Collection, Distribution, and Assimilation of Lessons Learned A case study analysing the management of lessons learned in the oil and gas industry

Abstract

Knowledge management (KM) is often recognised as a key source of competitive ad- vantage, as it promotes innovation, efficient resource management, and continuous improvement. Yet, although firms are investing more into their KM capabilities, many firms find it difficult to achieve the full extent of these benefits. As firms are increasingly organising their work into projects, the lessons learned (LL) process, which is defined as the firms ability to gather and retain knowledge during and between projects, is becoming an increasingly important part of KM. This report investigates the practical application of the LL-process, through a case study at a global oil and gas energy solutions provider, with the aim of showing how the firm’s LL-process looks in the current state, and identifying potential opportunities and barriers for improvement. The LL-process is divided into the collection, distribu- tion, and assimilation of LL, and for each step of the process, how the firm works with strategic KM and its people, processes, and technology is analysed. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods it was found that although the firm has a lot of well-documented processes for its operations, no pre- defined process exist which outlines all stages of the LL-process. Although there were clear structures in place for the collection of LL, there existed a lack of clarity regarding how to work with the distribution and assimilation of LL. Opportunities for improvement were in turn identified, regarding strategically aligning the firm’s people, processes, and technology, and managing non-strategic operational ineffi- ciencies. These inefficiencies included, limited motivation among employees to work with LL, a lack of a unified definition of LL causing information overload, and the technology not being built to facilitate the varying types, and large amount, of in- formation it is being supplied. Finally, a handful of cultural and contextual barriers which exerts additional challenges on the improvement work were identified, as em- ployees strategic preferences are not aligned with what theoretically best suits the firm’s operations, there exist multiple different local cultures which the firm must adapt to, the nature of the industry promotes risk-aversion, and the firm is facing increasing environmental pressure.