Sunday, August 04, 2002

A term that I've heard quite often over the years -- especially as a consultant, brought in to build some system or another for clients -- is "knowledge transfer." It's not quite an afterthought, but it does tend to get lumped into some of the marginal project deliverables like documentation and testing. The feeling is that it's a one-time thing. Your developer sits down with our developer for half a day maybe, explaining where everything is and any potential roadblocks. There's a mind-lock, and knowledge transfers directly from one brain into another. Neat. Tidy. Unfortunately, even if it actually worked that way, it would still be a one-time deal. This is related to a general failing of most project-management systems in that they're typically used only once, at the very beginning, but are seldom updated. What you need is constant communication, a knowledge stream, that ensures everybody is on the same page. I see weblogs as one piece to that puzzle, a part of the stream. They will help you stay current at the same time they present an easy portal to the past. If I were still a consultant, I'd re-word my proposals to talk about creating a knowledge stream with the client, using all of the appropriate tools to facilitate that conduit. 1:43:57 PM

Yummers: Bruegger's everything bagel, toasted, with veggie cream cheese. 1:34:41 PM