Rangkuman UTS KM

Intro to Knowledge Management (Chapter 1)

Definition
Knowledge management (KM) may simply be defined as doing what is needed to get the most
out of knowledge resources.

KM is defined as processes necessary to generate, capture, codify, and transfer knowledge

across the organization to achieve competitive advantage.

“Knowledge has become the key resource, for a nation’s military strength as well as for its
economic strength… is fundamentally different from the traditional key resources of the
economist – land, labor, and even capital…we need systematic work on the quality of
knowledge and the productivity of knowledge… the performance capacity, if not the survival, of
any organization in the knowledge society will come increasingly to depend on those two
factors” [Drucker,1994]

Intellectual capital: E.g. Knowledge, collective expertise, good will, brand value and patent
benefits fail to directly show up on conventional accounting documents

Forces Driving Knowledge Management

1. Increasing Domain Complexity Complexity of internal and external processes, increased
competition, and the rapid advancement of technology all contribute to increasing domain
complexity.
2. Accelerating Market Volatility The speed of change, or volatility, within each market domain
has increased rapidly in the past decade.
3. Intensified Speed of Responsiveness The time required to take action based upon subtle
changes within and across domains is decreasing.
4. Diminishing Individual Experience High employee turnover rates have resulted in individuals
with decision-making authority having less tenure within their organizations than ever before.
Knowledge management 2019/2020 12 Forces Driving Knowledge Management [2]
5. Globalization of Business organization today are more global – multisite, multilingual and
multicultural in nature.
6. Learner Organization we are doing more and we are doing it faster, but we also need to work
smarter as knowledge workers, adopting an increased pace and workload.
7. Technological Advances advances in IT not only have made connectivity ubiquitous but have
radically changed expectations. We are expected to be “on” at all times, and the turnaround
time in responding is now measured in minutes, not weeks.

- Faced with increased complexity, market volatility and accelerated responsiveness,

today’s younger manager feels less adequate to make the difficult decisions faced each
day.
- KM is important for organizations that continually face downsizing or a high turnover
percentage due to the nature of the industry

Goal of KM
• ​Goal ​is to improve Institutional effectiveness through Individual effectiveness.
• ​Mean ​is by increasing intellectual specialization and the ability to act.
• ​Tool ​is using ICT as an enabler.
• ​End ​is having rational processes for identifying new opportunities, more wealth, innovation and
continuous improvement.

Business Perspective
• Focusing on why, where, and to what extent the organization must invest in or exploit
knowledge
• Strategies, products and services, alliances, acquisitions, or divestments should be considered
from knowledge-related points of view
Management perspective
• Focusing on determining, organizing, directing, facilitating and monitoring knowledge related
practices and activities required to achieve the desired business strategies and objectives
Hands-on perspective
• Focusing on applying the expertise to conduct explicit knowledge-related work and tasks

Knowledge Management Systems

• Knowledge management mechanisms are organizational or structural means used to promote
knowledge management.
• The use of leading-edge information technologies (e.g., Web-based conferencing) to support
KM mechanisms enables dramatic improvement in KM.
• ​Knowledge management systems (KMS):​ the synergy between latest technologies and
social/structural mechanisms
Effective KM
• Reduce dependence on individuals.
• Reduce cycle time: Standardize and speed up customer/Request for Information responses.
• Cutting time to market
• Re-use solutions across projects/initiatives.
• Integrate SBU level repositories into organization-wide repositories (break functional silos).

Essence of KM
1. Knowledge is first created in the people’s minds. KM practices must first identify ways to
encourage and stimulate the ability of employees to develop new knowledge.
2. KM methodologies and technologies must enable effective ways to obtain, represent,
organize, re-use, and renew this knowledge.
3. KM should not distance itself from the knowledge owners, but instead celebrate and
recognize their position as experts in the organization.
The nature of knowledge (Chapter 2)
Perspectives of Knowledge
Subjective View of Knowledge
1. Knowledge as State of Individual Mind
- Organizational knowledge is viewed as the belief of the individual within the
organization
2. Knowledge as Practice
- Knowledge is held by a group.
- Knowledge resides not in anyone’s head but reflected in organizational activities.
Objective View of knowledge
1. Knowledge as Objects
- Knowledge is something that can be stored, transferred and manipulated.
2. Knowledge as Access to Information
 - Knowledge is viewed as enabling access and utilization of information
3. Knowledge as Capability
- Knowledge is viewed as a strategic capability that can potentially be applied to
seek a competitive advantage.

Types of Knowledge
• Individual, social, causal, conditional, relational and pragmatic
• Embodied, encoded and procedural

Tacit and Explicit Knowledge

Tacit knowledge​ includes insights, intuitions, and hunches (instinct)
• It is difficult to express and formalize
• It is difficult to share
• Based on individual experiences
Explicit knowledge​ refers to knowledge that has been expressed into words and numbers
• A manual for a stock market analysis
• Documents, patents, etc.

