An Architecture for Active and Passive Knowledge Management Systems

Abstract

Knowledge management systems (KMSs) offer an environment for organizations to manage their information assets (e.g., documents, databases, etc.). Existing KMSs passively employ knowledge by querying a database, showing a document, displaying a Web page, etc. KMSs can be extended to incorporate active components, such as expert systems and business rule systems. Currently, business rules reside in application code and database triggers. A KMS with an embedded expert system using business rules from the organization, combined with the connectivity of a server in a client/server architecture, provides an excellent environment for automating business activities at both local and enterprise levels. The segregation of business rules into the knowledge tier (KT) should lower the cost of development and maintenance, increase accuracy and ensure corporation-wide consistency. In addition, knowledge verification tools are now being developed that will allow the computerization of less structured tasks, enabling another round of increased efficiency through computerization.