KM-system for Visualising Competence Patterns

Abstract

To support the management of Knowledge Intensive Organisations, different types of KM-systems have been developed. Recent research within the IS- and CSCW-communities has identified general problem areas concerning KM-systems particularly designed to support the management of competencies. In this thesis we address two problem areas with KM-systems ; knowledge evaluation and knowledge empowerment. Knowledge evaluation concerns the evaluation of the competence of teams and groups of various sizes. Knowledge empowerment is about the identification of employees&#39 aims, directions and ambitions regarding competence development. We have addressed these problem areas by conducting a case study at Guide Konsult AB (now a part of Framfab). We have designed an add-on module for visualising status and development of competencies to Guide's existing KM-system Kompetenstorget and evaluated a KM-system for visualising competence patterns, i.e. the add-on module and Kompetenstorget. The main results of our research are; (1) different fields of application for the KM-system for visualising competence patterns, such as the possibility to manage towards organisational goals and to staff assignments according to the competence interests of the employees, (2) design implications concerning the fields of application including consultants' availability and scope limitations regarding competence interests, (3) recommendations regarding the assurance of data quality including using the KM-system when staffing assignments and providing an incentive for the consultants to use the KM-system.