Abstract:
A method for modifying knowledge documents, includes: retrieving an authored document per a client request; wiki-fying a copy of the retrieved authored document; accepting client comments into the wiki-fied authored document, while maintaining the integrity of the authored documents; notifying one or more authors of the authored document of the client comments in the wiki-fied copy of the authored document; modifying the authored document based on the determination of the one or more authors to the validity of the client comments; and replacing the authored document with the modified authored document.

Description:
TRADEMARKS 
       [0001]    IBM® is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y., U.S.A. Other names used herein may be registered trademarks, trademarks or product names of International Business Machines Corporation or other companies. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates generally to knowledge management, and more particularly to a method and system for users to modify knowledge documents with comments while preserving the integrity of each knowledge document as composed by the document authors. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    The recent growth in the use of “wikis” has focused attention on online collaborative editing of documents. A wiki is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit, and change content, typically without the need for registration. A wiki enables documents to be written collaboratively, in a simple markup language. A Wiki also allows for linking among a number of pages. The ease of interaction and operation of wikis have made them an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. However, wikis suffer from weaknesses as well. Firstly, all wiki content is editable, and individuals may only add comments using simple markup language. In addition, all comments appear at the end of the document rather than in the context of the text being commented on. Moreover, there is not a notion of authorship per se in a wiki, with the idea that the author or authors of a document are notified when a change in content has been made. 
         [0006]    In another system currently available for facilitating web-based commenting on portions of a document, the comments are displayed in context and stored distinctly from the text itself. However, the document author must declare the portions of the documents that are open to commenting in advance, and users must click on specific buttons to perform their editing. Moreover, authors are not notified when comments are made to their documents. An additional web-based approach involves storing metadata about specific web content that is part of a content management system apart from the content itself. In this approach the metadata is referred to as annotations, however there is no mechanism for inline annotation, or for annotations to be visible with the underlying web page. In addition, authorship is not recorded, and there is no notification back to the author when an annotation is created. Finally, there is an approach that relates to the tracking and adding contributions to the analysis of documents in a database and sharing such contributions to a community of interested individuals, and in particular to the annotating and publishing the analysis of patent documents to a community of inventors and patent professionals. This approach captures a very generic comment idea but does not employ the web, use in-place editing, or notify the document author in the event of a comment being added to the document. 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an existing knowledge management system  10 . A document repository  100  serves as a collection point for items called documents  110 . The document repository  100  may be organized in the form of a database, and the document repository  100  may also be called a “Knowledge Base”. Each document  110  in the document repository may have many named properties. Each named property is called a field. Each document  110  contains at least one field composed of textual information encapsulating some form of information. Such fields are called knowledge fields. A knowledge field may consist of plain text, formatted text, sentences, paragraphs, lists, tables, or other structures. 
         [0008]    Documents  110  originate as new documents  140  that are created by a document author (typically a person)  120 . After a document author  120  composes a new document  140 , a copy of the new document  140  may be deposited (published  150 ) in the Document Repository  100  and joins the collection of documents  110 . The formal document authoring/composing system  130  may include a separate repository of unfinished documents, drafts, and other unpublished documents. The authoring/composing system  130  may involve additional people who may review and approve new documents  140  before they are deposited in the Document Repository  100 . This review and approval processes may be employed to ensure the accuracy and reliability of each document  110  in the Document Repository  100 . 
         [0009]    After a new document  140  has been deposited/published  150  in the Document Repository  100 , the information contained in each document  110  becomes accessible to a class of document repository client/user (typically people)  160 . Each client/user  160  may access the information stored in the document repository  100  using a software means called a search-based knowledge base client  170 . A client/user  160  who uses the knowledge base client software  170  may also be referred to as a knowledge base client/user  160 . The knowledge base client software  170  allows the knowledge base client/user  160  to identify documents of interest by means such as keywords. A set of one or more keywords is defined as a query  175 . Given a query  175 , the knowledge base client software  170  searches the document repository  100  and creates a list of documents  180  that satisfy the query. The knowledge base client/user  160  may then select  185  one of the documents  110  identified by the knowledge base client software  170 . The knowledge base client software  170  then presents the information contained in the document  110  as a selected document  190  to the client/user  160 . 
         [0010]    However, the knowledge management system  10  limits a client/user  160  to only reading the information associated with the document  110 , and the client/user  160  is unable to make changes to the document  110 . The document author  120  is the only party that is permitted to make changes to documents  110 . If a document  110  contains errors, omissions, or other flaws, the value of the document to the client/user  160  is compromised. If the user  160  discovers an error, omission, or other flaw in a document ( 110 ,  190 ), the client/user  160  cannot make any corrections. 
