A checklist for peer knowledge validation in project-based organizations

Sharing knowledge across projects is a necessary challenge to ensure the competitive advantage of organizations. With temporary structures, multiple roles, multiple activities, and limited time, the project-based organization needs to retain the knowledge gained in a project and share it with others. “Lessons learned” processes are implemented in order to systematize the transfer of this knowledge, with the main challenge being the mobilization of people to record their experiences in a database. The stored knowledge, however, needs to be validated before being shared and appropriately classified in one of the three main categories: Best Practices, Lessons Learned, and Points for Attention. This study shows the benefits of a checklist / action plan for ensuring the effectiveness of the validation stage, since failures during this stage may jeopardize the initial effort to mobilize project teams to record their experiences and learning.