A framework and computer system for knowledge-level acquisition, representation, and reasoning with process knowledge

The development of knowledge-based systems is usually approached through the combined skills of software and knowledge engineers (SEs and KEs, respectively) and of subject matter experts (SMEs). One of the most critical steps in this task aims at transferring knowledge from SMEs’ expertise to formal, machine-readable representations, which allow systems to reason with such knowledge. However, this process is costly and error prone. Alleviating such knowledge acquisition bottleneck requires enabling SMEs with the means to produce the target knowledge representations, minimizing the intervention of KEs. This is especially difficult in the case of complex knowledge types like processes. The analysis of scientific domains like Biology, Chemistry, and Physics uncovers: (i) that process knowledge is the single most frequent type of knowledge occurring in such domains and (ii) specific solutions need to be devised in order to allow SMEs to represent it in a computational form. We present a framework and computer system for the acquisition and representation of process knowledge in scientific domains by SMEs. We propose methods and techniques to enable SMEs to acquire process knowledge from the domains, to formally represent it, and to reason about it. We have developed an abstract process metamodel and a library of problem solving methods (PSMs), which support these tasks, respectively providing the terminology for SME-tailored process diagrams and an abstract formalization of the strategies needed for reasoning about processes. We have implemented this approach as part of the DarkMatter system and formally evaluated it in the context of the intermediate evaluation of Project Halo, an initiative aiming at the creation of question answering systems by SMEs

Common motifs in scientific workflows: An empirical analysis

While workflow technology has gained momentum in the last decade as a means for specifying and enacting computational experiments in modern science, reusing and repurposing existing workflows to build new scientific experiments is still a daunting task. This is partly due to the difficulty that scientists experience when attempting to understand existing workflows, which contain several data preparation and adaptation steps in addition to the scientifically significant analysis steps. One way to tackle the understandability problem is through providing abstractions that give a high-level view of activities undertaken within workflows. As a first step towards abstractions, we report in this paper on the results of a manual analysis performed over a set of real-world scientific workflows from Taverna and Wings systems. Our analysis has resulted in a set of scientific workflow motifs that outline i) the kinds of data intensive activities that are observed in workflows (data oriented motifs), and ii) the different manners in which activities are implemented within workflows (workflow oriented motifs). These motifs can be useful to inform workflow designers on the good and bad practices for workflow development, to inform the design of automated tools for the generation of workflow abstractions, etc

A formalism and method for representing and reasoning with process models authored by subject matter experts

Enabling Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to formulate knowledge without the intervention of Knowledge Engineers (KEs) requires providing SMEs with methods and tools that abstract the underlying knowledge representation and allow them to focus on modeling activities. Bridging the gap between SME-authored models and their representation is challenging, especially in the case of complex knowledge types like processes, where aspects like frame management, data, and control flow need to be addressed. In this paper, we describe how SME-authored process models can be provided with an operational semantics and grounded in a knowledge representation language like F-logic in order to support process-related reasoning. The main results of this work include a formalism for process representation and a mechanism for automatically translating process diagrams into executable code following such formalism. From all the process models authored by SMEs during evaluation 82% were well-formed, all of which executed correctly. Additionally, the two optimizations applied to the code generation mechanism produced a performance improvement at reasoning time of 25% and 30% with respect to the base case, respectively

Las tecnologías de información y comunicación como prácticas de referencia en la gestión de conocimiento: una revisión sistemática de la literatura

The objective of this review is to identify reference practices supported by Information and Communication Technologies, which encourage the implementation of Knowledge Management within organizations. Based on the Systematic Review Methodology, this research project consisted in three phases: the research protocol development;the collection and analysis of information retrieved from the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI); and finally, the results generation. This study indicates that management practices related with applications and tools, databases, communities of practice, frameworks and networks, promote good outcomes in knowledge management process when applied in real context.  El objetivo de este estudio es identificar las prácticas de referencia apoyadas en Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación, que favorecen la implementación de la gestión de conocimiento en las organizaciones. Basada en la metodología de revisión sistemática, esta investigación se desarrolló en tres fases: el desarrollo del protocolo de investigación; la recolección y análisis de información de la base de datos Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) del Institute for Scientific Information (ISI); y finalmente, la generación de resultados. El estudio realizado revela que las prácticas de gestión relacionadas con aplicaciones y herramientas, bases de datos, comunidades de práctica, frameworks y networks, aplicadas en contextos empresariales reales, promueven la obtención de buenos resultados en los procesos asociados a la gestión de conocimiento

Las tecnologías de información y comunicación como prácticas de referencia en la gestión de conocimiento: una revisión sistemática de la literatura

