The project vita: A dynamic knowledge management tool

A project vita is a comprehensive index of factual information about a project's activities and achievements. Like an individual's professional curriculum vita or resume, it serves as evidence of past performance and capacity for future endeavors. This article situates the project vita as a knowledge management tool for use by large-scale research and development projects or coalitions. In such complex endeavors, the variety and scope of the knowledge generated can quickly outpace project staff attempts to collect, classify, disseminate, and support the effective use of the constant stream of information being produced. We describe how to develop a project vita and utilize it to support several essential project functions, including communication, evaluation, management, and as a portal to products.