Knowledge Codification

Modes of Knowledge Conversion Codifying Knowledge Codification Tools/Procedures Knowledge Maps Decision Table Decision Tree Frames Production Rules Case-Based Reasoning Knowledge-Based Agents Knowledge Developer's Skill Set Knowledge Requirements Skills Requirements

Knowledge Codification in the KM System Life Cycle

What Does Knowledge Codification Involve?

Converting tacit knowledge into explicit usable form Converting undocumented information into documented information Representing and organizing knowledge before it is accessed It is making institutional knowledge visible, accessible, and usable for decision making

Benefits of Knowledge Codification

Instruction/trainingpromoting training of junior personnel based on captured knowledge of senior employees Predictioninferring the likely outcome of a given situation and flashing a proper warning or suggestion for corrective action Diagnosisaddressing identifiable symptoms of specific causal factors

Planning/schedulingmapping out an entire course of action before any steps are taken The knowledge developer should note the following points before initiating knowledge codification: Recorded knowledge is often difficult to access (because it is either fragmented or poorly organized). Diffusion of new knowledge is too slow. Knowledge is nor shared, but hoarded (this can involve political implications). Often knowledge is not found in the proper form. Often knowledge is not available at the correct time when it is needed. Often knowledge is not present in the proper location where it should be present. Often the knowledge is found to be incomplete.

Pre-KC Questions
What organizational goals will the codified knowledge serve? Why is the knowledge useful? How would one codify knowledge? Modes of Knowledge Conversion Conversion from tacit to tacit knowledge produces socialization where knowledge developer looks for experience in case of knowledge capture. Conversion from tacit to explicit knowledge involves externalizing, explaining or clarifying tacit knowledge via analogies, models, or metaphors. Conversion from explicit to tacit knowledge involves internalizing (or fitting explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge.

Conversion from explicit to explicit knowledge involves combining, categorizing, reorganizing or sorting different bodies of explicit knowledge to lead to new knowledge. Nonaka's Model of Knowledge Creation & Transformation (SECI Model) Codifying Knowledge An organization must focus on the following before codification: What organizational goals will the codified knowledge serve? What knowledge exists in the organization that can address these goals? How useful is the existing knowledge for codification? How would someone codify knowledge? Codifying tacit knowledge (in its entirety) in a knowledge base or repository is often difficult because it is usually developed and internalized in the minds of the human experts over a long period of time. Some Codification Tools Knowledge Map Decision Table Decision Tree Frames Production Rules Case-based Reasoning Knowledge-Based Agents

Knowledge Map Visual representation of knowledge, not a repository Identify strengths to exploit and missing knowledge gaps to fill Can be applied in Knowledge Capture A straightforward directory that points people to where they can find certain expertise Capture both explicit and tacit knowledge in documents and in experts heads Knowledge Map (Relationships among Departments)

Knowledge Map
A popular knowledge map used in human resources is a skills planner in which employees are matched to jobs. Steps to build the map: A structure of the knowledge requirements should be developed. Knowledge required of specific jobs must be defined. You should rate employee performance by knowledge competency. You should link the knowledge map to some training program for career development and job advancement.

The Building Cycle Once where knowledge resides is known, simply point to it and add instructions on how to get there An intranet is a common medium for publishing knowledge maps Main criteria: clarity of purpose, ease of use, accuracy and currency of content Decision Trees Composed of nodes representing goals and links representing decisions or outcomes All nodes except the root node are instances of the primary goal. (See next figure) Often a step before actual codification Ability to verify logic graphically in problems involving complex situations that result in a limited number of actions

Discount Policy (A Decision Tree)

Decision Tables
More like a spreadsheetdivided into a list of conditions and their respective values and a list of conclusions Conditions are matched against conclusions (See next table) It is another technique used for knowledge codification. It consists of some conditions, rules, and actions.

Discount Policy (A Decision Table)

Decision Table (an example)

A phonecard company sends out monthly invoices to permanent customers and gives them discount if payments are made within two weeks. Their discounting policy is as follows: If the amount of the order of phonecards is greater than $35, subtract 5% of the order; if the amount is greater than or equal to $20 and less than or equal to $35, subtract a 4% discount; if the amount is less than $20, do not apply any discount. We shall develop a decision table for their discounting decisions, where the condition alternatives are `Yes' and `No'.

Decision Table (an example)

Decision Table (an example)

It is also a knowledge codification technique. A decision tree is usually a hierarchically arranged semantic network. A decision tree for the phonecard company discounting policy (as discussed above) is shown next. Decision Table (an example)

Frames
Represent knowledge about a particular idea in a data structure Handle a combination of declarative and operational knowledge, which make it easier to understand the problem domain Key elements of frames: Slot: A specific object being described/an attribute of an entity. Facet: The value of an object/slot. When all the slots are filled with values, the frame is considered instantiated.

Production Rules
Tacit knowledge codification in the form of premiseaction pairs Rules are conditional statement that specify an action to be taken if a certain condition is true The form is IF THEN, or IFTHENELSE Example: IF income is average and pay_history is good THEN recommendation is approve loan

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR)

CBR is reasoning from relevant past cases in a manner similar to humans use of past experiences to arrive at conclusions

Goal is to bring up the most similar historical cases that match the current case More time savings than rule-based systems Requires rigorous initial planning of all possible variables

Role of Planning (Earlier Steps)

Breaking the KM system into modules Looking at partial solutions Linking partial solutions via rules and procedures to arrive at the final solution Making rules easier to review and understand

Role of Planning (Latter Steps)

Deciding on the programming language Selecting the right software package

Developing user interface and consultation facilities Arranging for the verification and validation of the system Knowledge-Based Agents An intelligent agent is a program code which is capable of performing autonomous action in a timely fashion. They can exhibit goal directed behaviour by taking initiative. They can be programmed to interact with other agents or humans by using some agent communication language. In terms of knowledge-based systems, an agent can be programmed to learn from the user behaviour and deduce future behaviour for assisting the user.

Knowledge Developer's Skill Set

Knowledge Requirements Computing technology and operating systems. Knowledge repositories and data mining. Domain specific knowledge. Cognitive psychology. Skills Requirements Interpersonal Communication. Ability to articulate the project's rationale. Rapid Prototyping skills. Attributes related to personality. Job roles.