Projects, files, and knowledge

Four different things

Most work systems blur these together. Keeping them separate makes each one easier to find and to keep current.

• Projects answer “what am I working on?” A project creates and uses files.
• Files are the source material and evidence. Working with them produces knowledge artifacts.
• Knowledge artifacts are things you can use: HTML diagrams, interactive models, visual explanations, calculators, maps, and small applications. They explain knowledge by demonstrating it.
• Knowledge is the understanding that lasts after the project ends: concepts, lessons, principles, methods, and the relationships between them.

A note and an artifact are different objects

A knowledge note explains an idea in words. A knowledge artifact demonstrates it. They are separate entries that link to each other, so each can do one job well: the note stays readable and citable, and the artifact stays interactive.

This note and the system map are an example of that pair. The note explains the model; the map lets you explore it.

What happens at the end of a project

Project files mostly freeze once the work is done. Anything reusable is copied out with its context: assets to a library, and distilled lessons to maintained knowledge. The original project is archived intact, so the history is never broken to make it match a later conclusion.