Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-1

Chapter 11

Knowledge Management and Specialized Information

Systems

At a Glance

Instructor’s Manual Table of Contents

• Overview

• Principles and Objectives

• Teaching Tips

• Quick Quizzes

• Class Discussion Topics

• Additional Projects

• Additional Resources

• Key Terms
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-2

Overview
Knowledge management systems are being used by organizations in almost every industry
to obtain, store, share, and use knowledge. This chapter introduces knowledge management
systems, and discusses how they can be created and used. It also looks into the technologies
that support knowledge management. The chapter then describes artificial intelligence and
discusses the nature of intelligence, as well as the differences between artificial and human
intelligence. The various subfields of artificial intelligence are mentioned, including expert
systems, robotics, vision systems, natural language processing, learning systems, and neural
networks. Of these subfields, expert systems are investigated in detail. The chapter also
examines virtual reality, including the devices used in this field and its applications. An
overview of other specialized systems is also given.

Principles and Objectives

Principles Learning Objectives

Knowledge management allows • Discuss the differences among data,

organizations to share knowledge and information, and knowledge.
experience among their managers and • Describe the role of the chief
employees. knowledge officer (CKO).
• List some of the tools and techniques
used in knowledge management.

Artificial intelligence systems form a broad • Define the term artificial intelligence
and diverse set of systems that can replicate and state the objective of developing
human decision making for certain types of artificial intelligence systems.
well-defined problems. • List the characteristics of intelligent
behavior and compare the performance
of natural and artificial intelligence
systems for each of these
characteristics.
• Identify the major components of the
artificial intelligence field and provide
one example of each type of system.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-3

Expert systems can enable a novice to • List the characteristics and basic
perform at the level of an expert but must components of expert systems.
be developed and maintained very • Identify at least three factors to
carefully. consider in evaluating the development
of an expert system.
• Outline and briefly explain the steps for
developing an expert system.
• Identify the benefits associated with the
use of expert systems.

Virtual reality systems can reshape the • Define the term virtual reality and
interface between people and information provide three examples of virtual
technology by offering new ways to reality applications.
communicate information, visualize
processes, and express ideas creatively.

Specialized systems can help organizations • Discuss examples of specialized

and individuals achieve their goals. systems for organizational and
individual use.

Teaching Tips
Why Learn About Specialized Information Systems?
Knowledge management and specialized information systems are used in almost every
industry. For example, a manager might use a knowledge management system to support
decisive action to help him correct a problem. A production manager at an automotive
company might oversee robots that attach windshields to cars or paint body panels. A stock
trader might use a special system called a neural network to uncover patterns and make huge
profits trading stocks and stock options. Many other examples of how these specialized
information systems can be used are mentioned throughout this chapter. Learning about
these systems will help students discover new ways to use information systems in their
career.

Knowledge Management Systems

As discussed in Chapter 1, data consists of raw facts, such as an employee number, number
of hours worked in a week, inventory part numbers, or sales orders. Information is a
collection of facts organized so that they have additional value beyond the value of the facts
themselves. Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of a set of information and the
ways that information can be made useful to support a specific task or reach a decision.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-4

The differences between data, information, and knowledge can be seen from the following
examples, which are taken from Figure 11.1 on page 432.

• Data: There are 20 PCs in stock at the retail store.

• Information: The store will run out of inventory in a week unless more are ordered
today.
• Knowledge: Call 800-555-2222 to order more inventory.

A knowledge management system (KMS) is an organized collection of people, procedures,

software, databases, and devices used to create, store, share, and use the organization’s
knowledge and experience.

Overview of Knowledge Management Systems

Like other systems discussed previously in the text, knowledge management systems
attempt to help organizations achieve their goals. For businesses, this usually means
increasing profits or reducing costs. For nonprofit organizations, it can mean providing
better customer service or providing special needs to people and groups.

A KMS can involve both explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is objective and
can be measured and documented in reports, papers, and rules. Tacit knowledge, on the
other hand, is hard to measure and document and typically is not objective or formalized.

