Integration of knowledge management systems and business processes using multi-agent systems

Abstract

Applications of agents in supporting an organisation's operations addressed in academic literature largely refer to issues connected with business processes and management of an organisation knowledge, which are considered separately. In the first case, multi-agent systems are perceived as an element that performs and automates business processes of an organisation and substitutes its IT systems and users. In the second case, agent solutions are perceived as tools designed to automate or support the user in the different stages of the life cycle of the knowledge management system. The research discussed in this paper addresses the aspect of integrating both these approaches and refers to the point where both these classes of systems meet. The aim of this paper is to present the concept of an original solution ensuring integration of knowledge management systems and business process handling, which is supported by agent systems. The first part of the paper presents current research in the area of integration of software agents within business processes and the processes of knowledge processing. The second part presents the architecture of a software solution designed to support the modelling of business processes and improve these processes by ensuring the process participants access to organisational knowledge. The third part shows an example of using this architecture.

Modeling of software agents' societies in knowledge-based organizations. The results of the study.

“…The proposed methodology has been developed upon the experience regarding the developed prototype of agentbased solutions supporting the operation of the organization and developed in the context of building solutions supporting the interaction of users within the business processes in which they participate [12].…”

“…Depicted in the [12] prototype of agents' society was used to evaluate elements of the methodology and pointed to possible applications of agents' society to assist the interaction processes between users.…”

“…Further the IT companies, which offer agent-based solutions, have been asked to indicate their main problems of modeling and implementation [4] [5]. As a result, studies on currently used multi-agent platforms [6] and agent systems design methodologies [7] allowed us to propose a modeling methodology of software agents' society [8] [9] [10], it's possible architecture [11] [12] and to assess their impact on organizations [13][14] [15]. As part of the qualitative research, indepth interviews and research experiments were used.…”

EREBOTS: Privacy-Compliant Agent-Based Platform for Multi-Scenario Personalized Health-Assistant Chatbots

“…Agent-based chatbots can push the interactions and capabilities far beyond the conventional (mainly procedural/static) interactions characterizing chatbot employed in a plethora of application domains (i.e., retail [32], tourism [33], etc.) For example,Żytniewski [34] studied agent-based chatbots as a bridge between users and IT systems in business processes and management of the organization knowledge. Alencar and Netto [35] proposed an approach to improve the cooperation among students and learning institutions.…”

Example of designing a business process oriented autopoietic knowledge management support system.

“…The author's earlier research [8], [9], [10], [11] has shown that the theory of software agent societies and its use in knowledge-based organisations requires a separate view of the characteristics of multi-agent systems. Especially in the area of the application of methods for knowledge representation in such systems and possibilities of using autopoietic solutions to support the different stages of the life cycle of the process of knowledge management [8], [12].…”