Includes bibliographical references / Purpose: Architectural firms are characterized by their professional identity and knowledge-driven nature; knowledge is crucial to their success in the competitive and dynamic business environment. As knowledge management is still in its infancy in the construction industry and structured knowledge management processes have not yet been adequately deployed in the architecture discipline, this research seeks to focus on the implicit knowledge management processes and more specifically give insight into the effective communication of lessons learned from an individual project to the wider organisation through the use of graphical methods such as the Function Analysis Systems Technique (FAST diagram) that can be undertaken in professional architectural firms. Design/methodology/approach: To establish if a FAST model can be used as a tool to capture and then communicate lessons learned. This would address the difficulty experienced in the project management of transmitting knowledge from one project to future projects of similar nature. To achieve this objective, a FAST diagram was developed from a Project Learning Roadmap developed by Carrillo et al. (2013) and other lessons learned process models which are based on detailed literature review in an attempt to enhance the lessons learned dissemination in South African professional architectural firms. The applicability and validity of the FAST diagram (Appendices B.13 and B.14) was verified by quantitative research methods. Based on the proposed process model, a combination of a brainstorming session and a pilot study with reflective learning approach was utilised on a selected sample population to study the opinions of professional architects on the details of these processes and the diagram. Data presentation was in text and graphic format. Findings - Once all the data were collected and analysed, the findings were that the research has confidently proven that graphical methods and especially FAST diagrams can effectively be used to communicate lessons learned from one project to the wider organisation. Practical implications: A clear policy/strategy governing the ways in which lessons learned should be disseminated is not prevalent among South African architectural firms. Originality/value: Although the study applies uniquely to architectural professional services firms and may not yield an evaluation that is comparable with previous similar studies, it is hoped that the FAST Diagram developed can be applied to other types of project-based professional service organizations in order to find out whether this tool can be used in their context in terms of how they manage their organizational learning. In addition, these future studies can offer a benchmarking effect to firms striving to establish matured project management offices (PMOs) through continuous improvement processes by using lessons learned. Limitations: Given the exploratory nature of this research, the amount of data obtained is restricted to a single architectural firm in South Africa.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/18202 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Beraki ,Teklehaimanot Tewelde |
| Contributors | Jay, Ian |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Department of Construction Economics and Management |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MSc (Eng) |
| Format | application/pdf |
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