Procedural & Declarative Knowledge

• Declarative knowledge (substantive knowledge) focuses on beliefs about relationships among
variables • Know What - Formula
• Procedural knowledge focuses on beliefs relating sequences of steps or actions to desired (or
undesired) outcomes • Know How – how to ride a bicycle
General & Specific Knowledge
• General knowledge is possessed by a large number of individuals and can be transferred
easily across individuals • Ex: Knowledge about the rule of football
• Specific knowledge, or “idiosyncratic knowledge,” is possessed by a very limited number of
individuals, and is expensive to transfer • Ex: Professional

Technically and Contextually Specific Knowledge

• Technically specific knowledge is deep knowledge about a specific area • Knowledge requires
formal training and is the augmented
• Contextually specific knowledge refers to the knowledge of particular circumstances of time
and place in which work is to be performed • The knowledge cannot be formalized through
formal training

Types of Expertise
Associational ​Expertise
• It is based on experience, with limited theory • For example, TV technician
Motor Skills ​Expertise
• It is predominantly physical instead of cognitive • For example, riding a bike
Theoretical ​(​Deep​) Expertise
• It allows experts to solve problems that have not been seen before.

Other Types of Knowledge

• Simple knowledge focuses on one basic area
• Complex knowledge draws upon multiple distinct areas of expertise
• Support knowledge relates to organizational infrastructure and facilitates day-to-day operations
• Tactical knowledge pertains to the short-term positioning of the organization relative to its
markets, competitors, and suppliers
• Strategic knowledge pertains to the long-term positioning of the organization in terms of its
corporate vision and strategies for achieving that vision

Characteristics of Knowledge
• Explicitness
- The extent to which knowledge exists in an explicit form, so that it can be stored and
transferred.
- Explicit and tacit knowledge are at the two ends of the continuum.
• Codifiability
- The extent to which knowledge can be articulated or codified
- Low in codifiability (eg. How to play basketball)
• Teachability
- The extent to which the knowledge can be taught to other individuals
• Knowledge Specificity
- A high level of knowledge specificity implies that the knowledge can be used only by
individual possessing certain knowledge
KM Foundations (Chapter 3)

KM vs BI
Knowledge Management: Knowledge management can be defined as performing the activities
involved in discovering, capturing, sharing, and applying knowledge so as to enhance, in a
cost-effective fashion, the impact of knowledge on the unit’s goal achievement.
Knowledge Resources: The term knowledge resources refers not only to the knowledge
currently possessed by the individual or the organization but also to the knowledge that can
potentially be obtained (at some cost if necessary) from other individuals or organizations

Business Intelligence (BI) ▪ focus on providing decision makers with valuable information and
knowledge by utilizing a variety of sources of data and structured and unstructured information
via the discovery of the relationships that may exist between these sources of data and
information
KM Foundation:
- KM Infrastructure: Long term foundation for KM
- KM Mechanism: Organizational or structural means used to promote KM
- KM Technologies: IT to facilitate KM

KM Infrastructure
1) Org. Culture: Norms and beliefs that guide the behavior of org members
a) Understanding value of KM practice
b) Management support
c) Incentives that reward knowledge sharing
d) Encouragement of interaction and sharing of knowledge
2) Org. Structure:
a) Hierarchical structure : decentralized and matric
b) Org. structure: Community of practice: Provide access to external knowledge
c) Chief knowledge officer, department for knowledge management, R&D and
corporate library
3) IT infrastructure: Data processing, storage, and communication technology
a) Reach: Pertains to access and connection and efficiency
b) Dept: Focus on detail and amount of info
c) Richness:
i) Provide multiple cues
ii) Provide quick feedback
iii) Personalize message
iv) Use natural language
d) Aggregation: Ability to store and quickly process information from multiple
sources(E.G ERP)
4) Common knowledge:
a) Common knowledge also refers to the organization’s cumulative experiences in
comprehending a category of knowledge and activities, and the organizing
principles that support communication and coordination
b) Common knowledge helps enhance the value of an individual expert’s knowledge
by integrating it with the knowledge of others
5) Physical Environment

KM Mechanism
1) Short-term: Learning by doing, on the job training, learning by observation, face to face
meetings
2) Long-term: Hiring CKO, cooperative projects, traditional hierarchical relationship,
organizational policies, standards, initiation process, employee rotation
KM Technologies
1) Artificial Intelligence
2) Web 2.0 technologies

KM Solutions (Chapter 4)

Overview of KM Solutions
SECI Model of Knowledge Evolution

Externalization
What​: Converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge (e.g. word, concept,visual, etc) ; …the
process of codification
Example​: “expert” serves as SME (Subject Matter Expert) for generation of technical manual
● Codified knowledge has benefits in terms of:
○ Efficiency
○ Economics

Combination
What​: Converting explicit knowledge from one form to another.
Example​: using a technical manual to create expositive courseware

Internalization
What​: Individual cognitive processing of codified knowledge to generate/create context-specific,
tacit knowledge (“learning”).
Example​: Interpreting a manual of a procedure and generalizing the concepts to a totally
different application.
Socialization
What​: Interacting with others in an informal sharing of ideas, expertise (process of creative
dialogue to achieve shared experience)
Example​: Brainstorming, communities of practice, product development team, XYZ’s software
engineers experiencing intelligent bread making bakery Critical success factor: Mutual Trust

Enabler of Socialization
● Organizational
○ Organizing for individuals to share experience; to share and tell stories.
○ Formation of ‘informal’ groups that meet for detailed discussions. By design, the
qualifications or status of the members play no role. Companies can create an
environment that fosters informal interaction for example “water cooler chat”, and
informal lounges.
○ Companies could also create job rotation programs this would serve to allow
members from different departments to interact and thus enhance the
cohesiveness of the company
● Managerial
○ Incentives and rewards necessary to motivate an effective deployment of the
organization enablers. (this one is applicable for all four quadrants)
○ Creating policies that allow the scope for external networking and observation.
● Technological
○ Tools and systems that allow presentation of experience, simulation (opportunity
to experience).
○ Video conferencing, voice chat, conversation rooms.

