A scenario-based modeling method for controlling ECM performance

Firms are increasingly more integrating Enterprise Content Management (ECM) into their IT infrastructure in order to manage a growing volume of complex structured and unstructured data. These packages allow capturing, generating and delivering accurate information and contents in real time to support decision making in the whole business process. However, it is not easy to achieve the full benefits of an ECM package as this relies on a variety of indicators from the organizational and technical perspectives. This paper proposes a new expert system to monitor ECM performance. It is based on the innovative hybrid technique incorporating Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). As these indicators are interrelated, experts' knowledge is extracted, modeled, combined and processed in the new proposed expert system. This enables managers to precisely forecast the impact of changes in control indicators on system performance through the simulation of different scenarios over time. This approach has practical impacts as managers can make informed decisions based on the analysis of the expert system and thus prevent ECM malfunctions or misuses.