Chapter VI

KMS Development
 Chapter objective
• Explain KMS strategy
• Describe KMS development process
• Explain the difference between KMS and
system development
• Explain the necessary condition for successful
KMS development
• Know some specific KMS development tools
and procedures
 Business strategy
• A Strategy is an action that managers take to attain one
or more of the organization's goals. 
• Strategy can also be defined as “A general direction set
for the company and its various components to achieve
a desired state in the future. 
• Business strategy is defined as the outcome of
decision made to guide an organization with respect to
the environment, structure and processes that influence
its organizational performance (Croteau, et al. 1999).
 Common business strategy
• Business strategic dimensions are
1. defensiveness,
2. risk aversion,
3. aggressiveness,
4. proactiveness,
5. analysis, and
6. futurity.
• Defender type of business strategy limit their search for new opportunities
and they focus attention internally on ways to enhance organizational
effectiveness (Miles and Snow, 1978).
• Organization that pursued futurity type of business strategy develop and
maintain the capacity to find and exploit new product and market
opportunities
– seek and scan the external environment for new knowledge
 KM strategy
• A KM strategy is a general approach to
defining operational actions and objectives
with specialized KM principles and
approaches
• Its purpose is to identify how the organization
can best leverage its knowledge resources
 KM Strategy …
• Provides a road map that can be used to identify
and prioritize KM initiatives, tools, and
approaches to support business objectives
• It helps to answer:
1. Which KM approach, or set of KM approaches,
will bring the most value to the organization?
2. How can the organization prioritize alternatives
when any one or several of the alternatives are
appealing and resources are limited?
 KM Strategy …
• The strategy is used to define a plan of action by
undertaking a gap analysis.
• The gap analysis involves establishing the current and
desired states of knowledge resources and KM
solutions.
• Specific projects are then defined in order to address
specific gaps
• Example, if there is a knowledge sharing problem, a
knowledge sharing project will be identified to develop
a knowledge sharing system
 Types of KM strategy
• There are six strategy options in the
literature:
1. Internal source of knowledge, external
source of knowledge,
2. system-focus (codification), human focus
(personalization),
3. knowledge exploitation, and knowledge
exploration.
 Components of Good Strategy
1. An articulated business strategy and objectives
– a. Products or services.
– b. Target customers.
– c. Preferred distribution or delivery channels.
– d. Characterization of regulatory environment.
– e. Mission or vision statement.
2. A description of knowledge-based business issues
– . Need for collaboration.
– Need to level performance variance.
– Need for innovation
– Need to address information overload.
 Components of Good Strategy ...
3. An inventory of available knowledge resources
– Knowledge capital: tacit and explicit knowledge, know-how, expertise,
experience in the minds of individuals and in communities or
embedded in work routines, processes, procedures, roles, artifacts such
as documents or reports.
– Social capital: culture, trust, context, the informal networks, and
reciprocity (e.g., willingness to experiment and take risks, or able to fail
without fear of repercussions).
– Infrastructure capital: physical knowledge resources; e.g., LAN/ WAN,
file servers, intranets, PCs, applications, physical workspaces and
offices, and the organizational structure.
 Components of Good Strategy …
4. An analysis of recommended knowledge leverage points that describes what
can be done with the above-identified knowledge and knowledge artifacts
and that lists KM projects that can add business value; for example:
a) Collect artifacts and exploit them (e.g., best practices database, lessons learned
database).
b) Store for future use (e.g., data warehouses, intelligence gathering for specific
issue/problem, data mining, text mining).
c) Focus on connecting—connect knowers to each other and to a problem through
communities of practice or expertise location systems.
• Hypothesize to carry out scenario planning, informal cross-pollination to
produce new insights and breakthrough thinking.
 Business Strategy, Objectives

KM Strategy

KMS Development

KM Technologies KM Processes People

KMS Infrastructure (Organization culture, reward, Intranet, organization

structure, physical layout, etc)
KMS Development
 Knowledge Management System (KMS)
development Cycle
• It is a sequence of tasks to build a new
knowledge management system
• It creates standard development of KMS
• Also help to compare and evaluate different
KMSs
• Help to use time and resources efficiently by
avoiding trial error and reworking
Conventional System Life KM System Life
versus Cycle
Cycle

Evaluate Existing Infrastruct

Recognition of Need and ure
Feasibility Study

Functional Requirements Sp Form the KM Team

ecifications
Knowledge Capture
Iterative
Logical Design (master
design plan) Design KMS Blueprint

