A first look about the relationship among projects, innovation, knowledge and knowledge sourcing / management, and complexity

1. Innovation projects: facing
intrinsic and
knowledge-related complexity
Session TRN04
Livio Paradiso
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2. Introduction
• Innovation projects are dealing with complexity by nature
• Complexity management in projects is an emerging topic: a
proper understanding of complexity principles is useful
• Knowledge in innovation projects: a key success element
• Knowledge management as a means for reducing
complexity and fostering innovation
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3. What will we speak about?
• Innovation projects: classification and complexities
• Complexity sources and complexity management
• Knowledge management as a key factor in innovation and
in complexity management
• Knowledge acquisition processes
• Knowledge integration issues
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4. Innovation projects: an example of
complex projects
• Complexity comes form different sources, such as
– High number of stakeholders
– Multiple relationships among stakeholders
– Highly dynamic environment
• Innovation projects often involve new knowledge and
are associated with risk (opportunities and threats) and
uncertainty
• Managing innovation is managing a complex project!
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5. Innovation sources and path
Innovation not only a matter of
• Technology push ideas, also a matter of :
analysis, decision making,
• Market pull complexity evaluation, change
and project management
• Design driven
Source: Accenture
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6. Incremental innovation
• “The knowledge required to offer a product builds on existing
knowledge – competence enhancing” (organizational view)
• “Innovation still allows existing products to stay
competitive” (economic view)
Source: innovaders
• Preserving existing assets by adding features and services
• Less risks than radical innovation
• Cost effective and simpler change management
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7. Radical innovation
• “Results in a product that is so superior that existing
products are rendered noncompetitive” (economic view)
• “Existing knowledge will be obsolete - competence
destroying” (organization view)
Source: innovaders
• Requires new assets and knowledge
• Requires strong change management
• High risks about benefits and success
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8. Innovation impacts
+ effectiveness + complexity
+ duration + knowledge
+ success + assets
+ risks
Time to start radical
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9. Some examples
• Radical innovation
– SAP introduction into a company: all processes has
to be revised, external experts necessary
– Redesigning the phone market by creating an open
environment for developers and by creating a new
revenues model for selling application (Apple)
– Introducing cloud computing services and application
in a company which works with custom software
• Incremental innovation
– Centralizing a key application as a cloud service on
an existing central infrastructure
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10. Complexity and uncertainty
• Is measuring complexity a myth? From math and physics
Entropy is the degree of disorder (uncertainty)
Entropy (uncertainty) at a time T0 is a mix of
casual events and structural complexity
Structural complexity (excess entropy rate) can be known only at
the end of a process ( after the project is completed) because
unknown events are in the past and are therefore known.
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11. Intrinsic & perceived complexity
Intrinsic
Charter & scope complexity
Uncertainty
Tech. Uncertainty
Lack knowledge
Lack information
Perceived complexity
Perceived complexity is the one
to be managed by the project !!!
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12. Primary sources of complexity
• Relationships
with other • Processes
products, • Tech.
Knowledge
services, • Relations
stakeholders
of external
etc. Relations and internal
factors
Scope Environme
uncertainty nt
• Lack of uncertainty • Market
requirements changes
• New tech.
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13. Facing complexity
• Complexity sources will generate change occurrences
• Decision making becomes the critical process
• Correct and fast decision making is possible with
– A proper stakeholders management
– A proper project management approach
– A proper risk management methodology
– A proper knowledge management
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14. Facing complexity (ex.1)
• Iterative approaches (Agile)
– Small multidisciplinary teams
– Continuous adaptation by segmenting deliverables
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15. Facing complexity (ex.2)
• Systemic approach
(Varanini, Ginevri,
Paradiso & al.)
– Deeply
understanding and
monitor environment
– High level
governance and
continuous decision
making
– Specific systemic
tools
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16. Influence of knowledge in complexity
management
• Environment awareness and knowledge are key factors in
understanding addressing and reducing overall complexity
• Innovation projects are often managed in uncertain
environments and the team knowledge itself is challenged
• Knowledge enhancements help reducing perceived (to be
managed) complexity
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17. Which Knowledge?
• Personal know-how: inside or outside work environment
• Team knowledge: project team takes advantage of
personal know-how
• Collective knowledge: the entire organization uses the
results of the acquired knowledge
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18. Influence of knowledge in complexity
management
• New knowledge is effective
– When integrated in project Complexity mitigation
processes
– When team’s people other than
the owner use it
Searching Acquiring Integrating
knowledge knowledge knowledge
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19. Acquiring knowledge: a known model
• Model suitable for planned knowledge acquisition
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20. Acquiring knowledge: critical factors
• Time in complexity management
– fast decision making
– understanding environment in a finite timeframe at each
decision gate
• Integration
– Externally hired experts must have time to understand
project environment and team/company habits
– Internal team members know environment, don’t have
the knowledge
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21. Acquiring knowledge: an evolved model
• Difference between internal and external sources
• Deeply understand internal sources before externally hiring
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22. Acquiring knowledge: suggestions
• Deeply understand internal sources before externally hiring
• Best practice: to have an effective curricula database in the
company for fast search
• Best practice: focus on team and collective engagement
before going on a knowledge management system
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23. Acquiring knowledge: a recent case
• An advanced private network for an
energy supplier requires an unpredicted
activity
The person
joined the
Request to
have the project team
person in the
Knowledge From project manager project team
need informal network: a issued
identified collegue was found
• Time to acquisition: 5 days
• Standard external hiring: 1 month
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24. Sharing knowledge: a recent case
• A web 2.0 knowledge management system was developed
in a company to let users
– Share best practices for project success
– Identifying needed process which are yet unaddressed
• Many potential contributors
Contributors
Users
have some new knowledge
to share
Poten.al
88
110
• They prefer use email and
collective knowledge was
Real
4
40
lost
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25. Sharing knowledge: a recent case (cont.)
• KMS are faced by people with different attitudes
Sharing
is
Sharing
is
Sharing
is
useful
dangerous
uncomfortable
• Technologies support, don’t create the will to share
• Sharing knowledge and incrementing collective knowledge is
a matter of personal relationships and attitude
• Attitudes can be modified by creating a comfortable relation
environment: project managers abilities do matter!
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26. Knowledge and innovation: cloud computing
• New knowledge involved
– Technical skills: cloud infrastructures requires experts in
virtualization, specific software and infrastructure
management
– User habits: applications are the same or similar, but
reachability is different
– Management knowledge: new economical model for IT
services
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27. Knowledge and innovation: cloud computing
• More radical
• More complex change management
• More risks
• More advanteges SaaS
PaaS
• More standardization
IaaS • User habit change
• Larger project scope
• New knowledge required
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28. Conclusions
• Innovation projects: an example of complex projects
• Complexity sources: known, not exactly measurable
• Perceived and managed complexity are related to knowledge
• Innovation: strictly related to knowledge management
• Knowledge acquisition and integration: strategic processes in
innovation and complexity management
• Knowledge acquisition process: internally first
• Externally acquired knowledge has to be integrated
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29. Questions
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30. Contact Information
Livio Paradiso
l.paradiso@spazioidea.net
Session TRN04
“PMI” is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
©2010Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only