Enabler of Externalization
● Organizational
○ Organize to articulate
○ Diversification of organizational ‘language.’
○ Create ‘autonomous’ think tank to create new & express visions
● Managerial
○ Policies geared toward encouraging expression of knowledge in various forms.
(Here, going away from common language is encouraged).
● Technological
○ Support multi medium for creative expressions. ‘Knowledge Engineering’ for
K-based systems
Enabler of Combination
● Organizational
○ Form networks (human) to help exchange.
○ Create analysts’ role. Form analysis departments/people who can back up
explicit knowledge (statistical analysis, data mining)
● Managerial
○ Policies geared toward encouraging expression of knowledge in converged
forms. (Here, going toward a common language can be encouraged).
● Technological
○ Tools and systems that allow analysis and convergence of medium and
knowledge.
■ Can include: Data warehousing, data-mining, etc

Enabler of Internalization
- Organizational
- Organize to listen to stories
- Bottom up and interactive (matrix) structure
- Formal Training programs
- Managerial
- Incentives to re-experience through reading and listing.
- Mentor program, incentive programs for continuing education.
- Technological
- Multimedia based archival and knowledge repositories, case-based reasoning
tools.

KM Solution: Processes
KM Systems
Knowledge Discovery Systems
● Knowledge discovery systems support the process of developing new tacit or explicit
knowledge from data and information or from the synthesis of prior knowledge
● Support two KM sub-processes
○ Combination​, enabling the discovery of new explicit knowledge
■ KM Mechanisms: collaborative problem-solving, joint decision-making,
and collaborative creation of documents
■ KM Technologies: database, web-based access to data and knowledge
discovery system
○ Socialization​, enabling the discovery of new tacit knowledge
■ KM Mechanisms: apprenticeships, employee rotation across areas,
conferences, brainstorming retreats, cooperative projects across
departments and initiation process for new employees
■ KM Technologies: videoconferencing and electronic support for
communities of practice

Knowledge Capture Systems

● Knowledge capture systems support the process of retrieving either explicit or tacit
knowledge that resides within people, artifacts, or organizational entities
● Technologies can also support knowledge capture systems by facilitating:
○ Externalization: conversion of tacit into explicit form
■ KM Mechanisms: best practices, lesson learned
■ KM Technologies: expert systems, case-based reasoning systems,
knowledge capture system
○ Internalization: conversion of explicit into tacit form
■ KM Mechanisms: learning by doing, on-the-job training, learning by
observation and face-to-face meetings
■ KM Technologies: AI-based knowledge system or computer based
simulation

Knowledge Sharing Systems

● Knowledge sharing systems support the process through which explicit or implicit
knowledge is communicated to other individuals
● Discussion groups or chat groups facilitate knowledge sharing by enabling individuals to
explain their knowledge to the rest of the group
● Support two processes:
○ Socialization: enabling the discovery of new tacit knowledge
■ KM Mechanisms: apprenticeships, employee rotation across areas,
conferences, brainstorming retreats, cooperative projects across
departments and initiation process for new employees
 ■ KM Technologies: videoconferencing and electronic support for
communities of practice
○ Exchange:
■ KM Mechanisms: memos, manuals, progress reports, letters and
presentation
■ KM Technologies: groupware, web-based access to data and database,
repositories of information (best practice databases, lesson learned
systems and expertise locator systems)

Knowledge Application Systems

● Knowledge application systems support the process through which some individuals
utilize knowledge possessed by other individuals without actually acquiring, or learning,
that knowledge
● Mechanisms and technologies support knowledge application systems by facilitating:
○ Routines:
■ KM Mechanisms: organizational policies, work practices, organizational
procedures and standards
■ KM Technologies: expert systems, ERP system, management information
system
○ Direction:
■ KM Mechanisms: traditional hierarchical relationships in organization,
help desk and support center
■ KM Technologies: expert system, decision-support system,
troubleshooting system (case-based reasoning)
Organizational Impacts of Knowledge Management (Chapter 5)

Why do US Firms adopt KM?