Physical Design (coding) Verify and validate the KM

System
Testing
Iterative
Implement the KM System
Implementation (file
conversion, user training) Manage Change and
Rewards Structure
Operations and Maintenance
Post-system evaluation
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 Key Differences
• Systems analysts deal with information from the
user; knowledge developers deal with knowledge
from domain experts
• Users know the problem but not the solution;
domain experts know both the problem and the
solution
• Conventional SLC is primarily sequential; KM SLC is
incremental and interactive.
• System testing normally at end of conventional
system life cycle; KM system testing evolves from
beginning of the cycle
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 Key Differences (cont’d)

• Conventional system life

cycle is process-driven or
“specify then build”

• KM system life cycle is

result-oriented or “start
slow and grow”

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 Key Similarities
• Both begin with a problem and
end with a solution
• Both begin with information
gathering or knowledge capture
• Testing is essentially the same to
make sure “the system is right”
and “it is the right system”
• Both developers must choose the
appropriate tool(s) for designing
their respective systems

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 Stages of KMSLC
Evaluate Existing
Infrastructure

Form the KM Team

Knowledge Capture

Iterative Rapid Design KM Blueprint

Prototyping
Verify and validate the KM
System

Implement the KM System

Manage Change and

Rewards Structure

Post-system evaluation
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 (1) Evaluate Existing Infrastructure
System justifications:
• What knowledge will be lost
through retirement, transfer, or
departure to other firms?
• Is the proposed KM system
needed in several locations?
• Are experts available and willing
to help in building a KM system?
• Does the problem in question
require years of experience and
tacit reasoning to solve?
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 The Scope Factor
• Consider breadth and depth
of the project within financial,
human resource, and
operational constraints
• Project must be completed
quickly enough for users to
foresee its benefits
• Check to see how current
technology will match
technical requirements of the
proposed KM system

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 Role of Strategic Planning
• Risky to plunge into a KMS without strategy

Knowledge developer should

consider:
Vision

Resources

Culture
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 Vision
• Foresee what the business is trying to
achieve, how it will be done, and how
the new system will achieve goals

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 Resources
• Check on the affordability of the
business to invest in a new KM system

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 Culture
• Is the company’s political
and social environment
open and responsive to
adopting a new KM
system?

• If culture and change

fights, culture wins the
game.
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 (2) Form the KM Team
• Identify the key stakeholders of
the prospective KM system.
• Team success depends on:
– Ability of team members
– Team size
– Complexity of the project
– Leadership and team
motivation
– Not promising more than can
be realistically delivered

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 (3) Knowledge Capture
• Explicit knowledge captured
in repositories from various
media
• Tacit knowledge captured
from company experts using
various tools and
methodologies
• Knowledge developers
capture knowledge from
experts in order to build the
knowledge base such as
Expert Interview
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 Selecting an Expert
– How does one know the expe
rt is in fact an expert?
– How would one know that the
expert will stay with the
project?
– What backup should be
available in case the project
loses the expert?
– How could we know what is
and what is not within the
expert’s area of expertise?
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(4) Design the KM Blueprint
The KM blueprint addresses several
issues:
• Finalize scope of proposed KM
system with realized net benefits
• Decide on required system
components
• Develop the key layers of the KM
software architecture to meet
company requirements
• System interoperability and
scalability with existing company
IT infrastructure
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 (5)Testing the KM System
• Verification procedure:
ensures that the system
has the right functions
• Validation procedure:
ensures that the system
has the right output
• Validation of KM
systems is not
foolproof
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 (6) Implement the KM System
• Converting a new KM system into actual operation
• includes conversion of data or files
• also includes user training
• Quality assurance is important, which includes checking
for:
– Reasoning errors
– Ambiguity
– Incompleteness
– False representation (false positive and false negative)

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(7) Manage Change and Rewards Structure

• Goal is to minimize
resistance to change
– Experts
– Regular employees
(users)
– Troublemakers
• Resistances via
projection, avoidance, or
aggression
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 (8) Post-system Evaluation
• Assess system impact in terms of effects on:
– People
– Procedures
– Performance of the business
• Areas of concern:
– Quality of decision making
– Attitude of end users
– Costs of Knowledge processing and update

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 Key Questions
• What is the benefit of KM strategy?
• What are the main components of KM strategy?
• Has accuracy and timeliness of decision making
improved?
• Has KMS caused organizational changes?
• What are users’ reactions towards KMS?
• Has KMS changed the cost of operating the business?
• Have relationships among users affected?
• Does KMS justify the cost of investment?

