ewise TM Project Knowledge Management Solution

Transcription

1 ewise TM Project Knowledge Solution A White Paper by HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED All rights reserved Page 1 of 1

2 Contents Processes And Knowledge Areas In Project...3 Knowledge (KM) Function Mapping For Project Companies...4 The ewise TM Knowledge Framework (KMF)...6 Information...6 Collaboration - Discussion Forums & Online Meetings...6 Team & Project...7 Expertise...7 Business Partner Contact...7 Improve productivity by involving everyone...8 Complete control: ewise TM administration...9 Cost of ownership...9 All rights reserved Page 2 of 2

3 Processes And Knowledge Areas In Project According to A Guide to the Project Body of Knowledge 2000 Edition [Project Institute (PMI)] project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of the particular project. Project knowledge and practices are best described in terms of their component processes. These processes can be placed into five process groups : a. Initiating; b. Planning; c. Executing; d. Controlling and e. Closing. and nine Knowledge Areas: f. Project Integration ; g. Project Scope ; h. Project Time ; i. Project Cost ; j. Project Quality ; k. Project Human Resource ; l. Project Communications ; m. Project Risk ; n. Project Procurement. Managing these processes and Knowledge areas typically involves: Balancing competing demands for: project scope, time, cost, risk and quality; Satisfying stakeholders with differing needs and expectations; Meeting identified requirements. Establishing and leveraging Knowledge flows. The challenges facing Project Managers and their Organizations to effectively manage the nine critical Knowledge areas and their impact on the 5 process groups require: Smooth integration of diverse groups & teams; Fast and effective collaboration for execution of functions; Standardized and systematic transaction operations; Focused, time specific utilization of expertise. All rights reserved Page 3 of 3

4 Knowledge (KM) Function Mapping For Project Companies The concept that Project Knowledge is vital to successful project management is gaining momentum throughout industry, causing a shift away from traditional, individual oriented project management to towards collaborative team structures. The diagram below shows the Knowledge management functions within a project oriented organization organized within a framework. Collaborative Groups KM Function Mapping for Project Centric Companies Process Driven Collaboration Driven Level Of Interdependence Project Knowledge Centre Efficiency Driven Business Development Framework Time Report Knowledge Flows Project Execution Client Relationship Research & Analysis Proposal Development Expertise Driven Brand Scheduling Strategy Development Individual Informational Complexity Of Work Interpretation /Judgement The above framework classifies Project Knowledge (KM) tasks along two dimensions: 1. The vertical dimension titled Level of Interdependence. At one end of the axis you have Knowledge management activities managed by individuals. At the other end you have Knowledge management activities where teams collaborate. 2. The Horizontal dimension titled Complexity of work. At one end you have Knowledge management activities, which rely on information. At the other end you have Knowledge management activities where interpretation, judgment based on experience is critical. These two dimensions in turn provide four quadrants for classifying the Knowledge management activities: 1. Efficiency Driven- These are primarily based on information base and are typically carried out by individuals such as project managers. Involves activities such as scheduling project and creating and analyzing time reports. A centralized repository of project database ensures that All rights reserved Page 4 of 4

5 the activity updating and time information can be entered by team members in the system and are readily available to the project managers. 2. Process Driven - These are based on information base and are typically carried out by teams in collaboration. Examples include Project Knowledge Base (Knowledge center) of past project learning, best practice processes and FAQ 3. Collaboration Driven - These are based on experience and judgment of people base and are typically carried out by teams in collaboration. Examples include research and analysis, proposal making etc. 4. Expertise Driven - These are based on experience and judgment of people base and are typically carried out by individual such as sales managers. Examples included strategy development, customer relation management and brand management. The framework also shows 9 Knowledge Flows (displayed with arrow direction at the Center of the diagram) for establishing Knowledge Practices. The 3 flows starting from expertise quadrant illustrate that effective knowledge management practice should enable using experience of people in improving efficiency of the organization, building a knowledge base and improving ability of collaborating teams to handle projects better. Knowledge management activities such as proposal development (shown above under Collaboration driven) require experience and judgment and involve collaboration of teams. This calls for Knowledge management tools that enable tapping expertise of experienced people and also need to provide collaborative environment. On the other hand project and Knowledge center management (Processes, best practices, customer expectations etc) that fall under Process driven quadrant require project related critical information management as well as collaboration of large number of people. The framework also highlights how the Project Knowledge activities are related to each other (Shown through overlap) within each Quadrant. For example effective Project management is made feasible with integrated Knowledge center management, which provides a centralized repository. Project managers can tap past project learning, processes that need to be followed at project level, phase level or task level, relevant documents for the project requirement, design, FAQ etc and link them to appropriate level project, phase, tasks for shared access across all team members. A user (Knowledge Worker) can also contribute new learning to the Knowledge center to enrich the repository. The Knowledge requirements call for set of collaborative planning and scheduling, project information, expert knowledge and project information management tools within an integrated Knowledge framework. As a Web-based KM framework ewise TM takes advantage of the accessibility and availability of information in centralized repository to deliver collaborative features that encourage participation of the whole project team and provide unprecedented visibility to project information. It provides a new level of collaboration, becoming a true project knowledge management solution for the entire organization. All rights reserved Page 5 of 5