Data and Knowledge Management Workers and Communities of Practice

The personnel involved in a KMS includes data workers and knowledge workers.
Secretaries, administrative assistants, bookkeepers, and similar data-entry personnel are
often called data workers. As mentioned in Chapter 1, knowledge workers are people who
create, use, and disseminate knowledge. They are usually professionals in science,
engineering, or business, and work in offices and belong to professional organizations. Other
examples of knowledge workers include writers, researchers, educators, and corporate
designers. The chief knowledge officer (CKO) is a top-level executive who helps the
organization work with a KMS to create, store, and use knowledge to achieve organizational
goals.

Some organizations and professions use communities of practice (COP) to create, store, and
share knowledge. A COP is a group of people dedicated to a common discipline or practice.
COPs excel at obtaining, storing, sharing, and using knowledge.

Obtaining, Storing, Sharing, and Using Knowledge

Obtaining, storing, sharing, and using knowledge is the key to any KMS. An example of
obtaining or creating knowledge is drug companies and medical researchers investing
billions of dollars in creating knowledge on cures for diseases. Once knowledge is created, it
is often stored in a knowledge repository that includes documents, reports, files, and
databases. Knowledge workers often work in groups or teams. As such, they can use
collaborative work software and group support systems to share knowledge, such as
groupware, meeting software, and collaboration tools.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-5

They can also use nontechnical approaches, such as corporate retreats and gatherings,
sporting events, and informal knowledge worker lounges or meeting places to share
knowledge. Using a knowledge management system begins with locating the organization’s
knowledge. This is often done using a knowledge map or directory that points the
knowledge worker to the needed knowledge.

Technology to Support Knowledge Management

KMSs use a number of tools discussed throughout the book. For example, the importance of
organizational learning and organizational change was explored in Chapter 2. An effective
KMS is based on learning new knowledge and changing procedures and approaches as a
result. Another set of tools are data mining and business intelligence, which can be
important in capturing and using knowledge in a KMS (see Chapter 5).

Hundreds of companies provide specific KM products and services. Companies such as IBM
have many knowledge management tools in a variety of products, including Lotus Notes and
Domino. Lotus Notes is a collection of software products that help people work together to
create, share, and store important knowledge and business documents. Lotus Domino
Document Manager, formerly called Lotus Domino, helps people and organizations store,
organize, and retrieve documents.

Microsoft also offers a number of knowledge management tools, including Digital

Dashboard, which is based on the Microsoft Office suite; Web Store Technology, which
uses wireless technology to deliver knowledge to any location at any time; and Access
Workflow Designer, which helps database developers create effective systems to process
transactions and keep work flowing through the organization.

Teaching Download a demo version of a knowledge management tool, such as Digital

Tip Dashboard, and demonstrate it in class.

Quick Quiz 1
1. ____________________ knowledge is objective and can be measured and
documented in reports, papers, and rules.
ANSWER: Explicit

2. What are people who create, use, and disseminate knowledge called?
ANSWER: knowledge workers

3. The ____________________ is a top-level executive who helps the organization

work with a KMS to create, store, and use knowledge to achieve organizational
goals.
ANSWER: chief knowledge officer (CKO)
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-6

4. What are secretaries, administrative assistants, bookkeepers, and similar data-entry

personnel involved in a KMS called?
ANSWER: data workers

An Overview of Artificial Intelligence

The term artificial intelligence (AI) is used to describe computers with the ability to mimic
or duplicate the functions of the human brain. The term was first proposed in 1956 by the
computer scientist John McCarthy. Many computer systems that use the notion of AI are
currently being used in real life. For example, such systems help to make medical diagnoses,
explore for natural resources, determine what is wrong with mechanical devices, and assist
in designing and developing other computer systems.

Artificial Intelligence in Perspective

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems include the people, procedures, hardware, software, data,
and knowledge needed to develop computer systems and machines that demonstrate
characteristics of intelligence. The objective in developing contemporary AI systems is not
to completely replace human decision making, but to replicate it for certain types of well-
defined problems.

