WEBINAR | Product Update: The Future of Synthesis

Featured Guests

Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture

Webinar Summary

Over the last two years, Synthesis has evolved from a social intranet into an integrated knowledge, learning, and AI platform for AEC firms.

In this webinar, I shared the next phase of that evolution and demonstrated how new Synthesis LMS, AI, and integration capabilities are coming together to help firms put their knowledge to work.

We explored:

  • How the Search Connector API enables firms and technology partners to build custom connectors and bring more firmwide knowledge into Synthesis

  • How firms are using Synthesis Knowledge Agents across informational, creation-based, and process-based use cases

  • How the Synthesis MCP Server connects Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, and other compatible AI platforms to a firm’s knowledge and learning foundation in Synthesis

  • How Assignments, Recommendations, and Notifications in Synthesis LMS will help firms deliver the right learning to the right people at the right time

  • How SCORM support in Synthesis LMS will allow firms to centralize access to courses from learning-content partners and the course-authoring platforms they choose

  • The emerging vision for the Synthesis Knowledge Marketplace, which will bring trusted industry expertise into a firm’s knowledge, learning, and AI ecosystem

This session is useful for current Synthesis clients, firms evaluating Synthesis, and AEC leaders responsible for knowledge management, learning and development, technology, AI, and digital transformation.

Enjoy!

Webinar Timeline

Product Roadmap
00:00 Introduction to Synthesis: 2009 - 2024
05:17 Integrations: Search Connector API
08:32 AI: Synthesis Knowledge Agents
16:15 AI: Synthesis MCP Server
24:11 Synthesis AI Ecosystem: Search + Knowledge Agents + MCP Server
25:24 Q: How is the Synthesis MCP server deployed?
25:58 Q: MCP server effectiveness vs messy data?
27:38 LMS: Assignments, Recommendations, Notifications
35:55 LMS: SCORM Courses
43:34 LMS: Synthesis Knowledge Marketplace

Q+A
52:20 What content stays in Synthesis vs. Microsoft 365?
53:01 Is there duplicate content between Synthesis and M365?
53:21 Can LMS courses use private YouTube, Vimeo, or Stream videos?
53:57 Can courses be built from existing Synthesis pages or documents?
54:29 Why adopt Synthesis with a strong Microsoft 365 environment?
54:53 How close is the LMS public beta to the real thing?
56:02 Will assignments support the lesson level?
56:16 Can we review completed-course analytics by team?
56:25 Are there permission levels for LMS analytics?
57:16 Are assignment notification frequencies customizable?
57:51 Can recommendations be driven by agents or skill gaps?
58:39 Will there be support for xAPI course materials?
58:56 Knowledge foundation first or AI layer first?
1:00:01 More filters for LMS transcript and analytics?
1:00:32 Can courses be made private for sensitive content?
1:00:59 Will there be private learning paths?
1:01:14 How soon will these updates ship?

 

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WEBINAR | Product Update: The Future of Synthesis
WEBINAR | Product Update: The Future of Synthesis

Featured Guests

Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture

Webinar Summary

Over the last two years, Synthesis has evolved from a social intranet into an integrated knowledge, learning, and AI platform for AEC firms.

In this webinar, I shared the next phase of that evolution and demonstrated how new Synthesis LMS, AI, and integration capabilities are coming together to help firms put their knowledge to work.

We explored:

  • How the Search Connector API enables firms and technology partners to build custom connectors and bring more firmwide knowledge into Synthesis

  • How firms are using Synthesis Knowledge Agents across informational, creation-based, and process-based use cases

  • How the Synthesis MCP Server connects Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, and other compatible AI platforms to a firm’s knowledge and learning foundation in Synthesis

  • How Assignments, Recommendations, and Notifications in Synthesis LMS will help firms deliver the right learning to the right people at the right time

  • How SCORM support in Synthesis LMS will allow firms to centralize access to courses from learning-content partners and the course-authoring platforms they choose

  • The emerging vision for the Synthesis Knowledge Marketplace, which will bring trusted industry expertise into a firm’s knowledge, learning, and AI ecosystem

This session is useful for current Synthesis clients, firms evaluating Synthesis, and AEC leaders responsible for knowledge management, learning and development, technology, AI, and digital transformation.

Enjoy!

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WEBINAR | Launching Synthesis @ SMRT
WEBINAR | Launching Synthesis @ SMRT

Featured Guests

Nicole Rogers, Senior Principal and Director of Architecture
Graham Parker, Knowledge Manager

Webinar Summary

What changed when SMRT Architects & Engineers implemented Synthesis wasn't just the platform. It was the mindset.

After four intranet iterations spanning nearly two decades — from hand-coded HTML to ThoughtFarmer to SharePoint — SMRT, a 130-person integrated architecture and engineering firm based in Portland, Maine, made a different kind of commitment. They decided that internal work is real work, that their firm is a worthy client, and then treated their Synthesis implementation accordingly.

Nicole Rogers served not just as executive sponsor, but as principal in charge. Graham Parker, who had already proven the ROI of data-driven process improvement on the accounting side of the business, moved into a dedicated knowledge management role. A project number was created in Deltek. Hours were tracked on timesheets. The implementation got the same rigor and attention SMRT gives its external clients and the results showed.

That investment didn't end at go-live. Nicole has continued to drive adoption at the senior leadership level because SMRT understands that launching Synthesis is just the beginning, not the finish line. Meanwhile, Graham has expanded his work into AI, helping build the digital knowledge foundation that makes tools like Synthesis Knowledge Agents and AI Search valuable. 

Knowledge management can't be the ninth thing on somebody's to-do list in the AI era. SMRT's story is a case study in what happens when it isn't.