6 The ewise TM Knowledge Framework (KMF) The ewise TM Knowledge Framework (KMF) provides a systematic classification and planning roadmap to address knowledge management challenges. The framework illustrates the different models and approaches to knowledge management. An organization can employ multiple classification and mode strategies at the enterprise level. Lets look at some of these models and understand how they can be used by organizations. KM Technology Information Collaboration Team project Expertise Enterprise Application Business Partner Needs Critical Information Mgmt Communities of practice Mgmt Web based project tracking and Mgmt Expertise Knowledge Appications Mgmt Contact Information Mgmt Process enablers Knowledge repository Knowledge Map / Meta Knowledge Skill Repository Sources Documents Databases s Web People Information Critical Information is done using Personalization, portal views for user (Knowledge workers), Managers (Facilitators) and Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) roles, web based Document & Search feature of ewise TM for storing and retrieving the critical information. A process to capture and store critical information in ewise TM Knowledge Base is provided. This information can be any knowledge source web links, documents, projects, discussions, brainstorming meetings, audio/video conferences, news, calendar events etc. The information portal provides personalized portals to each employee, each team and to the corporation and uses push and pull mechanism to deliver the most relevant Knowledge to each employee. Collaboration - Discussion Forums & Online Meetings ewise TM enables global teams to collaborate, make decisions, share resources, and leverage content to meet their objectives by providing users with an organized workspace to store ideas and information related to the project. Team based moderated Multi-threaded discussion keep the team focused and up to date with the latest project developments. Critical information can be shared across functional and departmental lines. Awareness can be raised about projects, communities and product development practices. Distributed teams can thus work in cohesion without duplication of efforts. Special Interest All rights reserved Page 6 of 6

7 Groups can be created that form a community of interest, bringing together people from diverse fields having same area of interest. Users can hold brainstorming sessions, the inferences of which, can be saved and uploaded to the knowledge repository. Team & Project In the knowledge driven economy, an enterprise revolves around tasks and project-based teams. The ewise TM team portal provides a single point access to all team related information and interactive applications. The knowledge user can access team profiles; required skill sets and gets links to relevant people, documents, team calendar, tasks etc. ewise TM enables global teams to collaborate, make decisions, share resources, and leverage content to meet their objectives by providing users with an organized workspace to store ideas and information related to the project. Secure project based libraries, workflows and task lists lets the project manager manage every aspect of the project - from compiling relevant information for the teams to keeping deliverables on track. ewise TM allows you to maintain tight control over project deliverables by monitoring associated due dates and priorities for project tasks, as well as task lists across the entire team. As ewise TM stores all project related information in one place, new group members can quickly get the information they need to begin contributing much faster. And because the teams and groups can collaborate both online and offline. ewise TM framework ensures that the "Best Practices" are stored and used to keep project teams on track. The knowledge base can be searched to find and reuse work from previous projects. The reports, workflow and document management - all contribute to defining what process works best to reduce project life cycles. Expertise The "Expertise " model focuses on the expertise of individuals who exercise considerable discretion based on experience and intellectual "Know How". The type of work is Judgment oriented, and relies on creating electronic repository of information on skills. The expertise and expertise portal is then used to leverage and retain knowledge of experts. The ewise TM Expertise allows users to declare their expertise in a systematic manner using templates, which capture the same. The ewise TM expertise portal allows users to quickly search for experts based on skills, proficiency levels, and keywords. Users can then see the expertise profile, contact details, and group information. If the expert is online and available, the user can interact in a Q&A session.the same can also be saved as a knowledge object (document), in the knowledge repository, which makes it searchable. Moreover, user can also get into a collaborative session with an expert in real time through the collaboration module. Business Partner Contact This is done using the Contact Information Module. This module help in tracking of external business partners and maintain documents along with the relevant history of that partner. ewise TM lets you keep track of conversations with contacts and keep a history of previous communications. All rights reserved Page 7 of 7