         [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates an enhanced existing version of the knowledge management system  10  of  FIG. 1 . The knowledge management system  20  as seen in  FIG. 2  provides a client/user  160  with a mechanism to report errors, omissions, or other flaws in a knowledge document based on a feedback process. The knowledge management system  20  includes all of the components ( 100 - 190 ) of the basic knowledge management system  10  in addition to further items for enabling the feedback process. When a client/user  160  wishes to report an error, omission, or other flaw in a knowledge document ( 110 ,  190 ), the user must first select or activate the feedback process  200 . The feedback process captures the identity of the user  160  and enables the client/user  160  to compose a text message  210  that describes a problem(s) with the current document ( 110 ,  190 ). After the client/user  160  has composed the text message  210 , the client/user  160  must select or activate the feedback submission process  220 . The submission process  220  deposits a copy  240  of the message  210  in a tracking database  250 . The tracking database  250  also includes records  260  for all registered authors  120 . The author&#39;s record  260  in the tracking database ( 250 ) includes the author&#39;s e-mail address and a list of document IDs that identify all documents for which the author  120  has responsibility. In this example, the submission process  220  also extracts a document ID  230  from the currently open knowledge document  190 . The document ID  230  is used to identify all authors ( 120 ,  260 ) who are responsible for the current document  190 . A document may have multiple authors. An e-mail message  270  is then sent to each author  120  responsible for the content of the knowledge document ( 110 ,  190 ). The e-mail message  270  contains a look up pointer (database-link)  280  to the client/user&#39;s comments  240  in the tracking database  250 . 
         [0012]    Following some undetermined delay, the author(s)  120  may read the e-mail message  270 . When the author  120  opens the e-mail message  270 , the author  120  may use the pointer/database-link  280  contained in the e-mail message  270  to read the comments  240  composed by the client/user  160 . Based on the author&#39;s evaluation of the merits of the message  240 , the author may choose to ignore the message, or to modify the associated knowledge document  110 . If the author  120  decides to modify the knowledge document  110 , the author may use the formal document authoring/composing system  130  to make appropriate changes to this document. After possible review by supervisors, the revised document may be published to the document repository  100 . Although the process employed in knowledge management system  20  makes it possible for a client/user  160  to influence the content of documents  110 , the process is very slow and requires active participation by at least one person  120  in addition to the client/user  160 . A week may pass between detection of feedback  200  by the author  120  that there is a flaw in the document  110 , and the replacement of the flawed document with a corrected document being deposited/published  150 . In the interim, other users will continue to be misinformed by the erroneous information in the flawed document. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    Embodiments of the present invention include a method and system for modifying knowledge documents, wherein the method includes: retrieving an authored document per a client request; wiki-fying a copy of the retrieved authored document; accepting client comments into the wiki-fied authored document while maintaining the integrity of the authored documents; notifying one or more authors of the authored document of the client comments in the wiki-fied copy of the authored document; modifying the authored document based on the determination of the one or more authors to the validity of the client comments; and replacing the authored document with the modified authored document. 
         [0014]    A system for knowledge management, the system includes: a document repository containing authored documents; a software interface for facilitating user and author interaction with the document repository; wherein the software interface wiki-fies a copy of an authored document requested by the user that enables the user to add in-line comments within the context of the authored document, while maintaining the integrity of the authored documents; wherein the software interface notifies one or more authors of the authored document of the user comments in the wiki-fied copy of the authored document; and wherein the one or more authors employ the software interface to modify the authored document based on the determination of the one or more authors to the validity of the user comments. 
         [0015]    Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention. For a better understanding of the invention with advantages and features, refer to the description and to the drawings. 
       TECHNICAL EFFECTS 
       [0016]    As a result of the summarized invention, a solution is technically achieved for a knowledge management system with the capabilities of permitting users to modify knowledge documents with comments, while preserving the integrity of each knowledge document as composed by the document authors. The present invention enables user participation in knowledge document development and expedites the formal knowledge authoring and revision process. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an existing knowledge management system. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the existing knowledge management system of  FIG. 1  with a feedback process. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a knowledge management system with a user-comment process according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  illustrates an example of a knowledge document as seen by a user according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  illustrates an example of a wiki-fied knowledge document, as seen by a user according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  illustrates an example of a knowledge document with a user-supplied comment according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
       [0024]    The detailed description explains the preferred embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    Embodiments of the invention provide a means for a knowledge management system with the capabilities of permitting users to modify knowledge documents with comments, while preserving the integrity of each knowledge document as composed by the document authors. The present invention enables user participation in knowledge document development, and expedites the formal knowledge authoring and revision process. The user participation in the knowledge document development may be carried out on various types of networks including: the Internet, intranets, local area networks (LAN), and wireless local area networks (WLAN). 
