Technology of Web-based Knowledge Management Systems

Technology
The technology options for developing and implementing knowledge management systems, such as the one examples shown above, are many and varied. The explosion in the number of programs and tools for web development is an indication of the importance part this technology will continue to play in the market.

The basic concept that is needed to understand the technologies and their capabilities is the 3-tier system architecture. Fundamentally, the 3-tier system architecture consists of three technology layers, in order from top to bottom: the user interface layer, the application layer, and the data layer.

The user interface layer is the simplest to see and understand. In a web-based environment it consists solely of the web browser, typically Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. It might also consist of wireless, handheld or palm top interfaces such as the mini-browser on cell phones or the modified WAP (wireless access protocol) compliant browsers on Palm OS-based devices.

The next layer down, the application layer, can consists of a multitude of different applications which contain the logic and transaction capabilities between the user interface and the data layers. In the case of the examples shown in the previous section, this includes a web server, Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), and a dynamic web application server, Allaire Cold Fusion. The web server handles the HTTP requests sent from the browser, while the application server translates data layer information into web pages to present back to the browser. The application server relies on a dynamic web scripting language, in this case Cold Fusion Markup Language (CFML), in order to make the data layer connections and to handle the logic of the web application.

Technology options for web servers typically include Microsoft IIS for Windows platforms and Apache Web Server for Linux or other Unix platforms. Other options for web application servers include Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP), Java Server Pages (JSP), and PHP. All of these application servers serve the same purpose, to provide fast programming of interfaces and links to databases for the web environment.

The last and bottom layer is the data layer. As the name suggests, this layer contains all the data to be stored and accessed from the user interface layer. Typically, this data is stored in either a database or, if in document format (e.g. graphics, CADD drawings, text documents) they are stored in some type of directory structure. The main requirement for data to be accessed by the web application servers is that the database be relational and ODBC-compliant. The so-called “tier-one” databases that fit into this category include Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle. Microsoft Access is not recommended for production environments because of its lack of scalability and reliability, but is useful for development and testing purposes.

City of Phoenix Information Access System (IAS)
This section presents a detailed example of the implementation process and use of a knowledge management system for the City of Phoenix Water Services Department. This system is known to the City as the Information Access System or IAS.

Overview of Needs and Use
Wastewater Treatment within the City of Phoenix has always been technology oriented. However several situations had to occur before embracing web based technology as a tool was accepted.

First, a majority of operational procedures for the treatment plants were out-dated. Second, there were several volumes of information, all with inaccuracies. Updating meant each volume had to be located and then copies of the updated materials had to be inserted. There was no set method to accomplish this task, nor a means to verify that all manuals had been updated. Due to constant upgrades to the facility and multiple contracts, it was necessary to find some method of updating quickly and ensuring that the materials made it to the manuals.