Semantic based approach for knowledge management

Companies are beginning to understand the importance of the management and maintenance of knowledge resources. One of the main constraints that have hindered the solution to resolving technical problems has been the efficient access to knowledge and expertise. Currently, the problem of ‘understanding’ has been one of the main limitations that have hindered the robustness of conventional systems due to lack of ‘semantics’ in knowledge representation. Therefore, there is need for enhancing the management and maintenance of knowledge through a semantic based approach. Semantics is defined as the study of meaning in communication and it aims to identify relationships between syntactical elements through the use of ontologies. The aim of this thesis is to develop prototype tools utilising semantic based approach for knowledge management in order to demonstrate and quantify the potential capability of these technologies within the defence equipment support market. The development of these semantic based prototypes are based upon accomplishing certain objectives: (i) transform an existing Excel based cost model into a semantic based application (ii) capture complex knowledge about maintenance and diagnosis of equipments in one central knowledge base, (iii) incorporate within the prototype a two way dialogue to help in diagnosing a problem and allow for rapid discovery of appropriate solutions, (iv) evaluate and validate use of semantic based approach to manage knowledge within the defence equipment support market, (v) use of multiple cases to demonstrate the benefits of semantic technology. The aim and objectives of this research project was achieved by adopting a qualitative research approach and a fivephase research programme methodology. The research project has highlighted that the use of semantic technology enhances the reusability, flexibility and maintainability of knowledge and its management. The ability to represent functionalities graphically reinforces understanding and makes functionality editing easier. Semantic technology can also be deployed gradually which means it can mature with the problem. The definition of synonyms and ontologies gives semantic technology an advantage over other computer based knowledge representation techniques. This research project successfully demonstrates and quantifies the benefits of semantic technology.