Knowledge Management Systems for Knowledge-Intensive Processes: Design Approach and an Illustrative Example

In order to gain sustainable competitive advantage in today´s knowledge economy, organizations are looking beyond routine transactional workflow processes to support knowledge-intensive processes. Traditional business process management systems are effective in providing coordination support, but are not geared towards providing relevant knowledge support as well. Also, knowledge management systems are used in an ad hoc manner without explicitly linking them to the underlying organizational processes. Process-based knowledge management (PKM) systems have emerged as a potential solution to support knowledge-intensive processes. However, design guidelines for developing PKM systems are minimal. This paper highlights this research problem, identifies kernel theories governing the design and development of PKM systems, and synthesizes various kernel theories to propose a comprehensive design process for PKM systems. Feasibility and a comparative evaluation of the proposed design process is also discussed.