Improving Knowledge Management by means of Lean Thinking: A case study of project Lessons Learned exchange at the Engineering department of Janssen Biologics

Many of the activities carried out by organizations are performed by project teams. Product launches, new systems and processes, as well as their maintenance, are often implemented through project-based activities. Making these activities successful requires a long list of criteria, which heavily depend on effective use of a company's knowledge assets. An example of such assets is the lessons learned from previous projects, which entail knowledge and experiences gained during the project lifetime. Sharing lessons learned can contribute to project success by safeguarding best practices, preventing repeating past mistakes, and anticipating risks. Managing the lessons learned process can be rather challenging. Determining the future value of knowledge and providing the right knowledge at the right time to the right knowledge-customer, are some of the aspects contributing to this difficulty. Lean thinking is a methodology that can offer process improvement through determination of value to end-customer and identification and elimination of waste and its root-causes. Even though this method originated in the manufacturing industry, its principles are believed to be applicable to other sectors. The nature of knowledge management is different from that of the manufacturing sector. In this work we analyse to which extent lean thinking principles can be of benefit to a non-manufacturing process such as the lessons learned. When applying lean thinking principles to knowledge management (also known as lean knowledge management) and lessons learned processes, one needs to take the characteristics of knowledge into consideration. Knowledge processes differ from manufacturing activities in that they include the need for context for sharing tacit knowledge and knowledge value being time, individual, and purpose dependent. This study examines such applicability from a theoretical and a practical point of view. Through literature research an overview of the state-of-the-art on lean knowledge management is provided. In order to examine the applicability of these theoretical findings in practice, the case study of the Engineering department of Janssen Biologics is selected. The focus of this study is mainly on the lean thinking principles define value, create flow, and establish pull as they are seen as most challenging with regard to knowledge management. Through interviews and workshops, the current lessons learned process and the needs and wishes of the knowledge-customers at Engineering are identified. Improvement proposals are formulated based on these findings and tested in a pilot to determine their workability in practice. This study is constrained by time, budget, and resource limitation which influence the formulated improvement proposals. Project lessons learned are often collected and documented with the aim of application in future projects. Predicting the future value of lessons learned is challenging as knowledge is not discrete and can be subjective. To overcome this difficulty, setting up facilitated intervision sessions where peers share knowledge and give feedback is advised. Such feedback can also be offered by IT tools that offer selection, filtering, and ranking possibilities. Unsuccessful knowledge management initiatives in the past can hinder successful implementation of present ones. Overcoming this burden of the past can be realized through dedicated Management involvement. Management needs to highlight the importance of lessons learned and their impact on present projects. Leading by example can facilitate creation of positive memories. One size fits all is not applicable to knowledge management efforts. Managing knowledge assets needs to be customized to the needs and wishes of knowledge-customers. This requires long term investment of time and resources. The lessons learned process needs a process owner who keeps its importance on the agenda. This individual should also monitor its functionality and identify factors that hamper its success. Such evaluation should take place on a regular basis upon which improvements can be made. For most project-based organizations knowledge management is not a core business activity. In cases where other more urgent issues occur during a project lifetime (which is often the case), attention of the project team can shift away from collecting and retrieving lessons learned. Management can provide incentives and rewarding to encourage desired behaviour. The lessons learned process should be included in the project management trainings. The importance of lessons learned to project success needs to be emphasized, the process should be explained, and roles and responsibilities need to be defined. The goals is making lessons learned collection and retrieval a standard project step. Through this work, initial steps in improving the lessons learned process at Engineering have been realised. We recommend examining their long term successful enforcement next. Such examination should consider the potential role Management and the project sponsor play in achieving success. Also the human aspect regarding knowledge exchange norms, habits, and culture at Engineering should be considered.Section Systems EngineeringMulti-Actor SystemsTechnology, Policy and Managemen