Process Coordination Requirements: Implications for the Design of Knowledge Management Systems

Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) are typically built with a departmental focus, making it difficult to share and utilize knowledge across departmental boundaries. Integrating such " knowledge pockets " into a knowledge network requires resolving structural differences and coordinating both knowledge processes and software components. Here we identify a set of coordination requirements for the design of a KMS to support such knowledge networks .We first offer a classification of KM practices to define the types of KM methods and the system requirements for each. We then use coordination theory, specifically, Text-based Process Analysis, to analyze four texts (cases) that capture KM practices representing the different KM methods, to understand and identify the coordination requirements. We also propose the Enterprise Knowledge Architecture (EKA) as a standard for incorporating these requirements. The EKA supports building new KMS and analyzing existing ones by providing a common framework for designing, developing, and maintaining KMS. It thus provides a foundation for integrating knowledge pockets into knowledge networks.