Visualizing Knowledge in Project-Based Work

Traditionally, project knowledge is captured, codified and then transferred. But an alternative 'practice-based' view highlights strategizing craft skills, sees tacit and codified knowledge as inseparable, and knowledge as emergent, developed through interactions between people and objects. As a class of objects specifically designed to convey meaning, how do visual representations 'hold' and help manage knowledge in project-based work? The authors look at two contrasting settings - a capital goods manufacturer and an architectural firm - and note how practice between the two differs significantly. Particular kinds of visual tools are seen to aid either exploitation or exploration within a project, leading, for example, to a focus on making decisions either swiftly for maximum efficiency, or deliberately more slowly to ensure full value from all project members' input. The authors also point to the question of elements that seem to be `invisible¿ to project participants. They suggest that what is not seen in such contexts may be under-represented because it is so well-known it needn't be illustrated, or perhaps, because it concerns factors to which project managements ought to be paying more attention.