         [0026]    Embodiments of the invention provide a user with the ability to insert a comment at a selected point in a document, and to deposit the modified document in place of the original document. The modified document becomes instantly visible to other users and no human intervention is involved. In addition, the document author is notified by means such as an e-mail message that a particular document has been modified. The notification enables the document author to review the comment and respond as needed according to the judgment of the author. 
         [0027]    In addition, embodiments of the invention provide a method of wiki-fying documents to enable adding in-line comments to a document in legacy knowledge bases that are not wiki-enabled. A legacy knowledge base is a knowledge base created prior to the software coding necessary to present a wiki-enabled documents, and contains legacy documents. Legacy documents are documents created without the software required for wiki-enablement. Wiki-fying a document enables a document to be written collaboratively, in a simple markup language. A wiki-enabled document is a document that has undergone the wiki-fying process and may be used for collaborative editing of documents. A wiki-fied document is a presentation of the original legacy document with additional capabilities, such as inserting comments and providing notification of content changes. When inserting a comment, a user interacts with the wiki-fied document, and the legacy document stored in the knowledge base is not altered. 
         [0028]    Finally, embodiments of the invention protect the integrity of the documents in the knowledge base by: (1) recording the identity of the user who submits a comment; (2) preventing users from modifying or deleting any part of the original document, and only permitting additions to the original document; (3) identifying user comments as uncontrolled or unverified content; and (4) immediately notifying the document author of a user comment so that the value or accuracy of the comment may be verified, and to quickly identify malicious or other problematic comments. 
         [0029]    A knowledge management system  30  is shown in  FIG. 3  according to an embodiment of the invention. The knowledge management system  30  includes all of the elements ( 100 - 160 ) of the conventional knowledge management systems ( 10 ,  20 ) as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , as well as some of the components of the feedback mechanism ( 240 - 280 ) of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0030]    An example of a knowledge document  190 A that may be presented to the client/user ( 160 ) in the knowledge management system  30  is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The knowledge document  190 A includes a header  400 , a document title  410 , and document content (shown as three paragraphs ( 420 ,  430 ,  440 )). A user selection interface  450  that may be in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI) such as an anchor-tag hyperlink or button labeled with “Add Comments” is located at the bottom of the knowledge document  190 . It is noted that the precise text used to label the user selection interface  450  may vary, and this item is not necessarily located at the end of the document. The knowledge document  190 A configuration shown in  FIG. 4  is merely one example of how this may appear to a client/user  160 . 
         [0031]    When the client/user  160  selects (e.g., clicks on) the “Add Comments” button of the user selection interface  450 , the “Add Comments” process starts by presenting a “wiki-fied document”  340  to the client/user  160 . In one embodiment of the invention, the client/user  160  is presented with a wiki-fied document  340  in place of the original document  190 . In an alternative embodiment, the wiki-fied document  340  appears in a new window along-side the original document  190 . In the knowledge management system  30 , each knowledge document  110  stored in the document repository  100  includes software coding which supports adding new content. The software coding may include appropriate html tags to define places where comments may be inserted. Initially, the software coding support is disabled in the basic presentation of the document  190 , and a “wiki-fy” process  320  enables the software coding provided for adding new comments resulting in the wiki-fied document  340 . If a knowledge document  110  lacks software coding for enabling the addition of comments (e.g., a legacy document created prior to the implementation of knowledge management system  30 ), the wiki-fy process  320  extracts a copy of the knowledge document  110  from the document repository  100  and modifies the copy so as too add the required software coding to support client/user  160  comments. The resulting wiki-fied document  340  is then presented to the client/user  160  in place of the document  190 , or in a new window. 
