Process-aware approach for managing organisational knowledge

• We discuss a set of factors that have favoured the implementation of KM approaches.
• We present an approach to develop KM platforms linked to business processes.
• This approach is based on a conceptual model and a technological implementation.
• This approach includes semantic tools to manage natural language contents.
• This approach supports social interactions and ad hoc working groups.

Knowledge is currently considered an asset for organisations. In this new paradigm, Knowledge Management (KM) is emerging as an unavoidable activity for organisations. Information and communications technologies, together with business policies, become a tool par excellence for supporting the creation of KM platforms that provide access to organisation knowledge resources such as workers, technical reports, software applications, and business documents. In spite of the benefits provided by current KM platforms, most of them were designed to manage a single type of knowledge (tacit or explicit) without considering either the form in which organisational areas need knowledge to be provided (reactive or proactive) or the integration with business processes. This work presents a process-aware approach to develop KM platforms linked to business processes with semantic capability to manage knowledge objects with natural language content as well as to support social interactions and ad hoc working groups. To this aim, a comprehensive analysis of influencing-KM factors to be addressed by technological solutions is considered by a set of technological requirements. Based on these requirements, a model that provides the main components to be addressed by KM approaches is specified and implemented by a technological platform. This platform goes after a balance between technological and social aspects that support and promote collaboration and communication among organisation members.