Home » Research » Knowledge Management » Knowledge Management Systems

Knowledge Management Systems

The previously mentioned interaction options could be considered for the development of an Information System. For a KM tool, interaction has to go a step further. In fact, in a traditional information system there is no separation between information level and knowledge level, and it is common that users adapt themselves to the system and, besides small customizations, never vice-versa. The model for interpretation of data is hardwired or, in the most advanced cases, based on simple categorizations. In contrast, KM tools treat humans (singularly or grouped in communities) as key components engaged in an active process of sense making to continuously assess the effectiveness of "best practices". Thus, in a KM tool, the human-computer interaction is more complex and will transfer not only information, but also the related meaning.

Again, such meaning can be transferred from the user to the knowledge system through the chosen interaction modality and the resulting balancing between the two different types of grounding. For instance, if the user is obliged to define all the entities that will be used in interaction before starting the interaction process itself, we are talking about preemptive interaction process. The possibility of defining entities when used effectively or "after" their first usage can be considered a just in time grounding (knowledge reorganization). KM tools or better Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) are systems designed to manage the different types of knowledge belonging to an organization.

Alavi and Leidner [1] clarify KMS as

"IT-based systems developed to support/enhance the processes of knowledge creation, storage/retrieval, transfer, and application".


References

[1] Alavi, M. and D.E. Leidner
Review: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues.
MIS Quarterly, Volume 25, Number 1, pp. 107-136, 2001.