         [0032]    When the wiki-fied document  340  is presented to the client/user  160 , the client/user  160  may select any point in the document where the addition of comments is permitted. This selection may be accomplished by any one of various means such as clicking, double-clicking, or mouse-over events.  FIG. 5  presents an example of a wiki-fied document  340 A in which the first paragraph  510  has been selected as the object of a comment. In this example, an empty “text-area” box  500  appears below the selected portion of the wiki-fied document  340 A. The client/user  160  may then enter any text in the text area box  500 . In this example, the client/user  160  has entered the text “This is a comment regarding paragraph 1.” 
         [0033]    In place of the “Add Comments” item of the user selection interface  450  seen in  FIG. 4 , the wiki-fied document  340  has a “Submit Comments” item  520 . When this item is selected, the Submit Comments process  350  is performed. This process begins ( 360 ) by extracting a fresh copy of the knowledge document  110  from the document repository  100 . The new text that has been entered by the user is then extracted ( 370 ) from the wiki-fied document  340  and inserted into the new copy of the knowledge document to create a modified knowledge document compatible with all requirements of the document repository  100 . The resulting modified document is then deposited ( 380 ) in the document repository  100 . The wiki-fied document  340  is then closed or removed from the user&#39;s screen, and the presentation of the knowledge document  190  is updated to show the modified document. In addition, the new text is recorded in a tracking database  250 , and a document ID  260  for the selected document is used to identify the author(s)  120  of the document, or other persons responsible for the content of this particular document. An e-mail message  270  is then generated and sent to the author(s)  120  and responsible parties. The e-mail message  270  contains a look up pointer (database-link)  280  to the client/user&#39;s comments  240  in the tracking database  250 . 
         [0034]    Following some unspecified delay, the author(s)  120  may read the e-mail message  270 . When the author  120  opens the e-mail message  270 , the author  120  may use the look up pointer  280  contained in the e-mail message  270  to read the comments  240  composed by the client/user  160 . Based on the author&#39;s evaluation of the merits of the message  240 , the author may choose to ignore the message, or to modify the associated knowledge document  110 . If the author  120  decides to modify the knowledge document  110 , the author may use the formal document authoring/composing system  130  to make appropriate changes to this document. After possible review by supervisors, the revised document may be published to the document repository  100 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 6  provides an example of how the modified document  190 B may appear to the client/user  160 . In this example, a new text box appears at the point selected by the client/user  160 . This text box includes the new text  620  entered by the client/user  160  when viewing the wiki-fied document  340 . In addition, in this example, the user&#39;s comments are accompanied by a header  600 , which identifies the user who added the text, as well as the time and date when the comment was added. 
         [0036]    In additional embodiments of the invention, each knowledge document  110  that is stored in the document repository  100  contains multiple knowledge fields. When a document is presented to the client/user  160 , only the latest entry in this sequence of knowledge fields is shown to the client/user  160 . In yet another embodiment of the invention, each knowledge document  110  stored in the document repository  100  contains at least two knowledge fields. The first knowledge field is locked and contains the original knowledge field as composed by the document author  120 , while the second or last field is replaced by the modified document as part of the comment submission process ( 350 - 380 ). 
         [0037]    The steps involved in extracting a fresh copy of the document (last knowledge field)  360  from the document repository  100 , creating a modified document incorporating new user comments, and copying the modified document (knowledge field)  380  into the document repository  100  is very fast and does not depend on factors such as how fast the user can enter the comments. This minimizes the possibility that another user is trying to modify the same document at the same time, and this also minimizes the time that it would be necessary to lock the document to prevent one user from overwriting the comments provided by another user. In an instance where a knowledge document is “wiki-fied” by a first user, but the comments are not yet reviewed by the original author (or are ignored), and a second user wishes to make comments to the original document, the second user sees the “wiki-fied” document created by the first user. 
         [0038]    The capabilities of the present invention can be implemented in software, firmware, hardware or some combination thereof. 
         [0039]    As one example, one or more aspects of the present invention can be included in an article of manufacture (e.g., one or more computer program products) having, for instance, computer usable media. The media has embodied therein, for instance, computer readable program code means for providing and facilitating the capabilities of the present invention. The article of manufacture can be included as a part of a computer system or sold separately. 
         [0040]    Additionally, at least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform the capabilities of the present invention can be provided. 
         [0041]    The flow diagrams depicted herein are just examples. There may be many variations to these diagrams or the steps (or operations) described therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, the steps may be performed in a differing order, or steps may be added, deleted or modified. All of these variations are considered a part of the claimed invention. 
         [0042]    While the preferred embodiments to the invention has been described, it will be understood that those skilled in the art, both now and in the future, may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow. These claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described.