Knowledge Management Methodology Research Articles

Analysis of the Relationship Between Knowledge Management and Project Management

The economic value of all projects is well known nationally and internationally, yet many economic actors fail to give enough voice to project experts at the strategic level. The climate emergency, the global pandemic, the decisions of the European Commission and the European Parliament, and the post-Brexit environment have created a perfect storm when companies plan their mid- and long-term strategies. For this competition, ADI ITI Danube Delta built the first national strategy development tool. Under the motto of this mechanism, below I present the methodology of knowledge management and the projects developed in the ITI Danube Delta region.

Knowledge Management in Public Transport: a Portuguese Empirical Study

This paper aims to investigate knowledge management processes in a metro company. We focused on core knowledge and its impact on the overall performance of a public transport operator. It presents a case study from the Lisbon-based public transport operator Metropolitano de Lisboa, E.P.E. The challenges of knowledge management in a metro company, such as time savings and efficiency, can be mitigated by the creation of a structured and target-oriented knowledge framework and information architecture that enables knowledge reuse throughout KM aims the company or/and in specific communities of practices. The current study seeks to investigate the role of signalling experts in knowledge management in a metro company through the use of a case study based on accessing the documentation required to deliver their technical outputs. Qualitative methods were used to conceive, design, and implement the specific experience under analysis. The approach involved semi-structured interviews with a sample of five core operational managers and an online questionnaire directed at the study’s core knowledge actors (90 experts) and a Delphi Study applied to the five signalling experts. The results showed that optimizing knowledge management leads to increased operator efficiency and decision-making. The findings of the empirical case analysis combined with the literature review provide useful insights to construct a target-oriented knowledge management methodology in a metro company. One of the study’s key findings is the relationship between decision-making and knowledge management tools. The findings of the empirical case analysis, combined with the literature review, provide useful insights into the awareness of an urgent target-oriented knowledge management framework in a metro company. This study was built on the available data from Railway signalling metro experts, which may be perceived as limited in the overall context. We consider that there is no special bias associated with this area of expertise and that the overall approach could be adopted and further tested in any other metro company, regardless of size. This essay added novel information to the available body of knowledge by providing an in-depth analysis of a core discipline of metro mode by addressing the accessibility to information by Railway signalling professionals.

Editorial: Sorption processes in nuclear waste management: data knowledge management and new methodologies for data acquisition/prediction

Editorial: Sorption processes in nuclear waste management: data knowledge management and new methodologies for data acquisition/prediction

Implementing a European KM Approach in a Brazilian Innovation Institute on a Remote Basis

This case study paper outlines the approach and experiences gained in a KM project conducted between two continents on a completely remote basis – due to the pandemic in 2021. The project scope comprises the systematic initiation, design and implementation of a comprehensive knowledge management system at an innovation institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The practical business process-oriented KM (BPO-KM) methodology of the Berlin-based Competence Center Knowledge Management at Fraunhofer IPK, was used to define KM goals, to analyze strengths and gaps in knowledge handling and to set up customized KM action programs.
 Starting with the examination of the institute’s business strategy, the overall KM goals were derived together with the institute’s top management and KM core team. According to the holistic KM approach on the levels “People, Organization, Technology”, an online survey (“KM Fitness Check”) was conducted with over 100 respondents. The survey results were discussed in an online kick-off workshop in order to prioritize the main strategic and operational KM challenges.
 In online breakout sessions with different working groups, using collaborative online tools, the knowledge flows inside the institute’s value adding core processes were analyzed in depth (“KM Process Profiles”). In parallel, the KM core team was supported to develop a map of the institute’s crucial knowledge to serve as a common taxonomy for the research groups and administrative functions involved in the KM project, such as HR, IT and project management office.
 After this initial analysis phase, suitable solutions for the main KM challenges were designed and transformed into three main action programs to start the actual implementation of the institute’s KM system. In a preliminary evaluation, a systemic controlling logic was defined to keep track on results, benefits and impacts of the KM actions regarding the institute’s business strategy.
 Major learnings, discussed in this paper, include the following findings: a) accompanying change management and communication from the beginning is key to keep motivation high, b) connecting KM to other organizational functions is crucial to anchor KM in the organization, c) remote and online project collaboration bears advantages and drawbacks.

INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF INSURANCE FIRMS

Purpose: The research determined the influence of knowledge management practices on the performance of insurance firms.
 Methodology: A desk study review method was used to deduct the findings regarding the study objective.
 Findings: The ability of an organization to innovate, whether through enhanced procedures or enhanced goods and services, is the primary factor that determines whether or not the implementation of knowledge management systems has a positive effect on performance. As a risk management sector, the insurance industry plays a significant part in the economy that is built on services provided by other businesses. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence that knowledge management strategies have on the operational efficiency of insurance companies. Knowledge management is a strategic activity that an organization engages in to ensure that the knowledge activities contribute to improved performance and profitability. This link between knowledge management and the firm's strategic plans is established through knowledge management, which is a strategic activity of an organization. The insurance sector should make a concerted effort to adopt knowledge management methods because these strategies are a critical component in boosting a company's inventive capacity and, as a result, the company's overall performance. They should also encourage knowledge exchange among employees in order to improve the quality of work, strengthen decision-making skills, and increase problem-solving competences, which would ultimately benefit the firm. According to the findings, techniques for knowledge management are being used as instruments in the insurance industry with the intention of achieving a performance advantage for the purpose of competing with other businesses.
 Unique contribution of theory, practice and policy: The authors expose other problems with the management of knowledge in the insurance industry and recommend that the industry adopt structured knowledge management methodologies as a solution to these problems. They provide this information as a component of their argument. This will enhance their capability to perform well in the business sector and boost the possibility that they will remain relevant in the future.

Converting data into knowledge with RCA methodology improved for inverters fault analysis

In the last years, the knowledge management methodology increased the perspective and deeply analysis in the energy evaluation, with great emphasis in the training of the maintenance teams and early detection of failure modes; these inefficiencies detection is associated to patterns recognition with expert systems. Several energy brands, utilities, universities, and design companies investigated about this problem with limits in the integration between maintenance team knowledge and the degradation of the energy equipment. Therefore, our findings are a new approach of the root cause analysis (RCA) improved with the knowledge management perspective, associated to the failure mode analysis for 164 inverters in photo-voltaic solar plant by using twenty-one failures modes; by incorporate the graph theory called Erdös–Rényi graphs with a quantitative methodology and qualitative evaluation with the knowledge management method in the root cause analysis; the dataset evaluated has 120,561 signals associated to 3,014,025 patterns, during the period from 2018 to 2021 in a PV solar plant. In this new root cause analysis method, the knowledge management is analyzed as a complement for the solution for sudden failure modes and early degradation.

Innovation of Women Farmers: A Technological Proposal for Mezcalilleras’ Sustainability in Mexico, Based on Knowledge Management

Currently, technology usage is a fundamental asset for creating, developing, and implementing innovations; however, these are not available to everyone, which is accentuated in women with agricultural occupations. The present study develops a proposal of technologies for mezcalilleras’ sustainability from Oaxaca, Mexico, based on a knowledge management methodology, through the application of questionnaires in face-to-face sessions, field visits, and statistical analysis to explore the imbalances enclosed in the agave–mezcal activity seen as its problems, failures, and barriers, as well as its correlation with the identified technological routes. The results reveal that a technological platform creation, the fabrication of fiber optic refractometer, a metal roof construction, the design of a horizontal distiller–fractionator, the employment of metal containers and production of glass bottles, and the generation of a software and an application, are the suitable technologies, according to the mezcalilleras’ requirements. This proposal can be important for academics, policymakers, and producers who wish to revitalize traditional knowledge of the small-scale sectors in Mexico through new ways of interaction with external agents and customers, new ways of production, and previous years’ production analysis.

Agile-Based Education for Teaching an Agile Requirements Engineering Methodology for Knowledge Management

The importance of the role that knowledge management (KM) plays in the success of knowledge-intensive organizations has long been acknowledged. However, requirements engineering (RE) methods for KM solutions still lack maturity, as do the educational programs in this domain. In this paper, an agile-based educational method for teaching RE for KM solutions, specifically an agile KM RE methodology (AKM-REM), is proposed. The paper reports a teaching experience, in which 17 teams of graduate students learned and implemented AKM-REM, each in a different real-life case study. Data were collected via class observations and from the students’ submitted projects and underwent qualitative content analysis. The findings demonstrate the manner in which AKM-REM creates a culture of collaboration, trust, and reflection, fostering the dynamic and flexible organization that is required in today’s competitive business environment. The contribution of this paper is fourfold. First, it presents an extension of the research on agile-based RE for KM solutions as a specialized area. Second, it presents an extension of an existing method KM-REM along the agile principles. Third, it provides means for agile-based education for analyzing and addressing KM challenges effectively. Finally, it describes the importance of agile KM RE in the context of sustainability.

