Martin J. Eppler

Harvesting project knowledge: a review of project learning methods and success factors

This article presents an overview of proven methods to record experiences from projects and discusses their use in project management. We distinguish between process-based and documentation-based debriefing methods. Process-based methods focus on a procedural approach to capture key learnings from a project. Documentation-based methods serve as appropriate representation formats or structures for project insights. The article bridges the current gap between theoretical insights into this topic and the managerial reality today. It discusses central project debriefing problems such as the lacking willingness to learn from mistakes or the lacking discipline in the use of project management manuals. We conclude the article with recommendations on how debriefing processes can be integrated successfully into project procedures.

A comparison between concept maps, mind maps, conceptual diagrams, and visual metaphors as complementary tools for knowledge construction and sharing

In this article, Novaks concept mapping technique is compared to three other types of visualization formats, namely mind maps, conceptual diagrams, and visual metaphors. The application parameters and the respective advantages and disadvantages of each format for learning and knowledge sharing are reviewed and discussed. It is argued that the combination of these four visualization types can play to the strength of each one. The article then provides real-life examples from such a use in undergraduate and graduate university teaching. The results provide first indications that the different visualization formats can be used in complementary ways to enhance motivation, attention, understanding and recall. The implications for a complementary use of these visualization formats in class room and meeting contexts are discussed and a future research agenda in this domain is articulated.

Improving knowledge intensive processes through an enterprise knowledge medium

This paper combines three major streams of recent business research and shows how they can complement each other. Specifically, it examines which possibilities exist to improve knowledge intensive processes through new media. Thus, the paper combines arguments from the knowledge management discussion (Davenport/Prusak 1998) with the approach of Business Process Reengineering (Hammer/Champy 1993) and Media Theory (Schmid et al. 1999). The paper answers the following question: “How can the management of knowledge in business processes be organized and supported?”. The paper argues that knowledge about, within and from processes can be managed in a knowledge medium and illustrates this finding through a case study from the financial industry. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that the quality of information is a crucial element for such a knowledge medium. A knowledge medium can be defined as a technical and organizational platform of a community for the purpose of knowledge exchange between its agents (Schmid et al. 1999).

Managing team knowledge: core processes, tools and enabling factors

Based on action research with product development teams from Roche and DaimlerChrysler, and project teams from Pixelpark and Versicherungskammer Bayern, the following article proposes a model of how team leaders can improve the knowledge management within their teams. The model consists of five layers. The first layer describes the necessary communication platforms for a team. The second level, the normative layer, consists of team rules, goals, and standards. The third layer represents the core team knowledge processes. The fourth layer assembles the relevant tools. The last layer describes the necessary leadership functions to foster effective team knowledge management.

Visual representations in knowledge management: framework and cases

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explore the potential of visualization for corporate knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach – The employed methodology consists of a taxonomy of visualization formats that are embedded in a conceptual framework to guide the application of visualization in knowledge management according to the type of knowledge that is visualized, the knowledge management objective, the target group, and the application situation. This conceptual framework is illustrated through real-life examples. Findings – The findings show that there is much room for knowledge management applications based on visualization beyond the mere referencing of experts or documents through knowledge maps. Research limitations/implications – The research implications thus consist of experimenting actively with new forms of visual knowledge representation and evaluating their benefits or potential drawbacks rigorously. Practical implications – The authors encourage managers to look beyond simple diagrammatic representations of knowledge and explore alternative visual languages, such as visual metaphors or graphic narratives. Originality/value – This paper consists of two elements: first, the systematic, descriptive and prescriptive approach towards visualization in knowledge management, and second the innovative examples of how to harness the power of visualization in knowledge management.

Making knowledge visible through intranet knowledge maps: concepts, elements, cases

Establishes the conceptual and empirical basis for an innovative instrument of corporate knowledge management: the knowledge map. It begins by briefly outlining the rationale for knowledge mapping, i.e. providing a common context to access expertise and experience in large companies. It then conceptualizes five types of knowledge maps that can be used in managing organizational knowledge. They are: knowledge sources, assets, structures, applications and development maps. In order to illustrate these five types of maps, a series of examples is presented (from a multimedia agency, a consulting group, a market research firm and a medium-sized services company), and the advantages and disadvantages of the knowledge mapping technique for knowledge management are discussed. The paper concludes with a series of quality criteria for knowledge maps and proposes a five-step procedure to implement knowledge maps in a corporate intranet.

