According to the PMBOKĀ® Guide, the Manage Project Knowledge process is concerned with using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to achieve the project ' s objectives and contribute to organizational learning. This process distinguishes between explicit knowledge (fact-based, can be codified) and tacit knowledge (personal, difficult to express, such as beliefs and experience).
Because tacit knowledge has context and is embedded in experience, it cannot be captured through simple data entry. Therefore, PMI identifies Knowledge Management tools that facilitate social interaction and connection:
Networking: Building informal connections and relationships among project stakeholders to allow for the free exchange of ideas and experience.
Storytelling: Using narratives to convey complex information, lessons learned, and experiences in a way that is memorable and easily understood by others.
Other Tools: Facilitated workshops, communities of practice, and shadow-working.
Analysis of other options:
A. Expert judgment and data gathering: While Expert Judgment is a tool for this process, " Data gathering " is more commonly associated with processes like Collect Requirements or Identify Risks.
C. Data analysis and decision making: These are tools for the Monitor and Control Project Work process or Perform Integrated Change Control. They focus on objective performance data rather than the exchange of experiential knowledge.
D. Prototypes and product analysis: These are tools specifically used in Collect Requirements and Define Scope to understand the physical or functional characteristics of the product.
In the PMI framework, the most effective way to manage tacit knowledge is through human-to-human interaction, which is why Networking and storytelling are prioritized as key tools for this specific process.