Learning how to Manage Knowledge in Large Research Projects: Drawing Inspiration From Inexpert Researchers

Complex research projects are characterized by advanced technical-scientific goals, interactive teamwork, financial and temporal constraints. Their management is based on sophisticated project management (PM) methodologies and rigorous standards of control over deadlines and milestones, which offers the advantage that tasks are assigned and monitored with precision. However, as the studies of Knowledge Management (KM) show, researchers need a richer exhange of knowledge contents than is allowed by standard PM methods, and the burden of formal duties can make interpersonal interactions less effective. In addition, the emergence of new web 2.0 technologies gives the opportunity to exchange complex contents, and offers new ways to support the management of projects. Consequently, while it is generally agreed that PM methodologies should be a key competence of reseachers, there is the need to identify new methods that enable more effective knowledge exchanges for technical/scientific purposes. The study investigates these issues and particularly examines if formal PM methods to exchange knowledge and manage interactions are an "automatic" solution adopted by any research team, or if researchers would spontaneously prefer flexible approaches. Particularly, it investigates the "basic KM needs" that emerge from inexpert researchers working in complex projects. The assumption is that these researchers, being less aware of the standard PM methodologies used in complex organizations, can be less conditioned with regard to the exploration of new ways to interact. At the same time, this analysis can point out the real perceptions of novice researchers about the necessity of a structured PM approach. The case study of a research team of post-graduate Engineering students is presented. The team worked in a project of a rover vehicle that competes in an ESA (European Space Agency) challenge. The way team members perceived the problems of KM and PM, and the way they decided to organize themselves to face these problems was examined by means of a systematic investigation involving direct observations of their interactions and decision making processes, surveys, and interviews to team members. The study allows to draw useful lessons for the identification and design of new PM methods, based on KM concepts and on the use of web 2.0 applications, and can also provide elements for a definition of courses of PM and KM to novice researchers.