Knowledge Management, the key to large-scale digital projects

Are you implementing an ambitious digital project that is likely to impact the vast majority of your employees and customers? Do you want to ensure that your project is adopted and will still be functional four years from now? Let us explain why implementing a knowledge management policy right from the start of your project (and on an ongoing basis…) will help ensure its longevity.

What is Knowledge Management?

By this we mean any type of information rationalization that allows knowledge to be structured in an organized way. This may start with a simple explanatory PPT, but to take it a step further, you’ll need to consider a multitude of different ways of conveying this valuable information to your various internal targets.

Above all, it’s about deploying a comprehensive strategy that enables all stakeholders, whether technical or business, to access critical information. Let’s face it: the departure of key employees or turnover can quickly expose the company to a critical situation: a loss of knowledge that compromises the understanding and use of your tools or systems. Implementing a coherent knowledge management strategy means guaranteeing the transmission of technical and functional knowledge over the long term.

It’s up to you to take precautions now to avoid the worst, and to ensure that in four years’ time, when the current teams have changed, your HRIS or technical system will still be used correctly.

Knowledge Management: first and foremost, know who you’re talking to

It’s important to identify the targets who will come into contact with the project, both now and in the future, and to ensure that all the knowledge materialized is comprehensible to the identified targets. You don’t talk to an IT developer in the same way as you talk to business, so you need to identify people who can translate the project’s information into concrete, educational instructions for each of these targets (sometimes including internal customers!).

Concrete measures to be taken once targets have been identified

Ensuring project traceability

Ensure project traceability from day one, by tracking project-related tasks and tickets: a project management tool like Monday or a ticketing tool like JIRA will be your allies.

Documenting the subject

Document the subject with clear, precise, easy-to-understand glossaries for different populations: for example, Confluence is an IT knowledge management tool, for IT development teams ; but you shouldn’t ignore creating easy-to-access, easy-to-understand documentation for non-technical teams who have to manage this type of project either.

Similarly, offering a dictionary of acronyms to put everyone on an equal footing in terms of vocabulary can be very useful.

Deploying different formats

Don’t hesitate to deploy different formats for different target populations: data doesn’t have to be centralized, but must be made legible, understandable and accessible to everyone, at every level of the organization.

Appointing responsible persons

Appoint people to be responsible for this information, according to the targets identified. Who should complete and update this documentation? For what purpose? By including this responsibility in the individual’s roadmap, you guarantee the validity of the information over time.

These people must be identified and identifiable to facilitate knowledge transfer: they must be able to be contacted if necessary, and must be the “owner” of this information.

Review the information provided

It’s also a good idea to periodically review the information communicated and the way in which it is shared, for example, on an annual basis, to ensure that data remains up to date.

Don’t ignore internal communications

Don’t ignore internal communication and support best practices by highlighting information in a didactic way, through Sharepoints and guided presentations, for example, targeting not only project stakeholders, but also people in the vicinity, such as internal customers.

Promote indexing

Promote indexing and enable information to be easily found according to subject: use the right keywords and titles.

Make these practices an integral part of official processes

Make these practices an integral part of official processes, to prevent them from losing their effectiveness.

Documentation: an asset or a double-edged sword?

Documentation is a sensitive subject too. Be aware that it can easily be turned against you. If you choose to document, do so impeccably, or be prepared to face criticism about it: asserting information in documentation means believing in it and sticking to it above all else.

Formal documentation is valuable, but don’t forget that there is also implicit documentation: more or less shared knowledge, informal discussions, unrecorded decisions and, of course, the way the code was actually written.

Finally, it’s rare to come across an organization that has perfectly mastered the art of documentation. This doesn’t mean you can’t aim to do better than what you have today. Assessing the quality of your documentation is a difficult task, but the more accurate, clear and accessible it is, the more it will bring invisible but inestimable value to your organization.

In conclusion: Knowledge Management, a strategic investment

Implementing a Knowledge Management strategy is no longer an option, but a strategic necessity for any company involved in large-scale digital projects.

The keys to success rest on three fundamental pillars:

• A structured approach tailored to each target population
• Ongoing commitment to updating and validating information
• Natural integration into daily business processes

Experience shows that the organizations that are most successful in their digital transformation are those that have been able to anticipate and implement a genuine knowledge-sharing culture. In a context where team turnover is accelerating and technologies are evolving rapidly, this approach is becoming a real competitive advantage.

At SQORUS, we’ve been helping companies with their transformation projects for over 30 years. Our expertise enables us to assert that Knowledge Management is not an additional expense, but an investment that generates a tangible return: reduced training costs, accelerated learning curve, optimized processes and, above all, sustainable digital projects.

Ready to build a Knowledge Management strategy tailored to your needs? Our experts are at your disposal to support you in this essential process. Contact us!