Ontologies as Strategy to Represent Knowledge Audit Outcomes

Abstract

Normally, after applying a knowledge audit methodology, the results are presented in a final report including knowledge inventory, knowledge maps, and knowledge flows. After analyzed the inventory, maps and flows, it is possible to identify inefficiencies reflected in duplication of efforts, knowledge gaps, knowledge barriers and knowledge-bottlenecks. All this information is integrated at the final report and is presented to managers, including diverse knowledge management initiatives. The main problems of representing the knowledge audit results only in this way, are the inefficiency of searching specific information about a knowledge asset; and difficulty of reuse them if a technological solution is needed as a part of a knowledge management initiative. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of using ontologies as a strategy to represent formally knowledge audit results to solve the previous problems and additionally obtain the next benefits: A support tool to detect problems/opportunities found in the organization to improve knowledge management; the results of the audit can be reused if a technological solution is needed; as a source of reference to know what, where, characteristics, classification and value of any assets of knowledge; as a form to represent the flow and its relation with the rest of assets; an efficient way to retrieve information from the inventory and/or flows of knowledge and automatically to know the impact and relation with the rest of the knowledge assets.

Innovative Guidelines to Enrich Knowledge Management and Improve Organization Performance

“…Another researcher says that explicit knowledge is anything that can be documented, collected, and codified [19]. Soltero [20] demonstrates that explicit knowledge is any knowledge which can be transferred by using proper, organized and official means. Furthermore Belbaly [21] shows that explicit knowledge can be articulated, collected, organized, and categorized into certain media.…”

Reconsidering the Knowledge Audit Process: Methodological Revisions in Practice

“…Knowledge maps enable the visualization of (both tacit and explicit) knowledge locations, as well as its movement through the organization (Vail, ). Indeed, experts in the field have acknowledged the critical roles played by the knowledge audit and map prior to embarking on any knowledge management initiative (Liebowitz et al ., ; Perez‐Soltero et al ., etc. )…”

Design of an Ontology as a Support to the Knowledge Audit Process in Organisations

“…Explicitly, there is no ontology applied as an integral strategy to represent the results of knowledge audit, nevertheless, evidence exists of the benefits ontologies can provide in activities related to the inventory, flow, classification and valuation of knowledge; knowledge management analysis and knowledge reuse (Perez-Soltero et al, 2006).…”

“…1, you can find an ontological framework which schematically shows these elements, and how the ontologies could be an important tool to facilitate the representation and analysis of each one of them. The detailed information of the ontological framework can be found in Perez-Soltero et al, 2006. Taking into account the aspects to be considered in the ontological framework as a support to knowledge audit, an ontology design is proposed. This ontology could be used as a support to the audit, the analysis of the identified latest know-how and the representation of the results of the audit.…”