Internal Work Package Handovers and Effective Knowledge Transfer—Russell Dunn
Internal Work Package Handovers and Effective Knowledge Transfer
Work-packages are often handed over or transferred internally peer-to-peer within the project team, such as when team members leave the project, or when management re-shuffles responsibilities. This paper reflects on the apparent shortcomings experienced by the author when using traditional dot-point style handovers, by identifying and analysing the knowledge transfer process at play. The distinction is made between information and knowledge when considering the underlying importance of harvesting the team member’s tacit knowledge obtained from in-depth involvement and association with a particular work-package. When attempting a smooth transition or handover of a complex work-package, context and purpose are found to be key elements required to be explicitly conveyed in order for the receiving peer to achieve empowerment with actionable knowledge and the capacity to act. A pragmatic approach is taken to develop high level tools and recommendations that could be implemented within a project team environment when aiming to optimise a smooth and effective transition while mitigating the adverse effects of lost project knowledge due to poor knowledge transfer practices.
Author: Russell Dunn
Review status: Postgraduate assignment (University of Technology Sydney)
