Preface for the Third Edition - Read

624 D. Conclusion and Outlook
stances, arrangements of knowledge actions and the subsequent implementation of
tools and systems that support these concepts represent a promising field for
research and practice. These tools and systems would primarily target the informal
organizational structure that is not limited to the organizational boundaries. Thus,
the metaphor of distributed or peer-to-peer KMS seems to be most suitable to
describe the kind of distributed, entirely personalized, autonomous, flexible and yet
seamlessly integrated tools and systems that are needed here.
When designing KMS, these concepts cannot be seen independent from each
other. Figure D-11 shows that the three main concepts are interwoven and cannot
be separated in the perspective of implementation of tools and systems. Types, processes
and services are seen as the main levers that management can use in order to
analyze, design, configure, customize, implement, change and adapt ICT solutions
for their respective KM initiative’s needs. Modelling efforts in KM that aim at supporting
information and communication technologies have to clarify a number of
questions. Some examples are:
create
process
distribute
formalize
KM
KM service
project
reports
lessons
learnt
service
FIGURE D-11. Three main intervention levers for designing KMS 18
type
type: what types of knowledge elements should be supported by KMS, how can
they be formalized, what meta-data are needed to describe these knowledge ele