Notes for Reich, Gemina, and Sauer “Modeling the Knowledge Perspective of IT Projects”
INTRODUCTION
(4)
IT projects are usually delivered over budget and past deadline. More
troubling though is the perception that IT-enabled change does not
generate the organizational value that is anticipated.
(4) This
research perspective considers an IT project as an arena in which
action is paramount and in which tasks, budgets, people, and
schedules must be managed and controlled to achieve expected
results.
(4) Another perspective that is gaining momentum views a
project as a place in which learning and knowledge is paramount.
Project based organization supplanted by solutions.
(4) Furthermore, today's IT projects are often more about the integration of systems than the construction of software. In this environment, the project manager's primary task is to combine multiple sources of knowledge about technologies and business processes to create organizational value.
A Knowledge-Based View of IT Projects
Model of knowledge-based risks in IT projects.
(5) This model of
knowledge-based risks in IT projects suggests that there are 10 areas
of risk occurring within an IT project's four parts: inputs,
processes, outputs, and governance structure.
(5) The conceptual
framework for the knowledge and learning perspective within IT
projects contains three parts: a. a typology of knowledge that is
critical to IT project success; b. a definition of knowledge
management in the context of IT projects; and c. a model that
identifies the knowledge-based risks in an IT project.
What Kinds of Knowledge Need to Be Managed?
Need to manage process, domain, institutional and cultural knowledge.
(5)
The first type of knowledge - process
knowledge -
is the knowledge that team members and sponsors have about the
project structure, methodology, tasks, and time frames.
(5) The
second type of knowledge is domain
knowledge,
the knowledge of the industry, firm, current situation,
problem/opportunity, and potential solutions (including technology
and business process).
(5) The third is institutional
knowledge.
This knowledge is a mix of an organization's history, power
structure, and values . . . the fourth kind of knowledge necessary in
an IT project is cultural
knowledge.
What Is Knowledge Management in IT Projects?
What Knowledge-Based Risks Exist in IT Projects?
(6)
The 10 knowledge-based risks in IT projects have been organized into
a four-component model composed of knowledge inputs, project
governance, project operational phases, and project outputs. [expand
on these]
(7) The more difficult the
domain problems are, the more important it is that team members
possess a knowledge map - showing the knowledge within the team and
the knowledge available to the team.
Empirical Support for Knowledge-Based Risks in IT Projects
Summary of the Empirical Evidence to Date [expand on these]
(7) the practices
for gathering and disseminating lessons learned are immature.
(9)
Several studies have shown that the knowledge possessed by team
members impacts team performance.
Can We Model Project Performance
Using a Knowledge Lens?
(9)
In the Temporal Model of IT Project Performance, the risks and
resources in a project are modeled over time.
(9) at T-1, the
model separates out knowledge resources from other risks.
(9)
There are no knowledge outputs explicitly contained in this
model.
(9) This model was tested via a survey of 194 projects from
194 different project managers. . . . To analyze this data, we then
used a partial least squares (PLS) approach.
(9) The findings show
partial support for the knowledge perspective of IT projects.
Influence at the Construct Level: Knowledge Resources
(9)
From this perspective, knowledge resources help the project manager
take the necessary actions that will help the team achieve the
project's goals.
Influence at the Subconstruct Level: Expertise Coordination and
Knowledge Loss
(10) When we
looked inside the components of project management practices, we saw
that expertise coordination, the knowledge component, has more
influence than both administrative coordination (i.e., task and time
monitoring) and process integration.
A Preliminary Model of the
Knowledge Perspective of IT Projects
(10) At present, we
have only a very simplistic understanding of the impact of time
within a project on knowledge and risk.
(11) This model admittedly
does not consider the impact of cultural and institutional knowledge
on project success and also may fail to capture the client's
knowledge needs and contributions.
(11) [five constructs]: the
initial level of knowledge resources available to the project; . . .
knowledge lost during T-2; . . . efforts taken by the project manager
to create new knowledge; . . . traditional measures of project
success; . . . knowledge outputs of the project.
Reich, Blaize H., Andrew Gemina, and Chris Sauer. “Modeling the Knowledge Perspective of IT Projects.” Project Management Journal 39.Supplement (2008): 4-14. Print.