Posted by Denham on May 10, 2002 at 20:23:41:

In Reply to: Knowledge Management System vs. a Knowledge Base posted by Kate on May 09, 2002 at 13:27:52:

Hi Kate,

A knowledge base is almost always part of a knowledge management system (KMS), it is the storage component. All knowledge bases do not follow the relational, object or hierarchical models of traditional databases as the representation can vary, e.g. rules, frames, cases, stories, patterns, problems / solutions......

A KMS adds search, display, retrieval and inference functionality to a knowledgebase, i.e. it is a larger system with more complex input / output, networking and processing capability.

A KMS would typically help with knowledge discovery, acquisition, verification and distribution. It may have both push and pull features, would capture interaction activity and may be able to offer more advanced help. You are unlikely to find a KMS which does not have some form of knowledgebase which it would query or use to provide advice and help.

A knowledge base contains the information (or data) used to derive new patterns or to store past measurements, insights and best practices. As an example, consider a KM tool for supporting knowledge exchanges in an on-line community. The KMS would have an more complex interface, it would show who was on-line, there would be functions to allow posting to a bulletinboard or support for a chatroom, there would be links to personal profiles and tools for voting. The conversations, personal profiles, voting scores etc. would then be stored in the underlying knowledgebase - available for query, navigation, search, display and perhaps export to other tools for further analysis.

I don't think this is an either / or choice. The key question is: what functionality do you want / need?, what representation will you be working with?, and what can you afford? A knowledge base on it's own, even with basic I/O will not get your very far, the power lies in the KMS and what it can do with the information and data in the KB.

Hope this helps.

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Follow Ups:

• Re: Knowledge system vs. knowledgebase Kate 16:29:25 05/13/02 (2)
  • Re: Knowledge system vs. knowledgebase Denham 16:57:19 05/13/02 (1)
    • Re: Knowledge system vs. knowledgebase Kate 11:57:09 05/15/02 (0)

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