Knowledge Management Pyramid

Knowledge Management is a complex topic and the contractors who learn to manage it the best will have an edge in the market.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

There are several models that can help you visualize the differences between different types of “knowledge” in your organization and an individual’s ability to work at different levels.

Quote: Free access to data does not turn into knowledge without effort. Hans Rosling. The Knowledge Management Pyramid.

One of these is called the DIKW Pyramid for:

  • Data: Simply signals and other inputs.
  • Information: Data that has been organized into a useful format.
  • Knowledge: Information put in context.  
  • Wisdom: Knowledge turned into decisions and action.

A closely related concept is "Situational Awareness" levels of Perception, Comprehension, and Projection.  

Think about your best project team members, including conceptual estimators who are great at the preconstruction stage. They have phenomenal abilities to take a wide range of data and turn it into a complex 5D model of the project in their heads that they make great decisions from.  

Back up to a world view of data vs. wisdom with the book Factfulness




Root Cause Analysis to Behavior Level
Contracting businesses and projects always have problems. What’s important is that a team develops the skills and routine habit for continuously improving. When troubleshooting a problem it’s important to do Root Cause Analysis (RCA) down to behaviors.
Incentive Compensation for Contractors - Audience Question: Cooling Off Period and Closing
Sometimes, any change in the organization, including incentive programs, simply doesn't work.
8 Factors in Winning at the RFP Stage for CMAR Projects
After developing the opportunity, the Request for Proposal (RFP) is the first gate you have to get through to win a CM @ Risk project. Scoring is different from each project owner but there are eight major factors.