IT project prioritisation - a practical application of knowledge management principles

What happens when you devolve IT project prioritisation to non-IT business leaders?

Tullow Oil, a leading independent oil and gas exploration and production group, did just that.  The approach reflected its commitment to collaborative decision making.

Chris Rivinus describes how Tullow Oil made this approach work in his article in the December 2013 issue of Business Information Review.  Astonishingly, they devised a system which enabled 15 very busy people, with diverse backgrounds, based in different continents, to reach decisions on projects even if they had little technical expertise.  And they do this in an hour a month!

The article describes the processes and templates used and describes the guiding principles that make the approach work, including:

• Snap-shot decision making
• Trust their gut
• Simplicity
• Visualise with data and text detail as backup

IT project prioritization: A practical application of knowledge management principles.  Chris Rivinus, Tullow Oil UK, Business Information Review 2013 30(4) 196-203

The organisation of organisational knowledge

"Knowledge does not need to be complex, and its capture does not need to be complicated"

So says Danny Budzak, Senior Information Manager at the London Legacy Development Corporation in the UK.

Writing in the December 2013 issue of Business Information Review (BIR 30(4)), Danny describes the approaches he and his Information Services team took to develop and implement IM standards, tools and techniques.

This focus on keeping it simple can be seen in team's approach to data, information and knowledge.  These included:

• Very short one-to-one sessions with staff to help them organise email folders (less than 10 minutes)
• Using critical questioning to understand the nature of the data stored within the organisation - reducing the number of 'must keep' files from over 5 million to 130,000!
• Producing a two page report of data audit findings

"We have learned that knowledge management works well when it is related to real and pressing issues...."

The organization of organizational knowledge, Danny Budzak, Senior Information Manager, London Legacy Development Corporation, UK, Business Information Review 2013, Vol. 30(4) 183-190.