The Nature of Intelligence

From the early AI pioneering stage, the research emphasis has been on developing machines
with the following characteristics of intelligent behavior:

• Ability to learn from experience and apply the knowledge acquired from experience
• Ability to handle complex situations
• Ability to solve problems which may be missing important pieces of information
• Ability to determine what is important
• Ability to react quickly and correctly to a new situation
• Ability to understand visual images
• Ability to process and manipulate symbols
• Ability to be creative and imaginative
• Ability to use heuristics

The Difference Between Natural and Artificial Intelligence

There are many differences between natural intelligence, which is the intelligence seen in
humans, and artificial intelligence. These differences are summarized in Table 11.2 on page
440.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-7

Table 11.2: A Comparison of Natural and Artificial Intelligence

The Major Branches of Artificial Intelligence

AI is a broad field that includes several specialty areas, such as expert systems, robotics,
vision systems, natural language processing, learning systems, and neural networks.

Expert Systems

An expert system consists of hardware and software that stores knowledge and makes
inferences, similar to those of a human expert. Expert systems have many applications in
business, medicine, the military, and other areas of life. These systems are discussed in more
detail in the later sections of the chapter.

Robotics

Robotics involves mechanical or computer devices that perform tasks requiring a high
degree of precision or are tedious or hazardous for human beings. Some robots are
mechanical devices that do not use the AI features. Others are sophisticated systems that use
one or more AI features or characteristics. Robots are essential components of today’s
automated manufacturing and military systems. Future robots are likely to find wider
applications in many other areas of life, such as banks, restaurants, homes, doctors’ offices,
and hazardous working environments such as nuclear stations.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-8

Vision Systems

Vision systems include hardware and software that permit computers to capture, store, and
manipulate visual images. These systems are currently being used to perform fingerprint
analysis, as well as to identify people based on facial features. Vision systems can also be
used with robots to give these machines “sight.”

Natural Language Processing and Voice Recognition

As discussed in Chapter 4, natural language processing allows a computer to understand and

react to statements and commands made in a “natural” language, such as English.

In some cases, voice recognition is used with natural language processing. Voice recognition
involves converting sound waves into words. After converting sounds into words, natural
language processing systems can be used to react to the words or commands by performing
a variety of tasks.

Learning Systems

Learning systems are a combination of software and hardware that allows the computer to
change how it functions or reacts to situations based on feedback it receives. For example,
some computerized games have learning abilities. If the computer does not win a game, it
remembers not to make the same moves under the same conditions again.

Neural Networks

A neural network is a computer system that can act like or simulate the functioning of a
human brain. These systems are built either using massively parallel processors in an
architecture that is based on the human brain’s own meshlike structure, or using neural
network software that simulates a neural network using standard computers. Neural
networks have the ability to:

• Retrieve information even if some of the neural nodes fail

• Quickly modify stored data as a result of new information
• Discover relationships and trends in large databases
• Solve complex problems for which all the information is not present

Other Artificial Intelligence Applications

There are some other artificial intelligence applications besides the ones already discussed.
One such application is a genetic algorithm, which is an approach to solving large, complex
problems in which many repeated operations or models change and evolve until the best one
emerges. Genetic algorithms are used in businesses, computer science, and mathematics.

An intelligent agent (also called an intelligent robot or bot) consists of programs and a
knowledge base used to perform a specific task for a person, a process, or another program.
Intelligent agents are commonly used to search the vast resources of the Internet to help
people find information on an important topic or the best price for a particular product.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-9

Intelligent agents can also be used to make travel arrangements, monitor incoming e-mail
for viruses or junk mail, and coordinate meetings and schedules of busy executives. They
are also used in many other ways.

Teaching There are many demos or viewers of genetic algorithms available on the Internet.
Tip Download one of them to illustrate how genetic algorithms work.

