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.

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D. Brown Management
February 1, 2019 2 minute read
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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. 

End of Easy
Don’t give up just when the going gets tough, that should be your starting point. Know that most others have given up at this same point, so success and competitive advantage is probably just around the corner from when things begin to get tough.
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