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1. Purpose
2. Statement of Scope & Objectives
2.1 System functions
2.2 Users and characteristics
2.3 Operating environment
2.4 User environment
2.5 Design/implementation constraints
2.6 Assumptions and dependencies
3. Functional Requirements
3.1 User interfaces
3.2 Hardware interfaces
3.3 Software interfaces
3.4 Communication protocols and interfaces
4. Nonfunctional Requirements
4.1 Performance requirements
4.2 Safety requirements
4.3 Security requirements
4.4 Software quality attributes
4.5 Project documentation
4.6 User documentation
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KMS development methdologies
 Rapid Prototyping Process?

Structure
the Problem
Repeated
Reformulate Cycle(s)
the Problem
Structure
a Task
Make
Modifications
Build
a Task

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 KMS Architecture
• Architecture is a complex concept as it is operationalized by
different concepts
• Example
– Technology Architecture
– User view points architecture (End users/Technical Users/Managers)
– Service oriented architecture
– System architecture
• KMS architecture has also similar problems
• One KM architecture cannot fit all KM problems
• Frequently you find the Seven Layer Architecture in the
literature
 .....

Layers of KM Architecture
1 User Interface
(Web browser software installed on each user’s PC)
2 Authorized access control
(e.g., security, passwords, firewalls, authentication)

3 Collaborative intelligence and filtering

(intelligent agents, network mining, customization, personalization)
Knowledge-enabling applications
4 (customized applications, skills directories, videoconferencing,
decision support systems, etc
5 Transport
(e-mail, Internet/Web site, TCP/IP protocol to manage traffic flow)
6 Middleware
(specialized software for network management, security, etc.)
The Physical Layer
7
(repositories, cables)

Groupware Data warehousing

Databases Legacy applications (document exchange, (data cleansing,
(e.g., payroll) collaboration) data mining)
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 KM Architecture
• What KMS you want to design?
– Knowledge discovery or sharing or application?
• Seven Layer architecture may not fit to your needs
• Most KMS architecture are based on three Layer
Architecture, adopted from SW architecture
• Three Layer Software Architecture include
– Presentation layer
– Process Layer
– Data store Layer
 Knowledge Knowledge
Communication,
Worker's Worker's
View Collaboration, and Sharing View
Knowledge
Presentation
Layer Knowledge Knowledge
Portal Facilitators and
Knowledge Engineers

Knowledge
Management Knowledge Knowledge
Layer Repository Curators
Knowledge Management
Processes

Storage/
Acquisition Refinement Distribution Presentation
Retrieval

Data
Sources
Layer Enterprise
FTP Model

External Web E-mail Text Relational and Media Domain

Sources Repository Repository Repository OO Databases Repository Repository
 Knowledge Management Process Model.
Storage/
Acquisition Refinement Distribution Presentation
Retrieval
• Expertise • Data Cleansing • Storage and • Intranet & • User Profiles
• Domain Model • Indexing indexing of Internet for dynamic
Knowledge • Knowledge tailoring links.
• Business Rules • Metadata
• Concept- Portals • Knowledge
•Ownership; Tagging
based • XML creation, update
Federation •Concept Retrieval annotation, and
Agreements, Formulation • Active
• Retrieval by storage in
Data Sources • Information Subscriptions
Author, Knowledge
• External Integration Content, • Discussion Repository.
Sources and •Ontology & Threads, etc. Groups. •Collaboration
Formats. •Digital
Taxonomy • Knowledge Environments
•Wrappers Security. Rights
•Knowledge
• Politics of data Curtain. Management
 KMS/Technical Architecture
Knowledge
Presentation Knowledge Collaboration Video- Discussion Knowledge
& Creation Portal & and Messaging Conferencing Group Creation
Layer Search Services Service Service Services Services

Data Metadata Ontology & Knowledge Workflow Digital

Knowledge Mining Tagging Taxonomy Curation Management Rights
Management Services Services Services Services Services Management
Layer
Information Integration Services

Data Federation Agent Mediation Security

Warehouse Services Services Services Services Knowledge
Repository

Data
Sources
Layer
Enterprise
FTP
Model

External Web E-mail Text Relational & Media Domain

Sources Repository Repository Repository OO Databases Repository Repository
 CHALLENGES IN BUILDING KM SYSTEMS
• Culture
— getting people to share knowledge
• Knowledge evaluation
— assessing the worth of knowledge across
the organization
• Knowledge processing
— documenting how decisions are reached
• Knowledge implementation
— organizing knowledge and integrating it
with the processing strategy for final
deployment

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End of Chapter !