Quick Quiz 2
1. What component of AI is used to enable a computer chess game to become a better
player after each match?
ANSWER: learning system

2. What component of AI is used for fingerprint analysis?

ANSWER: vision system

3. What type of system allows a machine to approximate the way a human sees, hears,
and feels?
ANSWER: perception system

4. A(n) ____________________ is a computer system that can act like or simulate the
functioning of a human brain.
ANSWER: neural network

5. True or False: A genetic algorithm can be used to solve large, complex problems.
ANSWER: True

An Overview of Expert Systems

Expert systems, which behave similarly to human experts in a particular field, have been
developed to diagnose problems, predict future events, and solve energy problems. They
have also been used to design new products and systems, determine the best use of lumber,
and increase the quality of healthcare. Like human experts, computerized expert systems use
heuristics, or rules of thumb, to arrive at conclusions or make suggestions.

Teaching Obtain sales videos of commercially available expert system software packages
Tip and show a couple of them in class. Discuss the similarities and differences
between the systems.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-10

When to Use Expert Systems

Sophisticated expert systems can be difficult, expensive, and time consuming to develop. As
such, the following list can be used to decide whether the use of expert systems is worth the
expenditure of time and money that they require. These systems should be used only if they
do one of the following:

• Provide a high potential payoff or significantly reduce downside risk

• Capture and preserve irreplaceable human expertise
• Solve a problem that is not easily solved using traditional programming techniques
• Develop a system more consistent than human experts
• Provide expertise needed at a number of locations at the same time or in a hostile
environment that is dangerous to human health
• Provide expertise that is expensive or rare
• Develop a solution faster than human experts can
• Provide expertise needed for training and development to share the wisdom and
experience of human experts with many people

Components of Expert Systems

Figure 11.8: Components of an Expert System

A diagram of a typical expert system is shown in Figure 11.8 on page 448. The knowledge
base holds the data, rules, and relationships used by the expert system. The following are
some tools and techniques that can be used to create a knowledge base:

• Assembling human experts

• Using fuzzy logic
• Using rules
• Using cases

The Inference Engine

Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-11

The inference engine provides a mechanism for retrieving the stored knowledge. It seeks
information and relationships from the knowledge base and provides answers, predictions,
and suggestions the way a human expert would.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-12

Inference engines can use backward or forward chaining. Backward chaining is the process
of starting with conclusions and working backward to the supporting facts. If the facts do
not support the conclusion, another conclusion is selected and tested. This process is
continued until the correct conclusion is identified. Forward chaining, on the other hand, is
the process of starting with the facts and working forward to the conclusions.

The Explanation Facility

The explanation facility allows a user or decision maker to understand how the expert
system arrived at certain conclusions or results.

The Knowledge Acquisition Facility

A difficult task in developing an expert system is the process of creating and updating the
knowledge base. Today, specialized software allows users and decision makers to create and
modify their own knowledge bases through the knowledge acquisition facility. The purpose
of the knowledge acquisition facility is to provide a convenient and efficient means for
capturing and storing all components of the knowledge base.

The User Interface

The user interface enables users to interact with the system. At one time, only skilled
computer personnel created and operated most expert systems. Today, however, the user
interface permits decision makers to develop and use their own expert systems.

Expert Systems Development

The steps involved in the construction process include:

• Determining requirements
• Identifying experts
• Constructing expert system components
• Implementing results
• Maintaining and reviewing the system

Participants in Developing and Using Expert Systems

The participants involved in developing and using an expert system are the domain expert,
the knowledge engineer, and the knowledge user. The domain expert is the individual or
group that has the expertise or knowledge one is trying to capture in the expert system.
The knowledge engineer is an individual who has training or experience in the design,
development, implementation, and maintenance of an expert system. The knowledge user is
the individual or group who uses and benefits from the expert system.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-13

Expert Systems Development Tools and Techniques

Expert systems can be developed using expert system shells, traditional high-level languages
such as Pascal, FORTRAN, and COBOL, or specialty AI languages such as PROLOG or
LISP. An expert system shell is a collection of software packages and tools used to design,
develop, implement, and maintain expert systems.

Applications of Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence

Expert systems and artificial intelligence have wide applications in business and
government. Some of these applications involve:

• Credit granting and loan analysis

• Stock picking
• Catching cheats and terrorists
• Budgeting
• Games
• Information management and retrieval
• AI and expert systems embedded in products
• Plant layout and manufacturing
• Hospitals and medical facilities
• Help desks and assistance
• Employee performance evaluation
• Virus detection
• Repair and maintenance
• Shipping
• Marketing
• Warehouse optimization

Teaching Invite a user of an expert system from a business or another organization to class
Tip to discuss how the system has benefited the organization.

