Dynamic Knowledge Mapping: A Visualization Approach for Knowledge Management Systems

Visualizing the contents of knowledge management systems allows for better comprehensibility of the knowledge base, gives a condensed overview, and provides entry points to particular knowledge items. In this context, two different visualization approaches have been proposed in the literature. On the one hand, algorithm-based approaches have been introduced, which are capable of automated generation of reproducible visualizations. On the other hand, visualizations such as knowledge maps have to be created individually by domain experts. In this paper, we propose a combined approach of dynamic knowledge mapping, which is based on a manual creation of the underlying context (e.g., the metaphor) of the visualization. The particular knowledge items, however, are mapped onto this background automatically in response to changes in the knowledge base. Thus, our approach benefits from the use of a challenging graphical context while allowing for an automated generation of visualizations.