• Retaining expertise of employees
• Enhancing customers’ satisfaction with the company’s products
• Increasing profits or revenues
Dimensions of Organizational Impacts of KM

Impact on People

- KM can facilitate employee learning

- KM also causes employees to become more flexible, and enhances their job satisfaction
- Impact on Employee Learning
- This can be accomplished through
- Externalization
- Internalization
- Socialization
- Communities of practice

- Impact on Employee Adaptability

- Employees are likely to adapt when they interact with each other
- They are more likely to accept change
- They are more prepared to respond to change

- Impact on Employee Job Satisfaction

 - Recent study found that in organizations having more employees sharing
knowledge with one another, turnover rates were reduced, thereby positively
affecting revenue and profit
- KM also provides employees with solutions to problems they face in case those
same problems have been encountered earlier, and effectively addressed

Impact on Processes

- KM enables improvements in organizational processes such as marketing,

manufacturing, accounting, engineering, and public relations
- These impacts can be seen along three major dimensions • Effectiveness • Efficiency •
Degree of innovation of the processes
- Effectiveness, Efficiency & Innovation
- Effectiveness is performing the most suitable processes and making the best
possible decisions
- Impact on Process Effectiveness • KM can enable organizations to
become more effective by helping them to select and perform the most
appropriate processes • KM enables organizations to quickly adapt their
processes according to the current circumstances, thereby maintaining
process effectiveness in changing times
- Efficiency is performing the processes quickly and in a low-cost fashion.
- Impact on Process Efficiency • Managing knowledge effectively can also
enable organizations to be more productive and efficient
- Innovation is performing the processes in a creative and novel fashion, that
improves effectiveness and efficiency—or at least marketability.
- Impact on Process Innovation • Organizations can increasingly rely on
knowledge shared across individuals to produce innovative solutions to
problems as well as to develop more innovative organizational processes
Impact on Products
- Impact on products can be
- Value added products
- KM processes can help organizations offer new products or improved
products that provide a significant additional value as compared with
earlier products
- Value-added products also benefit from KM due to the effect the latter has
on organizational process innovation
- Knowledge based products
- KM can have a significant impact on products that are knowledge based
like those in consulting or software development etc.
- Knowledge based products can sometimes play a significant role in
traditional manufacturing firms

Impacts on Organizational Performance

- Direct Impacts
- Knowledge is used to create innovative products that generate revenue and profit
- Indirect Impacts
- Use of KM to demonstrate intellectual leadership within the industry, which, in
turn, might enhance ​customer loyalty
- Use of knowledge to gain an ​advantageous ​negotiating position with respect to
competitors or partner organizations
- Economy of Scale & Scope
- A company’s output is said to exhibit ​economy of scale​ if the average ​cost ​of
production ​per unit decreases ​with ​increase ​in ​output
- A company’s output is said to exhibit ​economy of scope ​when the total ​cost ​of
that same company ​producing two ​or more different ​products ​is ​less than ​the
 sum of ​the ​costs ​that would be incurred if ​each product ​had been produced
separately ​by a different company

A Summary of Organizational Impacts of KM

Emergence of KM (Chapter 10)

Difference Between Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0

Web 2.0 Applications
• Blogs
• Collective intelligence
• Mash-ups
• Peer-to-peer networking
• Online games
• Podcast
• RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
• Social Networking
• Virtual worlds
• Web services
• Widgets
• Wikis

Social Networking
- Able to grow in terms of user base through the use of human relationships without the
need of traditional marketing methods
- Knowledge held by entities (called nodes, meaning people or information systems) and
the relationships between them (ties)
- Strong and weak ties have different effects on knowledge sharing relationships:
- Strong ties are better for cultivating trust and reliability
- Weak ties are more appropriate for searching for different types of knowledge
- The position of the individual within the network is also important in knowledge sharing
effectiveness, whereas individual in central positions act as knowledge brokers in the
network and pose knowledge sharing benefits in terms of timing, access and referral of
knowledge

Wikis and Blogs

- Two specific types of web 2.0 technologies used to generate content:
- Wiki: a page or collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who
accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language
- Blog: a form of online digital diary that comprise a statement of opinion, a story,
an analysis, description of events or other material • Businesses exploit blogs for
agile new product development • Vlog
Virtual Worlds
• Metaverse describes a multiplayer virtual world where humans (as avatars) interact with each
other and software agents in a three-dimensional world that is a metaphor of the real world
• Supporting multiple simultaneous conversations of remoter coworkers • Informal
communication infrastructure to build human relationship, hence develop new skills
• Ex. Second Life and Sun Microsystem’s Project Wonderland provide the infrastructure for
users to build three-dimensional immersive virtual worlds where individuals represented by
avatars socialize, explore and conduct business and learning
• Challenges: startup costs in developing the environment is high

Factor Influencing KM (Chapter 11)

Universalistic View of KM
• There is a single best approach of managing knowledge, which should be adopted by all
organizations in all circumstances
• Knowledge sharing is recommended as useful to all organizations, although we believe that
direction may sometimes represent an equally effective but more efficient alternative.

Contingency View of KM
• Contingency view suggests that no one approach is best under all circumstances
• Contingency perspective considers the path to success to include multiple alternative paths,
with success achieved only when the appropriate path is selected

Contingency Factors and KM Solutions

Categories of Contingency Factors

Task Characteristics

- KM processes that are appropriate for an organizational subunit depend on the nature of
its tasks
- Task Uncertainty
- Task uncertainty is argued to reduce the organization’s ability to develop
routines, and hence knowledge application would depend on direction
 - When task uncertainty is high, externalization and internalization would be
more costly due to changing problems and tasks
- When task uncertainty is low, routines can be developed for the
knowledge supporting them
- Task Interdependence
- Indicates the extent to which the subunit’s achievement of its goals
depends on the efforts of other subunits
- Performance of interdependent tasks relies mainly on dynamic interaction
in which individual units of knowledge are combined and transformed
through communication and coordination across different functional
groups

