Art of BI: Knowledge Transfer – The What and How of It
Author: Bill Anderson | 2 min read | June 29, 2017
A key to every project is knowledge transfer (KT). Figuring out the best way to do that is not always a top priority for some companies, but it should be. Clients should not be left in the dark on items they will be taking over once the consultant has left the project.
Outside of “training” there are a few different ways to deliver effective KT that build off one another:
Read: Documentation
Yes, this seems like a given, but not all documents include the “need-to-knows” or the “how-tos” of the day-to-day activities. Unless the install and configuration document is so in-depth that it covers those points, another document should be created to help with the basic knowledge as well. Creating a play book that enables your employees to pick up and do the job is the best way to teach documentation to your transferee and accomplish your KT.
See: Job shadowing
If the documentation is created, but it doesn’t make sense to the transferee, have them “shadow” the resource. At important points in a project or when issues arise they can learn and understand how to troubleshoot and see what their duties will be. You can reference back to the documentation and specifically point out reference portions. There may be a possibility as well to help fill in missing gaps in the documentation so that future users will better understand.
Do: Do the Work
For some people, it is better to do the work, rather than to read or see. This is a tricky one to dabble in as it may not always be the best time to allow someone else to take control on a project, so tread carefully with this one. You can have the transferee create their own sandbox environment to test out certain items like migrations or tuning. If that is unavailable and the comfort level is there, allow them to make changes while observing to make sure it is done in the correct manner. This allows the transferee to gain more confidence and experience in what they are doing for the future.
And there you have it. How do you KT?
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