[Paper Review] A theoretical foundation for building Knowledge-work Support Systems

Arijit Laha|ArXiv.org|Oct 28, 2009

Business Process Modeling and Analysis21 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes Knowledge-work Support Systems (KwSS), a theoretical framework for enhancing information systems to improve knowledge workers' efficiency in accessing, processing, and creating information. By integrating cultural, social, and cognitive dimensions into system design, KwSS increases transparency across the information lifecycle, significantly boosting organizational knowledge capabilities through tailored, platform-based support.

ABSTRACT

In this paper we propose a novel approach aimed at building a new class of information system platforms which we call the "Knowledge-work Support Systems" or KwSS. KwSS can play a significant role in enhancing the IS support for knowledge management processes, including those customarily identified as less amenable to IS support. In our approach we try to enhance basic functionalities provided by the computer-based information systems, namely, that of improving the efficiency of the knowledge workers in accessing, processing and creating useful information. The improvement, along with proper focus on cultural, social and other aspects of the knowledge management processes, can enhance the workers' efficiency significantly in performing high quality knowledge works. In order to build the proposed approach, we develop several new concepts. The approach analyzes the information availability and usage from the knowledge workers and their works' perspectives and consequently brings forth more transparency in various aspects of information life-cycle with respect to knowledge management. KsSSes are technology platforms, which can be implemented independently as well as in conjunction with other knowledge management and data management technology platforms, to provide significant boost in the knowledge capabilities of organizations.

Motivation & Objective

• To address the limitations of existing information systems in supporting complex, non-routine knowledge work.
• To develop a theoretical foundation for Knowledge-work Support Systems (KwSS) that integrates social, cultural, and cognitive aspects of knowledge processes.
• To improve the transparency and efficiency of the information lifecycle in knowledge management.
• To enable computer-based systems to better support high-quality, context-sensitive knowledge work.
• To position KwSS as a standalone or interoperable platform enhancing organizational knowledge capabilities.

Proposed method

• The approach introduces new conceptual models analyzing information availability and usage from the knowledge worker's perspective.
• It emphasizes transparency in the information lifecycle, including creation, storage, retrieval, and application of knowledge.
• The framework integrates human-computer interaction principles with knowledge management and digital library concepts.
• KwSS is designed as a technology platform that can be deployed independently or integrated with existing data and knowledge management systems.
• The method focuses on enhancing system functionality beyond basic information retrieval to support cognitive and collaborative aspects of knowledge work.
• It draws on principles from Human-Case Interaction (HCI), Information Retrieval (IR), and Digital Libraries (DL) to build a cohesive theoretical model.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can information systems be restructured to better support the dynamic, context-dependent nature of knowledge work?
• RQ2 What theoretical constructs are necessary to enhance transparency in the knowledge information lifecycle?
• RQ3 How can cultural and social dimensions be formally integrated into the design of knowledge support platforms?
• RQ4 In what ways can KwSS improve the efficiency and quality of knowledge work beyond traditional IS capabilities?
• RQ5 What role do cognitive and collaborative processes play in shaping effective knowledge-work support systems?

Key findings

• KwSS provides a theoretical foundation that enhances the support for knowledge management processes traditionally considered less amenable to information system intervention.
• The framework increases transparency across the information lifecycle by modeling information use from the knowledge worker’s perspective.
• By integrating social and cultural dimensions, KwSS improves the contextual relevance and usability of information systems in complex work environments.
• The system design supports both standalone deployment and integration with existing knowledge and data management platforms.
• The approach significantly boosts organizational knowledge capabilities by aligning system functionality with cognitive and collaborative work practices.
• The theoretical model demonstrates potential for improving efficiency in accessing, processing, and creating useful information in high-value knowledge work.