Knowledge Characteristics

- Explicit vs. tacit

- Procedural vs. declarative
- General vs. specific
Effect of Environmental and Organizational Characteristics on KM
Processes
Identification of Appropriate KM Solutions

Appropriate Circumstances for Various KM Processes

Prioritizing KM Processes for Doubtfire Computer Corporation

Knowledge Application System (Chapter 6)

Technologies for Knowledge Application Systems

Artificial Intelligence (AI) :
• Rule-based System
• Case-based Reasoning (CBR)
• Constraint-based Reasoning
• Model-based Reasoning (MBR)
• Diagrammatic Reasoning

Artificial Intelligence
• Enabling computers to perform tasks that resemble human thinking ability
• The science that provides computers with the ability to represent and manipulate symbols so
they can be used to solve problems not easily solved through algorithmic models
• Based on the understanding that intelligence and knowledge (associated with manipulate
cognitive symbol) are tightly intertwined
• Related with KM: natural language understanding, classification, etc

Rule-based System
- Applicable when the domain knowledge can be defined by a manageable set of rules or
heuristics
- The process of eliciting the knowledge from expert and representing it that is usable by
computers (knowledge engineering)
- Interviewing in detail the domain expert
- Representing the knowledge more commonly in a set of heuristics or
rules-of-thumb (IF-THEN statement)
- Disadvantage: the number of rules that represent the domain may be quite large
- Difficulty in coding, verifying, validating and maintaining the rules
- Reduction in the efficiency of the inference engine executing the rules
- Example: SOS Advisor KM application ensures the small medium enterprise is
eligible for the funding program

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR)

- A method of analogical reasoning that utilizes old cases or experiences in an effort to
solve problems, critique solutions, explain anomalous or interpret situations
- The most popular technique for the implementation of knowledge application system in
business
- CBR implementations take advantage of explicit knowledge that exist in
organization (e.g. problem reports)
- Applicable:
- in weak-theory domains, that is, where an expert either doesn’t exist or doesn’t
fully understand the domain
- if the experience base spans an entire organization rather than a single individual
- Consist of the following processes:
- Search the case library for similar cases.
- Select and retrieve the most similar case(s).
- Adapt the solution for the most similar case.
- Apply the generated solution and obtain feedback.
- Add the newly solved problem to the case library.

CBR System Components

- Case-base
- Database of previous cases (experience)
- Episodic memory
- Retrieval of relevant cases
- Index for cases in library
- Matching most similar case(s)
 - Retrieving the solution(s) from these case(s)
- Adaptation of solution
- Alter the retrieved solution(s) to reflect differences between new case and
retrieved case(s)

CBR System - Reason for indexing

- Efficiency
- Similarity matching is computationally expensive for large case-bases
- Similarity matching can be computationally expensive for complex case
representations
- Relevancy of cases for similarity matching
- Some features of new problem may make certain cases irrelevant
- Despite being very similar
- Cases are pre-selected from case-base
- Similarity matching is applied to subset of cases
CBR System
- Variations of Case-Based Reasoning
- Exemplar-based reasoning: solve problems through classification
- Instance-based reasoning: large number of instances (or cases) which are
defined by a small set of attributes vectors.
- Analogy-based reasoning: solve new problems based on past cases from a
different domain
- Advantage:
- When the relationship between the case attributes and the solution is not
understood well enough to represent in rules
- Ratio of cases that are “exceptions to the rule” is high

Constraint-based Systems
- Applicable in domains that are defined by constraints or what cannot be done
- Planning and scheduling (ex. to schedule a meeting all the individuals that need
to attend must be available at the same time, otherwise the “availability
constraint” will be violated)
 - Based on:
- Constraint-based reasoning: problem solving technique that, when given a set of
variables and constraints on these variables, can find a set of values that satisfy
all the constraints.
- Constraint Satisfaction: Constraint systems reflect what constraints restrict
possible solutions.

Model-Based Reasoning (MBR)

- An intelligent reasoning technique that uses model of an engineered system to simulate
its normal behavior
- The simulated operation is compared with the behavior of a real system and
noted discrepancies can lead to a diagnosis
- e.g. a hurricane model can be designed and implemented to predict a hurricane
trajectory, given the set of current weather conditions (wind speed, etc)
- Applicable when designing a system based on the description of the internal workings of
an engineered system (design specifications, drawings and books)

Diagrammatic Reasoning
• Artificial intelligence technique that aims to understand concepts and ideas using diagrams
that represent knowledge
• Applicable when the domain is best represented by diagrams and imagery, such as when
solving geometric problems

Developing Knowledge Application Systems

- Using Case-method Cycle
- Methodology that describes an iterative approach to effectively develop CBR and
knowledge application system in general
- Steps:
1. System development process • to develop a knowledge application
system that will store new cases and retrieve relevant cases.
2. Case library development process • to develop and maintain a large-scale
case library that will adequately support the domain in question.
a. Subprocess:
i. Developing the case library:
1. Case Collection
2. Attribute-Value Extraction and Hierarchy Formation
• Seek to create a list of attributes that define each
case, a list of values for each attribute and a
 possible grouping of such attributes, define
relationships among the attributes
3. Feedback
3. System operation process • to define the installation, deployment, and
user support of the knowledge application system
4. Database mining process • uses rule inference techniques and statistical
analysis to analyze the case library.
5. Management process • describes how the project task force will be
formed and what organizational support will be provided
6. Knowledge transfer process • describes the incentive systems to
encourage user acceptance and support.
- CASE Method in CBR development:
- significant reduction in system development workload and costs
- Knowledge application systems:
- apply a solution to a similar problem
- serve as a framework for creative reasoning.

