Preface for the Third Edition - Read

18. Outlook 623
applicable for the design of KMS. Knowledge structures, taxonomies or ontologies
respectively are required for a semantic integration of knowledge elements which
can be seen as fine granular units of competencies or of intellectual capital. Knowledge
structures connect heterogeneous, individual or group knowledge elements
from decentral organizational knowledge bases that have been developed independently.
This can aid search and navigation of the entire organizational knowledge
base. As many knowledge processes cross boundaries of organizational units or of
whole organizations, standardization of techniques to represent knowledge structures,
e.g., on the basis of Semantic Web technologies, play an important role in
enabling organizations to share (documented) knowledge.
Instruments. KMS implement or support KM instruments. Examples are skill
management, expertise locators, workspaces of knowledge networks, semantic
content management, case debriefings, lessons learned or the management of experiences.
Intelligent ICT are applied to connect these instruments and consequently
connect assets, contents and structures on the one hand and persons, practices and
processes on the other hand. These ICT can support or even automate knowledge
operations as the finest granularity of knowledge activities. Moreover, intelligent
ICT can network knowledge elements, recommend operations and/or contents and
provide a personalized access to the organizational knowledge base on the basis of
user profiles. Still, many KM instruments are just sketched out and need further
development in order to be applicable for organizations or even packaged in KMS
solutions. The design of processes and practices as described in the following helps
to improve the services that KMS can provide to support knowledge work.
Processes. An orientation of the design of a KM initiative on processes and the
value chain guarantees that KM instruments, activities and systems always aim at
adding customer value. Process orientation therefore can guide the design of strategic
KM initiatives and provides starting points for the definition of knowledge
goals and the subsequent implementation of organizational and ICT measures. Processes
can provide a part of the context for knowledge structures, e.g., in the form
of the context of creation, distribution and application of knowledge. Processes
represent a major dimension of meta-data and thus aid navigation of organizational
knowledge bases. Process controlling and benchmarking can finally help to identify
successful knowledge-intensive business processes and knowledge processes
and provide starting points for knowledge process redesign.
Activities. Process modeling is limited to relatively structured, organized work.
However, knowledge practices are often weakly structured, less foreseeable, rarely
repeated, creative activities. Knowledge activities and stances are concepts that
help to identify patterns of knowledge work. Knowledge activities are embedded in
communities with specific objectives that have specific rules and a certain division
of labor that is primarily informal. It is difficult to bring knowledge activities in a
sequence as the sequence often does not provide any hints for the design of supporting
KMS. The identification of patterns of knowledge activities and knowledge