A Perspective from NASA: Knowledge Services and Accelerated Learning in NASA—The REAL Knowledge Approach

All organizations live in a world of increasing complexity, perhaps none more so than at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). For NASA, work often concerns project leadership issues such as the competencies of effective leaders, team development, knowledge services, and accelerated learning. In complex technical organizations, the processes are embedded in systematic ways of doing things, with a heavy emphasis on control and planning. Organizations live in a world of complexity. One of the key issues in complexity is identifying critical knowledge. Surrounding the REAL knowledge core activities are the individual/team knowledge factors and the organizational/societal expectations that mitigate the journey of the challenge/opportunity from inception through the knowledge cycle to successful project outcomes. One particular component in the REAL knowledge model, Organizational and Societal Expectations, needs to be discussed due to its importance when addressing the topic of complexity.