Distributed Knowledge Management in Virtual Organizations: the ‘Social’ Experience Factory

This paper considers knowledge management functions as carried out by distributed virtual teams involved in the compilation of information-based products using dedicated and domain-specific computermediated practices and tools. We are concerned with two primary tasks, namely depositing shared assets and assembling information-based artefacts by appropriating the benefits of virtual networking. Moreover, these tasks are considered from the perspective of the Social Experience Factory (SEF) – a platform enabling rich collaborative interactions between geographically dispersed members of communities of practice. The SEF incorporates domain-specific workflows and several model-based tools to facilitate systematic accumulation and reuse of collaborative artefacts. An account of these is provided by discussing current implementation in the context of a pilot application.