Why storing project files is not the same as storing project knowledge

There is often an assumption that storing project files equates to managing knowledge on behalf of future projects. This is wrong, and here's why.

For example, see this video from the USACE Knowledge Management program says "if you digitise your paper files, throw in some metadata tagging, and use our search appliance, finding what you need for your [future] project is easy". (I have added the word [future] as this was proposed as a solution to the next project now anticipating things in advance).

However there is a major flaw with just digitising, tagging and filing the project documents and assuming that this transfers knowledge, and the flaw is that the project may have been doing things wrong, and almost certainly could have done things better with hindsight. Capturing the files will capture the mistakes, but will not capture the hindsight, which is where the learning and the knowledge resides.

It is that hindsight you need to capture, not the files themselves.

• Don't capture the bid package presented to the client, capture what you should have bid, the price you should have quoted, and the package you should have used. All of these things should come from the post-bid win/loss review.
• Don't capture the proposed project budget, capture the actual budget, where the cost overruns were, and how you would avoid these next time. This should come from the post-project lessons review.
• Don't capture the project resource plan, capture the resource plan you should have had, and the resourcing you would recommend to future projects of this type. This also should come from the post-project lessons review.
• Don't capture the planned product design, capture the as-built design, where the adjustments were made, and why they were made. (See  my own experience of working from stored plans and not as-built design which cost me £500 and ten dead trees).
• And so on. You can no doubt think of other examples.

Capturing the hindsight is extra work, and requires analysis and reflection through Knowledge Management processes such as After Action Review and Retrospect. These processes need to be schedules within the project plan, and need to focus on questions such as 

• What have we learned?
• What would we repeat?
• What would we do differently?
• What advice and guidance, with the benefit of hindsight, would we give to future projects?

These are tough questions, focused on deriving hindsight (as in the blog picture above). Deriving hindsight is not easy, which is why these Knowledge Management processes need to be given time, space, and skilled facilitation. However they add huge value to future projects by capturing the lessons of hindsight.  Merely filing and tagging the project files is far easier, but will capture none of the hindsight and so none of the knowledge.

Capturing documents from previous projects and repeating what they did will cause you to repeat their mistakes. Better to capture their hindsight, so it can be turned into foresight for future projects.