In this next series of blogs, I intend to explore my Project Knowledge Model (PKM) in more detail but rather than discussing it at the program level as I have in my previous blogs, this is at the project level. It is a model of projects that permits a "melody" of knowledge/information constructs that in turn provides an insight into the anatomy of a project.

The first item on the agenda is understanding what I call the "knowledge elephant".

You may recall the ancient parable or tale of the blind men and the elephant. According to Wikipedia there are a number of versions from different cultures. The essence of the story is this:

A number of blind men were asked to describe an elephant by feeling various parts of the creature. Depending on which part they felt determined what they description or likeness they gave the creature. For example, the man who felt the legs thought it was like a big pillar, the man who felt the tail thought it was a rope, the one who felt the stomach - like a wall and so on.

It was not until someone explained the big picture that the blind men understood what an elephant was.  My point in this story is that they needed to "see" the entire elephant to understand it, its purpose, its physical size, its behaviour, almost all of it.

It is this sort of metaphor that I wish to use in understanding the Project Knowledge Model (PKM).

If we were to look at the total knowledge required for a project to be successful - both across the Vehicle and the System, then we would get something like the diagram below. Note that the Vehicle can be slotted anywhere along the System. If a Vehicle was raised to procure a System then it would likely start to the left of the System "In Development" phase. If it was to remove or retire a system, then it would fit somewhere at the right hand end. I have inserted it where I have for no other reason than I wish for it to fit into the space.

What this illustrates is that to have a successful project the whole process for a Vehicle needs to be well understood from initiation through to closure. Additionally, if you are to develop a new system from nothing, then the whole life cycle of the System needs to be understood from the design and development through deployment of the system and all the way to disposing of the system when it is obsolete and no longer in use.  Of course if you are upgrading a system or procuring a system, the length/size of that life cycle is obviously less and you only need to understand the relevant parts or sections.

The point is ...you need to understand all elements of the Vehicle and System through which you are going to transition. This is what I call the "Project Knowledge Elephant". The "Project Knowledge Elephant" is the sum of the information/knowledge required about the Vehicle and the System to have a successful Vehicle and System.

At some stage the whole elephant will be seen. If you don't see it at the early stages when you are developing the system or managing the planning stage of the vehicle, then you will at some stage later in the cycle. Hopefully that later time will not be so late that death or injury occur because of system failure of some sort or perhaps cost overruns occur because of poor vehicle management.