Preface for the Third Edition - Read

7 Systems
7. Systems 273
KMS were defined in section 4.3 - “Knowledge management systems” on page 82.
In the following, first the technological roots of KMS are reviewed (section 7.1).
Then, the contents of KMS are analyzed along with their structure, the types of
media used, a maturity model for knowledge elements and some aspects of quality
of contents (section 7.2). The definition of KMS is detailed with the help of a
review of KMS architectures that have been proposed in the literature or have been
implemented as standard KMS platforms. Based on this analysis, an amalgamated
architecture for a centralized KMS is presented. The architecture is discussed in
detail with the help of a structured list of KMS functions that will be used in the
empirical study (section 7.4). As an alternative to this ideal architecture for a centralized
KMS, an architecture for a distributed or peer-to-peer KMS is presented
(section 7.5). The development of tools and systems will be discussed in a structured
way leading to a classification of KMS (section 7.6). Finally, the important
integration layer is discussed in more detail, reflecting on meta-data and ontology
management as well as the Semantic Web (section 7.7).
7.1 Technological roots
Figure B-47 uses the metaphor of a magnetic field produced by a coil to show the
technological roots and influences that impact design and implementation of KMS.
The term KMS plays the role of the coil, the magnetic center. Theoretical
approaches that support deployment of KMS and related terms that show a different
perspective on ICT support of an organization’s way of handling knowledge
are shown to the right of the magnetic center. The main differences between KMS
and their predecessors guiding the design of KMS are shown on the left side 440 .
Both influences together provide the energy to integrate, (re-) interpret, (re-
)arrange and (re-) combine ICT technologies that are the roots of KMS into a set of
KMS-specific services that in turn are integrated into application systems, tools
and platforms with a clear focus on the support of KM concepts and instruments.
The strong metaphor of a KMS, a system aiding the handling of knowledge in
an organization, influences other ICT-related initiatives that can benefit from the
ideas integrated with the help of KMS. Examples are the overall handling of electronic
assets in an enterprise-wide content management, the integration of intelligent
services for strategic enterprise management, the provision of access from any
location in mobile information management, the specialized management of
knowledge about employees, customers, projects, processes and products, the support
of training and education by e-learning as well as the personal knowledge
management of networked knowledge workers.
440. For an explanation see section 4.3.2 - “Definition” on page 86.