1 Toward a Method for Providing Database Structures Derived from an Ontological Specification Process : the Example of Knowledge Management

The paper describes the operation of a methodology used for ontologically specifying the key concepts in the field of Knowledge Management. Ontological specification is of particular interest to knowledge managers because associated methods support top management in the processing of tacit knowledge into a more explicit form. The paper is a part of a larger project designed to utilize ontological processes for the building of a ’best practices database’ in the KM field. Implications of such a database involve greater speed in which dynamic and unstructured fields such as KM can develop into a more explicit and transferable form of knowledge. Introduction Since the advent of computing technology, researchers in information systems and particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) have made several att empts at the formalization of a process which can be termed ontological specification. An ontology is the explicit specification of conceptual meaning in a topic area such as Knowledge Management (KM) in thi s project. The ontology includes a complete vocabulary and logical statements about the term inology, how the terms are defined and how they are related (or not related). The process involves the derivation of more specific meaning from more general concepts. This is one met hod for providing meaning in a knowledge domain. Its applicability in AI is such that methods can be constructed which attempt to automate the human information processing tasks asso ciated with deducing logical structures, commonalities and relationships in conceptual repre sentations found in textual data. The goal of such methods is the reduction in need for humans to be inundated with the belaboring task of extracting meaning from volumes of text. The need fo r such systems derives from the proliferation of web-based media, which has caused a dramati c increase in organizational access to business intelligence in textual form. The application of such structuring processes could help greatly in the growing area of KM, an organiz atio al function where knowledge is considered to be the strategic focal point for competitive a dvant ge. A problem that organizations are faced with is that of increasing access to m a ses of strategically critical contextual and conceptual information. This coincide s with limited means of automated support in the form of computer-based information technology for the captur ing and organization of important knowledge. This paper provides some insights on the idea of ontological specification (or concept structuring) by depicting the application of one such method in the area of KM. Thus, we describe a tool that can greatly aid in the process of KM in its own field. Although the field of KM has just recently started to take off, the prospect of gat hering all of the information published in the area is formidable. This is especially true given the enormous growth in the amount of information published each month on the topic area. The immaturity, yet dynamic development of the field of KM means that the fiel d has achieved little structure in terms of frameworks, commonly held beliefs, taxonomies, and terminology . This has made the field an excellent target for the application of a method for its struc uring.