Technologies for Semantic Project-Driven Work Environments

Abstract

As computer and Internet applications became ubiquitous, most daily business must handle an increasing amount of information via several applications and systems such as e-mail applications, file systems, business software, databases, or other systems. Dealing with information flows is not restricted to a special skill level or field of work; it is rather a significant attribute of any computational work environment. Most ongoing tasks in companies are in the context of a project since management strategies force process-driven business and organization. During a project, a large volume of knowledge arises that is connected to the output of the project (products and services) as well as to know-how regarding the project realisation and the use of resources. The important aspect of capturing this knowledge in some form is to impart and recycle organizational knowledge to gain raising efficiency in doing business. This knowledge capture may result in the creation of (digital) documents like, for example, project plans, resource plans, reports, product sheets, and so on. But there is also a second aspect of knowledge capture, regarding a kind of semantic glue between those assets that should be captured in order to be able to relate them to each other (e.g., who did what on a certain project, how do requirement documents and project reports relate, and so forth), that is, to define their context.