Nanoionics - the Developing Informative System. Part 3. Generation of Prognostic Information and the Role of Strategic Innovation Management in the Development of Nanoionics

A critical review of the stages of formation, development, and current state of nanoionics in Russia and in the world is presented. Nanoionics is the science, technology, and application of fast ion transport phenomena in solid-state devices and nanostructures. Nanoionics is considered to be a developing information system, its history is first analyzed in terms of D. S. Chernavskii's dynamic information theory and in the context of the influence of strategic innovation management. In the final part of the review, an in-depth methodological analysis of the evolution of nanoionics in the environment of adjacent disciplines (nanoarchitectonics and iontonics) is performed. The aim of the work is to develop a methodology of scientific knowledge and strategic management. The analysis of nanoionics evolution is carried out in terms of conjuncture and prognostic information, class-subclass relations between attributive spaces of the competing disciplines. It is shown that nanoarchitectonics and iontronics cannot serve as meta-disciplines, because they do not have emergent attributes that are incompatible with the attributes of the discipline "nanotechnology", understood in the broad sense. Also, at present, interface nanoarchitectonics does not generalize nanoionics due to the lack of new attributes in the thesaurus. The results obtained go beyond the relationship of nano-disciplines, as the methodology used is based on the definition of information and addresses the problem of the mechanism of generation of prognostic information.

Measure the degree of availability of the learning organization’s dimensions and their applications at Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences: قياس درجة توفر أبعاد المنظمة المتعلمة وتطبيقاتها في كلية فقيه للعلوم الطبية

The study aimed to measure the degree of availability of the learning organization’s dimensions and their applications in Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences, by identifying the degree of availability of the learning organization’s dimensions, identifying the areas of application of the concept of the organization, and identifying the obstacles to implementing the concept of the learning organization at Fakih College of Medical Sciences from the respondents ’viewpoint. and to achieve this goal the researcher used the descriptive-analytical approach. She prepared a questionnaire and was distributed to a randomly selected sample, consisting of (100) administrators and faculty members, in the College Fakih for Medical Sciences, and the arithmetic averages and standard deviations were used, and the study concluded with a set of results, the most important of which are: There are three dimensions for the learning organization at Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences from the point of view of its employees to a large degree, namely (level of learning, empowerment of workers, level of technology application). While there are two dimensions for the learning organization in the Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences with a medium degree, they are (the organization's environment, the level of knowledge management). The study recommended that learning be taken care of at all levels and including it within the training programs to acquire its various skills, and to establish an effective methodology for knowledge management that includes knowledge activities such as (finding and acquiring and storage, transfer, retrieval and application of knowledge), and work to increase the cognitive skills of workers, through communication with various Saudi academic organizations Develop their cognitive abilities.

КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНОЕ УПРАВЛЕНИЕ: ОБЪЕКТИВНЫЕ ПРЕДПОСЫЛКИ И МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ЗАДАЧИ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ

The prerequisites for the emergence of conceptual management, the basis of which is the collective organizational knowledge, are determined. The most appropriate methodology for knowledge management is the system methodology. It is proposed to use soft system models as a tool for structuring and presenting knowledge at the early stages of the study of a complex management situation, which practically cannot be formalized. The basic principles of constructing soft models are considered. It is shown that the use of soft system methods opens up a new perspective for the application of the system approach in management. The methodological task of conceptual management is formulated, the essence of which is to identify, coordinate and integrate individual and collective knowledge structures.

