This paper, a result of Maria Almeida’s masters dissertation, addressed the problem of sharing knowledge in project-based organisations (PBO). Managing knowledge and information in this type of organisation presents some challenges due to the fragmentation and lack of standardisation of organisational structures, processes, practices and technologies, which causes relevant knowledge to become ‘stuck’ in an ‘informational limbo’ that ends up not being capitalised by the organisation. This is particularly relevant in R&D institutions where knowledge sharing is oftentimes conditioned by different disciplines, cultures and work methods.

The researchers have conducted an ethnographic study at an R&D institute (INESC TEC) in order to characterise how information is managed in projects and how people interact and learn by sharing information in between projects. Consequently, the researchers have presented a set of recommendations at the level of business information management, using a strategy that combines coding and knowledge personalisation mechanisms as a viable solution to overcome knowledge sharing problems in PBO.

According to António Lucas Soares, the fact that the paper was featured in this North-American publication is important as it confirms “the interest that this paper, although scientific, has for the professional project management community.”

The Project Management Institute Houston has over 4,000 members from areas such as Engineering and Construction, Industry, Information Systems, Oil and Gas, Health, Education, Telecommunications, Marketing and Advertising, Services, among others.

The INESC TEC researcher mentioned in this article is associated with the following partner institution: UP-FEUP.

INESC TEC, September 2015