prescriptions for virtual work or knowledge management can use this chapter’s three generalized types to develop communications and management styles appropriate for the unique cultures found in each of the various combinations of virtual organizing and knowledge sharing.

Knowledge creation and utilization in project teams

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Ihuoma Oluikpe
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relational Processes ◽  
Knowledge Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Tacit Dimension ◽  
Organizational Results

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the knowledge processes that interplay in the social construction and appropriation of knowledge and to test these constructs empirically in project teams. Design/methodology/approach – Literature research and quantitative survey were used. The research identified project success, faster completion times, operational efficiency, innovation and generation of new knowledge as dominating project management expectations in the past ten years. It studied how these projects construct and appropriate knowledge within project teams to achieve these five objectives. Using a quantitative approach, data were sought from 1,000 respondents out of a population of 10,000 from 11 project management areas in eight world regions to test the conceptual model in real-world scenarios. The data gathered were analyzed using quantitative analysis tools and techniques such as reliability, correlation and regression. Findings – There is a lingering difficulty within organizations on how to translate tacit knowledge into action. The transfer and utilization of tacit knowledge was shown to be embedded and nested within relationships. Innovation in projects was found to be mostly linked to replication and codification of knowledge (explicit dimension) as opposed to interpretation and assimilation (tacit dimension). Arriving at a mutual interpretation of project details and requirements does not depend on canonical (formal documentation) methods but mostly on non-canonical (informal) and relational processes embedded within the team. Originality/value – This work studies, in empirical and geographical detail, the social interplay of knowledge and provided evidence relative to the appropriation of knowledge in the project organizational form, which can be extrapolated to wider contexts. The work scoped the inter-relational nature of knowledge and provided further evidence on the nebulous nature of tacit/intangible knowledge. It also proved further that organizations mostly rely on explicit knowledge to drive organizational results, as it is easily actionable and measurable.

scholarly journals Identifying Project Corporate Behavioral Risks to Support Long-Term Sustainable Cooperative Partnerships

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6347
Author(s):  
Marco Nunes ◽  
António Abreu ◽  
Célia Saraiva
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Major Factors

Projects are considered crucial building blocks whereby organizations execute and implement their short-, mid-, and long-term strategic visions. Projects are thought, developed, and implemented to solve problems, drive change, satisfy unique needs, add value, and exploit opportunities, just to name a few objectives. Although existing project management tools and techniques aim to deliver projects with success, according to the latest reviewed literature, projects still keep failing at an impressive pace. Among the extensive list of factors that may threaten project success, several articles from the research literature place particular importance on a still underexplored factor that may strongly lead to unsuccessful project delivery. This factor—usually known as corporate behavioral risks—usually emerges and evolves as organizations work together to deliver projects across a bounded period of time, and is characterized by the mix of formal and informal dynamic interactions between the different stakeholders that constitute the different organizations. Furthermore, several articles from the research literature also point out the lack of proper models to efficiently manage corporate behavioral risks as one of the major factors that may lead to projects failing. To efficiently identify and measure how such corporate behaviors may contribute to a project’s outcomes (success or failure), a heuristic model is proposed in this work, developed based on four fundamental fields ((1) project management, (2) risk management, (3) corporate behavior, and (4) social network analysis), to quantitatively analyze four critical project social networks ((1) communication, (2) problem-solving, (3) advice, and (4) trust), by applying the theory of social network analysis (SNA). The proposed model in this work is supported with a case study to illustrate its implementation and application across a project lifecycle, and how organizations can benefit from its application.

Assessment of knowledge process capabilities toward project management maturity: an empirical study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adnan Alghail ◽  
Liu Yao ◽  
Mohammed Abbas ◽  
Yahia Baashar
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Maturity Level ◽  
Knowledge Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The reasons behind the project management failure of higher education institutions (HEIs) have been researched for the past few years. One of the reasons is the lack of tools to integrate their knowledge process capabilities (KPC) with their project management (PM) to measure maturity by assessing these capabilities. Various project management maturity (PMM) models exist. Yet, there is a limited number of empirical studies that support the four integrations of KPC and PMM. Therefore, this study aims to propose a new heretical model, namely, KPC-knowledge management (KM) and evaluates a research model that includes the four KPC as an antecedent to PMM. Design/methodology/approach The suggested research model is assessed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Furthermore, the study's hypotheses were examined based on a sample of 352 respondents from the project management departments in 10 public universities in Yemen. Findings Analysis revealed that the derived PMM status could be benchmarked with the project management maturity model. Also, the study found that integrating the KPC into PM enables the institutions to perform critical tasks and value chain activities and enhance the PM maturity level as well. In contrast, if one of the capabilities does not positively impact PMM, it affects the maturity level of the entire project. Research limitations/implications The findings are obtained concerning data collected from public universities and represent the Yemeni context, limiting the generalization on a different geographical area. Also, this proposed model can be evaluated in a practical way like conducting a focus group, a set of interviews with specialists, a case study or action research. The qualitative research will help academics to validate our proposal for future research purposes. Practical implications The proposed approach may be adapted to the characteristics of organizations involved in projects as external performers (project-based organizations) and not just the HEIs projects. This study provides managers and policymakers with insights into assessing PMM and improving their organizational effectiveness when deciding which KPCs to focus on in the future. Social implications This study contributes to the current PM awareness in Yemen and facilitates its success using the knowledge processes capabilities in Yemen's HEIs. It encourages organizations to take this opportunity to revive the projects and achieve a maximum level of maturity. Originality/value This study provides new insights into two domains through the link between knowledge management and PM. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is among the first to empirically study the impact of the four KPC toward PMM. It enriches the theoretical perspective of PM. Also, it contributes to the literature on the success factor of KPC, which can be considered to improve organizational performance.

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