Roadmapping as a Driver for Knowledge Creation: A Proposal for Improving Sustainable Practices in the Coffee Supply Chain from Chiapas, Mexico, Using Emerging Technologies

Technologies are essential for productive sectors to increase competitiveness and improve sustainable development. However, the technology benefits present a great delay in adoption in agricultural sectors, due to discrepancies between scientific research and local needs. This article presents a study for improving sustainability practices in the coffee supply chain, using emerging technologies, of two localities in the Frailesca region from Chiapas, Mexico, based on the current situation, expectations and actions expressed by 165 coffee producers and 12 representatives of two coffee producers’ organizations. Based on Mentzer theoretical support, the technology roadmaps, knowledge management and digital compass were used to draw coffee supply chain processes to identify concrete actions and explore technologies. The results show that the technological route must be focused on renewing and improving coffee quality, getting quality certifications and access to specialized markets. Digital quality management and advanced statistical process control seem to be the appropriate emerging technologies for enhancing the acquisition of resistant varieties, proper pest management, improvement in the collection of coffee beans, the right time and way to plant a coffee plant, soil analysis and for the management of weeds and water conservation and harvesting as sustainable practices in this region. In addition, statistical correlation showed that digital technologies can be better adopted, on average, by producers with 4–6 family members, aged between 40–44 years and without additional crops. The findings propose sustainable practices linked with emerging technologies, based on a technology roadmap and knowledge management methodologies for this region.

Improving the Praxis of Conversation Club Leaders in a Community of Practice: A Case study in a Self-Access Centre

The role that a conversation club plays in the improvement of foreign language proficiency of its users in a self-access centre varies according to the strategies a conversation club leader applies. This paper reports the changes made by conversation club leaders (CCLs), who formed a community of practice (CoP) under the methodology of Knowledge Management (KM) to become aware of the effective and non-effective practices they employed through recording themselves, sharing their experiences, listening to each other, and analyzing their performance. A total of six conversation club leaders participated in the case study that took place in 2016. The outcome was a series of strategies generated by the CCLs and shared with all new CCLs in the self-access centre.

A knowledge tailor-made method oriented to robotization of process: a case study of aeronautical materials’ drilling

This paper aims to propose a novel knowledge tailor-made management method (KTMM) for industrial automation, to assist managers, project leaders and engineers interested on robotization of manufacturing. It looks for integrating the phases of analyzes, prospecting, development, deployment and evaluation of a robotized process. Specifically, this research focuses on the extraction of valuable knowledge, background and practical experience of the author in the field of industrial automation linked to literature review and motivated by the unavailability of a specific method in the literature that assists the entire process of robotization on the shop floor. The proposed KTMM was designed and supported by supply, input, process, output, control and knowledge management methodologies and integrated with the specialist skills and expertise of the author acquired in the organizational environment. To demonstrate the application of the proposed method, a case study of a robotized drilling process has been carried out in order to fulfill the KTMM method and its tasks. KTMM drives all steps of a robot implementation, increasing the efficiency, reducing cost and improving the quality, supporting the company to the competitive market. In addition, the proposal encourages the work team integration, aiming the sharing of knowledge and different skills.

Concept Map on Health and Intellectual Property in Central America and the Dominican RepublicMapa conceitual de saúde e propriedade intelectual na América Central e na República Dominicana

RESUMENObjetivoEl objetivo del presente estudio es elaborar un “mapa conceptual de salud pública y propiedad intelectual de Centroamérica y República Dominicana” que facilite la identificación de las principales barreras que inciden en el acceso a la salud, y en especial a los medicamentos, y que sirva de guía de acción a las autoridades estatales para mejorar la eficiencia de sus políticas y la efectividad de sus acciones.MétodosSe realizó el análisis del informe “MC SPPI; Perspectiva Regional: Centroamérica y República Dominicana”. Posteriormente, se utilizó la Metodología para la Gestión y Generación de Conocimiento y se identificó la estrategia de búsqueda que permitió recobrar la información para la confección de los mapas conceptuales.ResultadosSe identificaron el marco legal, la estructura institucional y las políticas, programas, planes y estrategias en temas de salud y propiedad intelectual, así como un conjunto de barreras que inciden negativamente en el acceso a los medicamentos y las soluciones que las contrarresten.ConclusionesEn Centroamérica y la República Dominicana existen estrategias, políticas, programas y planes relacionados con la salud, aunque, lamentablemente, su alcance y grado de difusión difieren, lo que, unido a factores sociales y económicos, explica que persista la inequidad sanitaria entre los países. Entre las barreras al acceso a los medicamentos se identificaron la ampliación y refuerzo de los derechos de los titulares de patentes farmacéuticas, dificultades en la implementación de las flexibilidades de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio, políticas de fijación de precios y estándares regulatorios estrictos.

