It got me thinking about how KM starts to address the known
and unknown areas
Hence the picture here, which shows how knowledge can grow through a project, as a result of Knowledge Management activity.
In column one, a project maps out the important knowledge needed
for the safe and effective delivery of the project objectives. There are known
knowns, known unknowns etc etc, and we have shown these as equal in extent.
The first area they address is the known unknowns – the
things they know they don’t know, and know that they need to know. Through
Knowledge Management Planning they map these out, and put a set of learning
activities in place to fill the knowledge gap. As a result, in column two, they
eliminate this area, and increase the known knowns by “learning before doing”.
Then during the project they will encounter some of the
unknown unknowns, which become apparent as nasty surprises. The fix these
through learning from their own experience, or pulling in extra knowledge from
elsewhere. As a result, in column three,
they reduce this area, and increase the known knowns by “learning during”.
At the end of the project they do some reflection, go
through a facilitated learning exercise, and may discuss their learning with
other projects. Through discussion and dialogue, they become aware of some of
the other things they have learned. As a result, in column three, they reduce
the area of unknown knowns, and increase the known knowns by “learning after”.
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1 comment:
Great post. It really resonates with many project management best practices for expertise and learning from experience.
Your lowest segment there "what we don't know we don't know" matches up with a gem of Situational Leadership terminology Unconscious Incompetence. Not only is it a pithy phrase, it's fun to say. :)
I have some references to the topic in one of my first posts at my consulting blog.
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