Storing project files is not the same as storing knowledge. You need to capture the hindsight

 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.

Sometimes we assume that if you digitise your project files, throw in some metadata tagging, and have a good search engine, then your project knowledge will be available for future reference.

However there is a major flaw with this thinking, namely that the project almost certainly would have done some things differently with the benefits of hindsight. Capturing the files will capture what was planned and what was done, but will not capture the hindsight, which is where 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 scheduled within the project plan, and need to focus on questions such as 

• What were the successes and challenges on the project?
• Why did they occur?
• What have we learned?
• What would we do differently next time?
• 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 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.