Methodologies for Active Knowledge Modeling

Akm Approach

The AKM approach has at its core a customer delivery process with seven steps. The first time an enterprise applies AKM technology, we recommend that these steps are closely followed in the sequence indicated. However, second and third time around work processes and tasks from the last five steps can be reiterated and executed in any order necessary to achieve the desired results.

The AKM approach is also about mutual learning, discovering, externalizing and sharing new knowledge with partners and colleagues. Tacit knowledge of the type that actually can be externalized, is most vividly externalized by letting people that contribute to the same end product actually work together, all the time exchanging, capturing and synthesizing their views, methods, properties, parameter trees and values, and validating their solutions. Common views of critical resources and performance parameters provide a sense of holism and are important instruments in achieving consensus in working towards common goals. The seven steps of the approach are shown in Figure 1. The steps are denoted C3S3P and have briefly been described earlier in (Stirna, Persson, & Sandkuhl, 2007). Concept testing, performing a proof-of-concept at the customer site, is not included in the figure. The solutions modeling stage is vital for creating holistic, multiple role-views supporting work across multi-dimensional knowledge spaces, which in turn yield high-quality solution models.

Figure 1.

The steps of the customer delivery process