- Knowledge application systems enabled the implementation of decision support systems

- to support design tasks in diverse domains such as architecture, engineering,
and lesson planning.
- case-based design aids (CBDA’s) help human designers by making available a
broad range of commentated designs.
- Case libraries accumulate organizational experiences, considered corporate
memory

Types of Knowledge Application Systems

• Helpdesk system
• Fault diagnosis or troubleshooting system
• Expert system
• Advisor system
• Decision-support system

Knowledge Capture System (Chapter 7)

Knowledge Capture Systems Definition
• Knowledge capture systems support process of eliciting explicit or tacit knowledge from
people, artifacts, or organizational entities
• Rely on mechanisms and technologies to support externalization and internalization

Using Stories for Capturing Organizational Knowledge

Organizational stories:
• “a detailed narrative of past management actions, employee interactions, or other intra- or
extra-organizational events that are communicated informally within organizations”
• include a plot, major characters, an outcome, and an implied moral
• Stories originate within the organization and typically reflect organizational norms, values, and
culture.
• Because stories make information more vivid, engaging, entertaining, and easily related to
personal experience and because of the rich contextual details encoded in stories, they are the
ideal mechanism to capture tacit knowledge (Swap et al. 2001)

Where can storytelling be effective?

1. Igniting action in knowledge-era organizations: Listeners actively understand what it would be
like if things were done a different way, re-creating the idea of change as an exciting and living
opportunity for growth
2. Bridging the knowing-doing gap: Encouraging the listener to imagine the story and to live it
vicariously as a participant. The listener perceives and acts on the story as part of their identity.
3. Capturing tacit knowledge: “Storytelling provides a vehicle for conveying tacit knowledge,
drawing on the deep-flowing streams of meaning, and of patterns of primal narratives of which
the listeners are barely aware, and so catalyzes visions of a different and renewed future.”
4. To embody and transfer knowledge: A simple story can communicate a complex
multidimensional idea by actively involving the listeners in the creation of the idea in the context
of their own organization
5. To foster innovation: Storytelling enables to easily absorb and relate knowledge, the same
spark that triggers innovation
6. Launching/Nurturing communities of practice: Storytelling program provides a natural
methodology for nurturing communities and integrating them to the organization’s strategy and
structure because : (1) Storytelling builds trust; (2) Storytelling unlocks passion; (3) Storytelling
is nonhierarchical Example: thematic groups (World Bank), learning communities or learning
networks (HP), best practice teams (Chevron), family groups (Xerox)
7. Enhancing technology: Communities of practice and storytelling can enable us to interact with
our neighbors and remain connected when we want to, providing us with “tranquility yet
connectedness”.
8. Individual growth: The world of storytelling is one that proposes avoiding adversarial contests
and win-win for all sides: the knowledge seeker and the knowledge-provider

Techniques for Organizing & Using Stories in the Organization

The power of narratives or stories as a knowledge capture mechanism in an organization lies in
the fact that narratives capture the knowledge content as well as its context and the social
networks that define the way “things are done around here.”
1. Anthropological observation, or the use of naïve interviewers, citing an example where they
used a group of school children to understand the knowledge flows in an organization. The
children were naïve, therefore they asked innocent and unexpected questions which caused the
subjects to naturally volunteer their anecdotes. They were also curious, which resulted in a
higher level of knowledge elicitation.
2. Storytelling circles, formed by groups having a certain degree of coherence and identity such
as a common experience in a project. Certain methods can be used for eliciting anecdotes such
as: ❖ Dit spinning or fish tales ❖ Alternative histories ❖ Shifting character or context ❖
Indirect stories ❖ Metaphor
Once a number of stories has been elicited and captured, the next problem is how to store the
narratives so people will find them ➔ Store in Narrative Database which can be indexed by the
theme or stakeholder or characters of the story

Knowledge Representation
❖Concept maps as a knowledge modeling tool ▪ Best suited to capture the knowledge of
experts when supporting educational settings
❖Context-based reasoning (CxBR) to simulate human behavior ▪ Best suited to capture tactical
knowledge of experts, which requires assessment of the situation, selecting a plan of action and
acting on the plan
Knowledge Representation through the use of Concept Maps
❖Based on Ausubel’s learning psychology theory
❖ Represent knowledge through Concepts, enclosed in circles or boxes of some types which
are related via connecting lines or propositions
❖Concepts are perceived regularities in events or objects designated by a label
❖Vertical axis expresses a hierarchical framework for organizing the concepts
❖Inclusive concepts are found at the top, progressively more specific, less inclusive concepts
arranged below
❖Relationships between propositions in different domains are cross-link
• In educational settings, concept-mapping techniques have been applied to many fields of
knowledge.
• Their rich expressive power derives from each map’s ability to allow its creator the use of a
virtually unlimited set of linking words to show how meanings have been developed.
• Consequently, maps having similar concepts can vary from one context to another.
• Also, concept maps may be used to measure a particular person’s knowledge about a given
topic in a specific context.
• Concept maps can help formalize and capture an expert’s domain knowledge in an easy to
understand representation of an expert’s domain knowledge.
Example of Knowledge Capture Systems: CmapTools
❖To capture and formalize knowledge resulting in context rich knowledge representation
models to be viewed and shared through the Internet
❖Alleviates navigation problem with concept maps
❖Serve as the browsing interface to a domain of knowledge
❖Icons below the concept nodes provide access to auxiliary information
❖Linked media resources and concept maps can be located anywhere on the Internet
❖Browser provides a window showing the hierarchical ordering of maps

