Knowledge Management System

Knowledge Management System refers to a system for managing knowledge in organizations for supporting creation, capture, storage and dissemination of information. It can comprise a part of a Knowledge Management initiative.

Useful information usually resides in various documents, email messages, chat transcripts, projects, processes, and most of the time in people's heads. Most of the time this knowledge isn't stored and therefore it is difficult to retrieve it when necessary. Information about processes and practices are usually resident in a particular individual's head and thus is even more difficult to capture and use.

People are forced to indulge in repetitive work when they could actually tap into a knowledge system and work in a more innovative manner. A knowledge management system allows access to information based on the role the user plays. This system would connect to all kinds of documents like web pages, text documents, spreadsheets, emails, images, etc.

The system developed should capture all the different kinds of information existing in the organization and also shall make it easy for all the employees to capture, store and disseminate information. The knowledge stored in this system must be accessible to search parameters and operate in the same manner that the human brain does. It should collate, organize, store and retrieve information in an effective manner.

Once created the system should manage it on its own. From an easy-to-use interface it should help collaborate workflows and harvest employee knowledge, both of the tacit and explicit kind. A workflow process library, a document management system and an event management system are some of the essential parts of a knowledge management system.

A knowledge management system introduces the elements of expertise and experience through collaboration capabilities and shortens the time it takes to make better decisions. Free flow of ideas encourages innovation and improves efficiency.

Knowledge repositories, e-learning applications, discussion and chat technologies, search and data mining tools, synchronous interaction tools are all part of a knowledge management system A successful knowledge management strategy happens only when a culture of knowledge sharing is inculcated in the organization. No system or technology, however efficient will help unless every prospective knowledge owner understands this fact.