In this webinar, Nicole Rogers, Senior Principal and Director of Architecture, and Graham Parker, Knowledge Manager, share their firm's story — from the organizational shifts that unlocked knowledge management to a live look at where they're headed with AI and learning management.

We explore:

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  • The change management and internal marketing work that drove adoption before, during, and after launch

  • How Nicole's continued executive sponsorship keeps the platform alive and growing past go-live

  • How and why Graham moved from the finance team to a dedicated knowledge management role 

  • What it takes to build the digital knowledge foundation that enables AI agents to actually deliver value

  • A live tour of CALVIN, SMRT's Synthesis platform, and a look at their early work with Synthesis Knowledge Agents and LMS

If your firm has struggled to give its knowledge management program real momentum, SMRT's story offers an honest, hard-won perspective on what it actually takes: the right investments in mindset, people, process, and culture — alongside the right technology.

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WEBINAR | Synthesis Knowledge Agents: Live Demo + Insights from the Private Beta
WEBINAR | Synthesis Knowledge Agents: Live Demo + Insights from the Private Beta

Featured Guests

Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture

Webinar Summary

Knowledge agents are emerging as one of the most promising applications of AI for AEC firms—helping teams accelerate learning, scale expertise, and streamline workflows.

In this webinar, Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Architecture, will provide a live demonstration of Synthesis Knowledge Agents, showing how agents are created, refined, and deployed to solve real business problems.

Along the way, Christopher will share what we're learning from firms participating in the Synthesis Knowledge Agents private beta, highlighting the patterns and strategic insights emerging from early adoption.

We'll explore:

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  • The common characteristics shared by firms making the fastest progress with knowledge agents

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  • Where knowledge agents are headed and what that means for AEC firms

This session offers a practical look at how knowledge agents are evolving and what early adopters are teaching us about the future of AI-enabled work in AEC firms.

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WEBINAR | Designing Modern Learning Experiences at Lionakis and Fuscoe

Featured Guests

Kristina Williams, Design Technology Director at Lionakis
Brandon Norton, Senior Multi-Media Manager at Fuscoe Engineering

Webinar Summary

As AEC firms rethink how knowledge and expertise are shared internally, learning is beginning to move beyond traditional training formats. Instead of relying solely on live sessions or long recordings, firms are increasingly designing learning experiences that are shorter, more flexible, on-demand or hybrid, and accessible in the flow of work.

This shift is being accelerated in the Knowledge Architecture community by Synthesis, a platform built for Modern Learning Organizations, that combines intranet knowledge, learning management systems, AI-powered search, and knowledge agents to enable employees to discover and apply expertise exactly when they need it.

In this webinar, Kristina Williams, Director of Design Technology at Lionakis, and Brandon Norton, Senior Multi-Media Manager at Fuscoe Engineering, shared how their firms are designing modern learning experiences that take advantage of this new paradigm.

Each presented a case study of a high-priority learning experience their firm is building or modernizing—experiences designed not only for formal learning, but also to support self-directed exploration, knowledge reuse, recall, and AI-powered discovery through Synthesis.

We explored:

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Each speaker shared a 20-minute case study, followed by discussion and open Q&A.

This session offered a practical look at how firms are beginning to redesign learning experiences for a new era—one where knowledge, learning, AI search, and knowledge agents work together to help employees access the right expertise at the right time.

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WEBINAR | Unlocking Collective Intelligence with AI Search and Knowledge Management @ MBH Architects
WEBINAR | Unlocking Collective Intelligence with AI Search and Knowledge Management @ MBH Architects

Featured Guests

Hillary Thompson, Principal

Webinar Summary

As AI-powered search and learning tools become more capable, their effectiveness depends on something far more fundamental: the quality, structure, and completeness of a firm’s knowledge foundation.

Over the past year, MBH Architects has advanced a series of focused initiatives to strengthen how knowledge is captured, structured, and maintained across the firm. What began as a small proof of concept quickly expanded into a broader effort spanning marketing, studio-level practice knowledge, structured project data, and now firmwide learning.

In this webinar, Hillary Thompson, Principal at MBH Architects, shares how MBH is deliberately investing in its knowledge foundation to enable better AI outcomes, improve access to expertise, and create a continuous pipeline connecting project experience, institutional knowledge, and learning.

We explore:

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  • How MBH is beginning to translate project experience and expertise into scalable learning through Synthesis LMS

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This session offers a practical, behind-the-scenes look at how one firm is strengthening its knowledge infrastructure to ensure the right knowledge reaches the right person at the right time—and how that foundation is enabling the next generation of AI-powered knowledge and learning.

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WEBINAR | Real-World AI for AEC: How 5 Firms Are Creating Business Value through Knowledge Management
WEBINAR | Real-World AI for AEC: How 5 Firms Are Creating Business Value through Knowledge Management

Featured Guests

Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture

Webinar Summary

Are you taking advantage of the data gold mine your AEC firm is sitting on? Is the institutional knowledge of your firm’s most valuable professionals available to others? Christopher Parsons of Knowledge Architecture shares 5 “We Gotta Try That!” examples of AEC firms applying an Intranet + AI Search solution to unlock the full value of their in-house knowledge:

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  • Bora Architecture & Interiors built a digital twin of their sustainability lead, Corey Squire, by integrating his best practices, project reflections, and even his book into their intranet. AI search (aka “Robo Corey”) now helps employees find standards, strategies, and subject matter experts for sustainable design decisions.

  • Shepley Bulfinch created a comprehensive onboarding knowledge ecosystem, answering questions such as “How do I get staffed on projects?” or “Who knows Affinity Photo in Houston?” in the flow of work. AI search allows access to answers long after orientation.

Enjoy!

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