8 Improve productivity by involving everyone ewise TM contributes to the success of a project by ensuring clear communication of project data both up and down the management chain and by allowing project managers to capture the expertise of resources. The involvement of both team members and senior management in the planning process is achieved through the ewise TM functionality which allows users at all levels of the organization to view up-to-date project information and to interact with the project planner by providing input to the schedule and project plan. Through ewise TM, even users with limited knowledge of project management methodology can easily view, update, and provide input on the project plan and schedule. The following sections detail the features, benefits, and usage scenarios of ewise TM by various classes of users within the organization, including Chief Knowledge Officer The Chief Knowledge Officer or CKO role looks after leveraging knowledge across the enterprise. The CKO can define different project types an organization deals with and builds up common phases for each type that can offer standardization for all projects within the organization. He also links critical processes that must be followed for each project phase. Project managers those responsible for planning, scheduling and for maintaining the project plan, contributing Project learning and organizing a knowledge sharing environment in ewise TM. Project managers retain complete control of the master project plan and also benefit from the increased involvement of others within the organization, leading to more synergistic planning and more informed decision-making. ewise TM reduces administrative overhead by enabling team members to directly update allocated task progress into the centralized project repository. Using the ewise TM collaboration model, the project manager creates and maintains the discussion forum for critical areas that need interaction with team or with clients. Team members team members or Knowledge workers identified as resources within the project plan. Resources primary goals are to deliver on commitments and contribute to the success of a project; however more and more frequently, they are also expected to participate in planning tasks, estimating work, and tracking status. ewisetm provides resources automatic notification within their personalised portal about the tasks they have been allocated. They can easily keep track of their own tasks and for seeing how their work contributes to the high-level projects or organizations. Through the Personal Timesheet views, team members can estimate percent complete or enter actual hours spent on an assigned task. Resource managers and team managers ewise TM helps managers ensure efficient use of existing resources and anticipate future demands for staffing. In addition, it provides features that enable assignment and delegation of work among functional teams in support of a larger, multidisciplinary project. Senior manager/stakeholder anyone with an interest in the status of one or more projects across the enterprise. Business development managers or managers of project managers may not be concerned with day-to-day project management but nonetheless need to see how the organization s projects are performing against time and budget and to plan human resources to ensure that their business runs effectively. ewise TM provides these individuals with concise and pertinent information at a glance. All rights reserved Page 8 of 8

9 Complete control: ewise TM administration ewise TM includes options that provide precise control over the specific information available to each user. These options can be set for an individual user or for groups of users. Account management. Before users can access project data through ewise TM, they must have an account on the ewise TM Server. User accounts can beset up by the project manager (called facilitator. Authentication. To ensure security, ewise TM supports its own authentication scheme, which uses username/password pairs Views of proje ct information. The administrator defines the views, for various stakeholders. Cost of ownership ewise TM represents a cost-effective means to involve more levels of the organization in project Knowledge. IT staff can choose to deploy ewise TM to the project managers, team and resource managers who need these powerful Project Knowledge tools, while drawing the rest of the organization into the collaborative environment within ewise TM. Delivering ewisetm to users who currently have no project planning or scheduling tools on their desktops is relatively inexpensive and pays big benefits in terms of efficiency and successful planning. Total cost to the organization is further minimized by ewise TM simplicity. The ewisetm browser interface employs a familiar user interface and navigational model, as well as detailed on-screen instructions, online help, to ensure ease of use. And because ewise TM is web-based server only application needing nothing more that IE 5.x browser on the client side. All rights reserved Page 9 of 9