The objective of this review is to identify reference practices supported by Information and Communication Technologies, which encourage the implementation of Knowledge Management within organizations. Based on the Systematic Review Methodology, this research project consisted in three phases: the research protocol development;the collection and analysis of information retrieved from the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI); and finally, the results generation. This study indicates that management practices related with applications and tools, databases, communities of practice, frameworks and networks, promote good outcomes in knowledge management process when applied in real context.  El objetivo de este estudio es identificar las prácticas de referencia apoyadas en Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación, que favorecen la implementación de la gestión de conocimiento en las organizaciones. Basada en la metodología de revisión sistemática, esta investigación se desarrolló en tres fases: el desarrollo del protocolo de investigación; la recolección y análisis de información de la base de datos Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) del Institute for Scientific Information (ISI); y finalmente, la generación de resultados. El estudio realizado revela que las prácticas de gestión relacionadas con aplicaciones y herramientas, bases de datos, comunidades de práctica, frameworks y networks, aplicadas en contextos empresariales reales, promueven la obtención de buenos resultados en los procesos asociados a la gestión de conocimiento

Représentation des connaissances scientifiques en vue de leur transfert vers l'industrie (Application à la valorisation des produits à base de bois en fin de vie)

La thèse s intéresse au transfert de connaissances scientifiques en valorisation des produits à base de bois en fin de vie vers les acteurs de la filière bois. La question de recherche est : Comment transférer les connaissances scientifiques (recueil et représentation des connaissances) sur la valorisation des produits à base de bois en fin de vie pour qu'elles puissent être assimilées et utilisées par les acteurs de la filière bois ? Le recueil des connaissances a combiné des séances d'interview de spécialistes avec l acquisition des connaissances à partir d articles scientifiques. Les connaissances recueillies ont été reformulées afin de faciliter leur transfert vers les acteurs de la filière bois : les concepts pertinents, relations d'influence entre les concepts et résultats scientifiques ont été respectivement représentés via des cartes conceptuelles, graphes d'influence, et fiches de connaissances. Un modèle canonique de cartes conceptuelles a été proposé afin de permettre une représentation homogène des concepts. La transmission, l assimilation et l'utilisation potentielle des connaissances à transférer ont été traitées comme suit : La transmission a été proposée via un livre électronique (hypermédia) de connaissances, L assimilation a été prise en compte via la reformulation des connaissances et une représentation graphique des connaissances suivant une carte conceptuelle canonique et un format prédéfini de fiches. L utilisation potentielle des connaissances transférées a été renforcée par la représentation des leviers d'action sur les concepts du domaine sous forme de graphes d'influence. Les performances de transfert à partir du livre ont été évaluées en fonction du degré de compréhension du contenu du livre, la charge cognitive de l utilisateur au cours de l utilisation du livre de connaissances et sa désorientation. L expérience a montré que la forme canonique développée est intuitive ; et, tout comme la navigation dans le livre, n'occasionne pas de désorientation ou surcharge cognitive de l'utilisateur. Les résultats obtenus montrent, au sein de la filière bois, tout l intérêt de la représentation proposée pour le transfert de connaissances scientifiques vers des professionnels.This thesis focuses on the transfer of scientific knowledge on recovered wood to practitioners of the wood sector. The research question is: how to transfer the scientific knowledge (collect and representation of knowledge and the transmission medium) on the recovered wood so that they may assimilate and used by non-scientific personnel of the wood sector ? Knowledge was first collected through interviews with specialists in the re-use of recovered wood and combined with acquisition of knowledge from scientific publications. The collected knowledge was then reformulated to facilitate its transfer to practitioners in the wood sector. The relevant concepts, the influences between concepts and relevant scientific results werere spectively represented via concept maps, influence graphs, and knowledge sheets. A canonical model of concept maps is proposed to enable a homogeneous representation of concepts. Transmission, assimilation and potential utilization of knowledge transfer were treated as follows : The transmission is proposed via an electronic (hypermedia) knowledge-book, the assimilation (absorption) has been taken into account through the reformulation of knowledge and a graphical representation of knowledge following a canonical concept map and sheets with a predefined format and The potential use of the transferred knowledge is facilitated by the representation of the action levers on the domain concepts in the form of influence graphs. The efficiency of knowledge transfer via the knowledge book has been evaluated according to the degree of understanding of the book content, the cognitive load of the user during use of the knowledge-book and the disorientation it caused. The experience has shown that the developed canonical form is intuitive and, like navigation in the book, does not cause disorientation or cognitive over load to the user. This promotes the assimilation and the use of the knowledge-book content. The obtained results indicate that the representation of relevant knowledge in a knowledge-book should facilitate for the transfer of scientific knowledge to professionals in the wood sector.NANTES-ENS Mines (441092314) / SudocSudocFranceF