A Knowledge Creation Methodology for Service Value Creation in IT Solution Service

This article considers a knowledge management methodology in IT solution services. There are many successful case studies and research studies of IT solution services. However, these studies do not consider knowledge management for creating IT solutions. The most important issue in IT solution services is how to extract and integrate different kinds of knowledge from different people for effective IT solutions. This article analyzed three successful cases. The first case relates to the design office concept and MUSE. The other two are IT consulting cases. From analyzing these three cases, this article shows (1) the importance of what can be termed “Ba” (a knowledge space for the creation of solutions) and (2) the importance of extracting explicit knowledge from implicit field knowledge by using “meta-knowledge.” The service value creation process for IT solution services can be described clearly—and can be executed effectively—by using the results of this research. Additionally, this research will be helpful for designing business information systems using IoT, AI, and other new technologies.

Knowledge management methodology for identifying threats in maritime/logistics supply chains

ABSTRACTThe growing complexity and the heterogeneity of critical infrastructures (CIs) in multicultural maritime and logistics networks challenge existing methods and tools to dynamically respond to the frequent change of information and to the lack of efficiently sharing security knowledge over the supply chain. This fosters a semantic gap, which causes disintegration in the supply-chain workflow and attracts cyber-attackers attention. This paper proposes a knowledge management methodology and an associated tool for the maritime logistics and supply chain (MLoSC), which aims to enable the sharing of supply chain knowledge and suggests ways for identifying cyber threats over CIs. The methodology is illustrated via an indicative service (the vehicle transport service), examined in the context of three prominent maritime use cases. The proposed methodology is used to develop a knowledge base for the MLoSC using semantic web technologies.

A Tailored Ontology Supporting Sensor Implementation for the Maintenance of Industrial Machines.

The longtime productivity of an industrial machine is improved by condition-based maintenance strategies. To do this, the integration of sensors and other cyber-physical devices is necessary in order to capture and analyze a machine’s condition through its lifespan. Thus, choosing the best sensor is a critical step to ensure the efficiency of the maintenance process. Indeed, considering the variety of sensors, and their features and performance, a formal classification of a sensor’s domain knowledge is crucial. This classification facilitates the search for and reuse of solutions during the design of a new maintenance service. Following a Knowledge Management methodology, the paper proposes and develops a new sensor ontology that structures the domain knowledge, covering both theoretical and experimental sensor attributes. An industrial case study is conducted to validate the proposed ontology and to demonstrate its utility as a guideline to ease the search of suitable sensors. Based on the ontology, the final solution will be implemented in a shared repository connected to legacy CAD (computer-aided design) systems. The selection of the best sensor is, firstly, obtained by the matching of application requirements and sensor specifications (that are proposed by this sensor repository). Then, it is refined from the experimentation results. The achieved solution is recorded in the sensor repository for future reuse. As a result, the time and cost of the design process of new condition-based maintenance services is reduced.

Systematic continuous improvement model for variation management of key characteristics running with low capability

A systematic continuous improvement model (SCIM) is described in this paper. This model responds to improvements opportunities that were identified in the literature and aerospace companies to aim in variation management of KCs and for developing solutions to improve issues in KCs. This approach helps to identify and improve key characteristics (KCs) in products that most influence in rework and scrap costs, especially in material removal processes. SCIM complies with two purposes; a mathematical method to calculate the rework cost for KCs as a variable in function of expected amount of material to be removed. This cost plus scrap cost is used to prioritise KCs running with low capability; this prioritisation is performed by predicting rework and scrap costs based on historical data of manufacturing processes performance, costs associated to rework and scrap parts out of specification and forecast for product demand. Once critical KCs are identified, the second purpose of this model helps engineers to develop solutions to eliminate what is causing KCs running with low capability; this is possible using knowledge management methodologies to capture, structure and storage solutions developed, in order to reuse them in future similar issues. A case study is presented in this paper to apply this model.

The concept of methodology for communication and knowledge management in the organizations

The article analyses selected arguments for a universal methodology for managing communication and knowledge in organizations. On the basis of those conditions the principles of knowledge management are presented. Axioms underlying the logic model consistent with methodology is accompanied by a logic diagram of the other three components: the themes, processes and maintenance. The postulated methodology of communication and knowledge management in organizations aims to provide a universal, cost-effective and efficient tool to support the ­daily operations of the company, change management and implementation of strategic objectives. At the same time implementation of the principles of this methodology may allow for an increase in commitment and enhanced performance of potential users of communication processes and knowledge management – by making users prosumers.