Quick Quiz 3
1. What participant in expert systems development is responsible for obtaining
knowledge from the expert?
ANSWER: knowledge engineer

2. What part of the expert system allows the user to see why a particular conclusion
was developed?
ANSWER: explanation facility

3. What are rules that suggest particular conclusions?

Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-14

ANSWER: if-then statements

4. What is the term used to describe a collection of software packages and tools used to
design, develop, implement, and maintain expert systems?
ANSWER: expert system shell

Virtual Reality
Virtual reality, a term coined by Jaron Lanier, is used to describe a system that enables one
or more users to move and react in a computer-simulated environment.

Interface Devices

Virtual reality systems require special interface devices that transmit the sights, sounds, and
sensations of the simulated world to the user. These devices can also record and send the
speech and movements of participants to the simulated world. This means that users are able
to move and react in a virtual environment and manipulate virtual objects much as they
would those in the real world. Examples of interface devices used in virtual reality include
HMDs, the CAVE system, and the haptic interface.

Forms of Virtual Reality

The term virtual reality can also refer to applications that are not fully immersive, such as
three-dimensional graphical games, stereo viewing via special glasses, and others. Some
virtual reality systems can also project simulated objects onto real environments.

Virtual Reality Applications

Virtual reality technology can be applied in a variety of areas, such as medicine, education
and training, real estate marketing and tourism, and entertainment.

• Medicine: Virtual reality systems are being used to help patients in many ways. For
example, they can be used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, and they can be used
to help burn patients take their minds off the pain. In another medical application of
virtual reality, researchers are using virtual reality gloves to try to translate
biomechanical measurements so that they can be stored in a computer database.
Virtual reality technology can also link stroke patients to their physical therapists
without having to be physically close by.
• Education and training: Virtual environments are used in education to bring
exciting new resources into the classroom. Virtual technology is also being used by
the military in various training programs.
• Real estate marketing and tourism: Virtual reality has been used to increase real
estate sales in several powerful ways. One of the most important ones is that
potential buyers can now take virtual tours of properties through a number of
different means. Virtual reality can also be used to design buildings, improving
quality and production time.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-15

• Entertainment: Computer-generated image technology, or CGI, has been around

since the 1970s. It has been used in many movies, including Finding Nemo, Spider-
Man II, and Star Wars Episode II—Attack of the Clones, to create high-quality visual
effects. CGI can also be used in computer games to enhance the viewer’s knowledge
and enjoyment of a game.

Quick Quiz 4
1. To see in a virtual world, often the user wears a(n) ____________________ with
screens directed at each eye.
ANSWER: head-mounted display (HMD)

2. True or False: The haptic interface allows the user to hear sounds in the virtual
world.
ANSWER: False

3. True or False: Virtual reality has been used to increase real estate sales.
ANSWER: True

Other Specialized Systems

Besides artificial intelligence, expert systems, and virtual reality, a number of other
specialized systems have been developed to help organizations and individuals. An example
of this is the development of Segway, an electric scooter that uses sophisticated software,
sensors, and gyro motors to transport people in an upright position.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that contain small chips with information about
products or packages can be quickly scanned to perform inventory control or trace a package
as it moves from a supplier to a company to its customers.

Another technology is being used to create “smart containers” for ships, railroads, and
trucks. Companies are developing communications systems that would allow containers to
broadcast the contents, location, and condition of shipments to shipping and cargo managers.

Game theory involves the use of information systems to develop competitive strategies for
people, organizations, or countries.