Knowledge Representation through Context-based Reasoning (CBxR)

Tactical knowledge
▪ human ability that enables domain experts to assess the situation at hand (therefore
short-term)
▪ myriad of inputs, select a plan that best fits current situation, and executing plan
▪ recognize and treat only the salient features of the situation
▪ gain a small, but important portion of the available inputs for general knowledge
❖Context - set of actions and procedures that properly address the current situation
❖As mission evolves, transition to other context may be required to address the new situation
❖What is likely to happen in a context is limited by the context itself
❖Tactical behavior is action-based at low levels (e.g., keeping the car in the traffic lane),
decision-and action based at middle levels (stop or go at a traffic light), and decision-based at
high levels (take the freeway or the back roads)
❖Mission Context - defines the scope of the mission, its goals, the plan, and the constraints
imposed
❖Main Context - contains functions, rules and a list of compatible subsequent Main Contexts
❖Sub-Contexts - abstractions of functions performed by the Main Context which may be too
complex for one function
❖Context-based Intelligent Tactical Knowledge Acquisition (CITKA)
▪ uses its own knowledge base to compose a set of intelligent queries to elicit the tactical
knowledge of the expert
▪ composes questions and presents them to the expert
▪ result is a nearly complete context base can be used to control someone performing the
mission of interest in a typical environment
❖Barriers to the deployment of knowledge capture systems from two perspectives:
▪ the knowledge engineer who seeks to build such systems
▪ the subject matter expert, who would interact with an automated knowledge capture system to
preserve his knowledge
❖Knowledge Engineer requires developing some idea of the nature and structure of the
knowledge very early in the process ▪ must attempt to become versed in the subject matter, or
the nature of knowledge
❖An automated system for knowledge capture, without a-priori knowledge of the nature, is
essentially not possible
❖From the point-of-view of the expert:
▪ need to take the initiative of learning how to interact with the system
▪ some people may be resistant to trying new things
▪ can be overcome, with adequate training and the utilization of user-friendly interfaces

Using Learning by Observation Capture Knowledge

❖Research on how humans and animals learn through observation
❖Use of learning through observation to automate the knowledge acquisition task
❖Learning by observation shows promise as a technique for automatic capture of expert’s
knowledge, and enable computers to automatically “learn”

Knowledge Sharing System (Chapter 8)

Computer as a Medium for Sharing/Transfer Knowledge

• Digital computer has become an essential tool in managing knowledge
• World Wide Web as an unparalleled medium for sharing knowledge
• Collaborative Computing
• Importance of searching the web to look for useful knowledge • Search Engines in the Web
• Issue of network security to maintain control of intellectual property • Risk to intellectual
property resulting from use of the Web as the medium of exchange
• Reducing the risk: • Access control through password control, Encryption, Digital signatures,
Firewalls

Support for knowledge sharing

a) Rewards
i) Hard
1) Financial rewards
(a) Increased pay
(b) Bonuses
(c) Stock option
2) Career advancement
(a) Promotion
(b) Future work
3) Access to information
(a) Learning
(b) Innovation
 ii) Soft
1) Enhanced reputation
2) Personal satisfaction as reward
b) Conditions
i) Responsibilities
1) Training & debriefings
2) Mentoring & assisting
3) Time allocated
4) Copying permitted
5) Senior management buy-in
6) Leadership by example
ii) Status
1) Remove management levels
2) Mask status
3) All are contributors(works against soft reward of enhanced reputation)
iii) Communities(can’t be “created)
1) Shared commitment, obligation & co dependence -> vitality & trust (strong
versus weak ties)
2) Social interaction -> clique & high risk exchange (inhibited dissemination)
3) Identity -> common purpose (limits on membership)
c) Infrastructure
i) Usability
1) Ease of use
2) Usefulness of use is obvious
ii) Articulation
1) Integration of tools with communities
iii) Critical mass
1) Ease of use
2) Usefulness of use
3) Integration of tools
iv) Boundary objects
1) Classification schemes
2) Repositories
3) Spaces and people
Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing

Corporate Memory
• Corporate Memory (also known as an organizational memory) is made up of the aggregate
intellectual assets of an organization
• It is the combination of both explicit and tacit knowledge
• The loss of Corporate Memory often results from a lack of appropriate technologies for the
organization and exchange of documents • Employee’s turnover or retirement
Knowledge Sharing Systems Definition
- Systems that enable members of an organization to acquire tacit and explicit knowledge
from each other
- Knowledge markets that must attract a critical volume of knowledge seekers and
knowledge owners in order to be effective
- Knowledge Owners may:
- Want to share their knowledge with a controllable and trusted group
- Decide when to share and conditions for sharing
- Seek a fair exchange, or reward, for sharing their knowledge
- Knowledge Seekers may:
- Not be aware of all the possibilities for sharing, thus the system helping them
through searching and ranking
- Want to decide on the condition for knowledge acquisition

Requirements for the Success of a Knowledge Sharing System

1. Collection and systematic organization of information from various sources.
2. Minimization of up-front knowledge engineering.
3. Exploiting user feedback for maintenance and evolution.
4. Integration into an existing environment.
5. Active presentation of relevant information.

Barriers to the Use of Knowledge Sharing Systems

• Many organizations, specifically science and engineering-oriented firms, are characterized by
a culture known as the ‘not-invented-here (NIH) syndrome’.
• Organizations suffering from this syndrome tend to essentially reward employees for
‘inventing’ new solutions, rather than reusing solutions developed within and outside the
organization.

Specific Types of Knowledge Sharing Systems

Knowledge sharing systems are classified according to their attributes
1. Incident report databases: Disseminate information related to incidents or malfunctions, e.g.
field equipment or software
2. Alert systems: Report problems experienced with a technology
3. Best practices databases: Describe successful efforts, typically from the reengineering of
business processes that could be applicable to organizational processes
4. Lessons-learned systems: Capture and provide lessons that can benefit employees who
encounter situations that closely resemble a previous experience in a similar situation
5. Expertise locator systems: catalog knowledge competencies including information not
typically captured by human resources systems in a way that could later be queried across the
organization

Attributes
• Content origin: Does the content originate from experience or from industry standard ?
• Application: Do they describe a complete process, or perhaps a task or a decision ?
• Results: Do they describe failure or success ?
• Orientation: Do they support an organization or a whole industry ?

Types of Knowledge Repositories

Repositories Quality Control

❖Content evaluation/verification: Knowledge life, downstream filtering, upstream filtering
❖Content Maintenance: Taxonomy, descriptor monitoring, accuracy of source information
❖Content archives
Lesson Learned Process

Purpose of LLS – to Support Organizational Processes

1. Collect the lessons:
• Passive: contributors submit lessons through a paper or web-based form. Common one.
• Reactive: contributors interview by third party for lessons, the third party submit it behalf of the
contributor
• After-Action Collection: lessons are collected during a mission debriefing, example: in military
organizations
• Proactive Collection: lessons are automatically collected by an expert system
• Active Collection: computer-based system may scan documents to identify lessons in the
presence of specific keywords or phrase
• Interactive Collection: computer-based system collaborate with the lesson’s author to generate
clear and relevant lessons
2. Verify the lessons • Verification of lessons for correctness, redundancy, consistency and
relevance.
3. Store the Lesson • Represent the lesson in the computer system
4. Disseminate the Lesson:
• Passive dissemination: look for using the search engine
• Active casting: transmitted to users that have specified relevant profiles
• Broadcasting: disseminated throughout an organization
• Active dissemination: users are alerted to relevant lessons in the context of their work
• Proactive dissemination: system anticipated when users may require the assistance provided
by the lesson
• Reactive dissemination: users launch the LL system in response to a knowledge need (Help
system)
5. Apply the Lesson
• Browsable: the system displays a list of lessons that match the search criteria
• Executable: users have option to execute the lesson’s recommendation (spelling in the Word)
• Outcome reuse: when the system prompts users to enter the outcome of reusing a lesson, to
assess whether the lesson can be replicated.

Expertise-Locator Knowledge Sharing Systems

• Goal: to catalog knowledge competencies, including information not typically captured by
human resources systems, in a way that could later be queried across the organization to help
locate intellectual capital.
• Significant challenge in the development of ELS, knowledge repositories, and digital libraries,
deals with the accurate development of knowledge taxonomies.
• Taxonomies, also called classification or categorization schemes, are considered to be
knowledge organization systems that serve to group objects together based on a particular
characteristic.

Characteristics of Expertise-Locator Systems

• Purpose of the system (Example: identify experts to help solve technical problems, match
employee competencies with positions within the company, perform gap analysis that point to
intellectual capital inadequacies within the organization)
• Access method: via intranet or web?
• Self-assessment • Allows building a repository of organization-wide competencies quickly
• Participation
• Taxonomy
• Levels of competencies (Expressing expertise as capability levels ex. Ignorant, beginner,
competent, etc)
Example of Expertise-Locator Systems

Case Study - SAGE

Case Study – Expert Seeker
• Expert Seeker is an organizational expertise-locator KMS used to locate experts at NASA.
• The main difference between Expert Seeker and SAGE is that the former searches for
expertise at NASA (KSC and GSFC), while the latter is on the Web and seeks expertise at
various universities.
KM Systems to Share Tacit Knowledge
• To create a cultural environment that encourages the sharing of knowledge, some
organizations are creating knowledge communities.
• A community of practice is an organic and self-organized group of individuals who are
dispersed geographically or organizationally but communicate regularly to discuss issues of
mutual.