Making Strategy Work: A Literature Review on the Factors influencing Strategy Implementation

Although numerous studies acknowledge that strategies frequently fail not because of inadequate strategy formulation, but because of insufficient implementation, strategy implementation has received less research attention than strategy formulation. In this study, we review the factors that enable or impede effective strategy implementation, and survey the state-of-the-art in this domain. We highlight how strategy implementation has been researched so far – and in which contexts – and how this field may be moved forward. As a result of our literature analysis, spanning the last twenty-four years, we find nine crucial factors for strategy implementation that are frequently discussed in the literature as well as two approaches of aggregating and relating relevant factors. We find several important research needs regarding these factors and outline how they could be addressed.

NEW BUSINESS MODELS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE IDEA GENERATION

Generating novel and sustainable business model ideas is a crucial yet challenging innovation task. A growing body of literature shows that artefacts, such as visual templates, objects and sketches, can enhance team collaboration and creativity in innovation activities. Drawing on literature from diverse fields we propose a model that aims to explain how artefacts can affect the team processes in developing new business model ideas, positing that they have an impact on creativity and collaboration. We report the results of an illustrative experimental study comparing the team processes of managers working on a business model innovation task. Teams were supported by different types of artefacts (a business model template; physical objects with sketching; or PowerPoint). The results indicate that using the template significantly increases perceived collaboration and decreases perceived creativity, hence showing that artefacts can have the power to shape team work for innovation tasks.

Brand new ventures? Insights on start‐ups' branding practices

Purpose – This paper aims to shed light on the specificity of branding approaches for young companies for the reason that branding is a crucial activity for the survival and success of a newly established firm as it facilitates finding and maintain customers.Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a case study methodology, mainly through in‐depth interviews with CEOs and communication managers, 15 of the largest and most successful start‐up companies of Switzerland were analyzed.Findings – The paper establishes an overview on the current practices and rational of the brand building activities choices, and on the emblematic pitfalls regarding branding of new ventures. It suggests that young companies should not be forced to compare their branding strategies to multinational firms and proposes a framework and key guidelines for start‐up branding.Research limitations/implications – Given that this study focuses specifically on Switzerland, the findings might not be fully applicable to different economic situa...

The Benefits of Synchronous Collaborative Information Visualization: Evidence from an Experimental Evaluation

A great corpus of studies reports empirical evidence of how information visualization supports comprehension and analysis of data. The benefits of visualization for synchronous group knowledge work, however, have not been addressed extensively. Anecdotal evidence and use cases illustrate the benefits of synchronous collaborative information visualization, but very few empirical studies have rigorously examined the impact of visualization on group knowledge work. We have consequently designed and conducted an experiment in which we have analyzed the impact of visualization on knowledge sharing in situated work groups. Our experimental study consists of evaluating the performance of 131 subjects (all experienced managers) in groups of 5 (for a total of 26 groups), working together on a real-life knowledge sharing task. We compare (1) the control condition (no visualization provided), with two visualization supports: (2) optimal and (3) suboptimal visualization (based on a previous survey). The facilitator of each group was asked to populate the provided interactive visual template with insights from the group, and to organize the contributions according to the group consensus. We have evaluated the results through both objective and subjective measures. Our statistical analysis clearly shows that interactive visualization has a statistically significant, objective and positive impact on the outcomes of knowledge sharing, but that the subjects seem not to be aware of this. In particular, groups supported by visualization achieved higher productivity, higher quality of outcome and greater knowledge gains. No statistically significant results could be found between an optimal and a suboptimal visualization though (as classified by the pre-experiment survey). Subjects also did not seem to be aware of the benefits that the visualizations provided as no difference between the visualization and the control conditions was found for the self-reported measures of satisfaction and participation. An implication of our study for information visualization applications is to extend them by using real-time group annotation functionalities that aid in the group sense making process of the represented data.