Web-based Learning Solutions for Communities of Practice

A Proposed Framework for Designing Sustainable Communities for Knowledge Management Systems
Table 2. Summary of design recommendations for sustainable communities of practice in knowledge
management systems
Design Guidelines Success Factor
I. Technological features
1. Site map SF1, SF2, SF7
2. Search features SF7
3. Document version control systems SF1, SF2, SF7
II. Membership features
1. Non-anonymity SF1
2. Maintaining usage statistics and profiles SF1, SF5
3. Connectivity between members – Directories, Forums, IM
capabilities
III. Content features
1. Making it an obligatory passage point (OPP) for documents,
templates, forms etc.
design KMS communities. Furthermore, they
can also be used as an evaluative tool for existing
KMS. Future research would add value by
evaluating and testing these recommendations in
a representative setting through possibly an action
research. An exploratory case study of existing
KMS that implement these features would also
provide validity. Each recommendation could
be the subject of a separate study. For example,
the role of a knowledge manager or the design of
the search features could constitute substantial
research agendas.
SF1
2. Home page to represent community – fresh, dynamic SF7
3. Content on the home page for summary of new relevant topics,
news, and highlights
4. Moderation to ensure topical focus and relevance
SF3, SF8
SF2, SF7
5. Moderation to ensure questions are answered SF3, SF5
6. Moderation to encourage ‘experts’ to contribute SF3
SF2, SF3, SF5, SF6,
SF7
7. Moderation to ensure currency of documents SF3, SF5, SF7
8. Splitting into sub-communities, if size grows SF3, SF5, SF6, SF7
IV. Organizational functions
1. Creating and supporting role of moderator/community manager
SF3, SF4
This chapter has the limitations associated
with a conceptual study. It needs to be validated
by empirical research. The suggestions presented
for future research are intended to be a guide
for a research program in this area. We draw on
literature in virtual communities to inform us
about the nature of communities in knowledge
management systems. However, the design of
these communities is contingent upon organizational
factors such as organization culture, norms,
practices, and structure. Hence, these guidelines
may not be universally applicable but need to be
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