Another specialized system is informatics, which combines traditional disciplines, such as

science and medicine, with computer systems and technology.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-16

Quick Quiz 5
1. ____________________ involves the use of information systems to develop
competitive strategies for people, organizations, or countries.
ANSWER: Game theory

2. Bioinformatics combines biology and ____________________.

ANSWER: computer science

3. What is the name of the human transport device that transports people in an upright
position?
ANSWER: Segway

Class Discussion Topics

1. How can knowledge management systems help an organization increase profits and
reduce costs?

2. Discuss what role groupware can play in a knowledge management system.

3. How is the Web affecting AI?

4. Will machines ever be smarter than humans?

5. How are expert systems different from DSSs?

6. What functionalities would be necessary in order for a robot to replace a human?

Additional Projects
1. Using the Internet, find two virtual reality interface devices, aside from the ones already
mentioned in the text. Research what these devices allow the user to do and summarize
your findings in a two to three paragraph report.

2. Choose a particular field that interests you, such as medicine, and research how expert
systems are currently being used in this field. Find information about at least one actual
expert system that is available for use in this field. Summarize your findings in a one to
two page report.

Additional Resources
1. American Association for Artificial Intelligence:
www.aaai.org/
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-17

2. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research:

www.jair.org/

3. AI Topics:
www.aaai.org/AITopics/index.html

Key Terms
¾ Artificial intelligence (AI) - the ability of computers to mimic or duplicate the
functions of the human brain.
¾ Artificial intelligence systems - the people, procedures, hardware, software, data, and
knowledge needed to develop computer systems and machines that demonstrate
characteristics of intelligence.
¾ Backward chaining - the process of starting with conclusions and working backward
to the supporting facts.
¾ Chief knowledge officer (CKO) - a top-level executive who helps the organization use
a KMS to create, store, and use knowledge to achieve organizational goals.
¾ Domain - the area of knowledge addressed by the expert system.
¾ Domain expert - the individual or group who has the expertise or knowledge one is
trying to capture in the expert system.
¾ Expert system - hardware and software that stores knowledge and makes inferences,
similar to a human expert.
¾ Explanation facility - component of an expert system that allows a user or decision
maker to understand how the expert system arrived at certain conclusions or results.
¾ Forward chaining - the process of starting with the facts and working forward to the
conclusions.
¾ Game theory - the use of information systems to develop competitive strategies for
people, organizations, or even countries.
¾ Genetic algorithm - an approach to solving large, complex problems in which a
number of related operations or models change and evolve until the best one emerges.
¾ IF-THEN statements - rules that suggest certain conclusions.
¾ Inference engine - part of the expert system that seeks information and relationships
from the knowledge base and provides answers, predictions, and suggestions the way a
human expert would.
¾ Informatics - a specialized system that combines traditional disciplines, such as
science and medicine, with computer systems and technology.
¾ Intelligent agent - programs and a knowledge base used to perform a specific task for a
person, a process, or another program; also called intelligent robot or bot.
¾ Intelligent behavior - the ability to learn from experiences and apply knowledge
acquired from experience, handle complex situations, solve problems when important
information is missing, determine what is important, react quickly and correctly to a
new situation, understand visual images, process and manipulate symbols, be creative
and imaginative, and use heuristics.
¾ Knowledge acquisition facility - part of the expert system that provides convenient
and efficient means of capturing and storing all the components of the knowledge base.
¾ Knowledge base - a component of an expert system that stores all relevant information,
data, rules, cases, and relationships used by the expert system.
Principles of Information Systems, Eighth Edition 11-18

¾ Knowledge engineer - a person who has training or experience in the design,

development, implementation, and maintenance of an expert system.
¾ Knowledge user - the person or group who uses and benefits from the expert system.
¾ Learning systems - a combination of software and hardware that allows the computer
to change how it functions or reacts to situations based on feedback it receives.
¾ Natural language processing - processing that allows the computer to understand and
react to statements and commands made in a “natural” language, such as English.
¾ Neural network - a computer system that can act like or simulate the functioning of a
human brain.
¾ Perceptive system - a system that approximates the way a human sees, hears, and feels
objects.
¾ Robotics - mechanical or computer devices that perform tasks requiring a high degree
of precision or that are tedious or hazardous for humans.
¾ Virtual reality system - a system that enables one or more users to move and react in a
computer-simulated environment.
¾ Vision systems - the hardware and software that permit computers to capture, store,
and manipulate visual images and pictures.