Designing knowledge management systems: reuse and integration of findings in computer supported cooperative work

Currently, we lack the technical mechanisms to fully bridge the gulf between the social requirements and technological feasibility. Many interactive systems today are developed without the involvement, input, or advice of trained psychologists or human factors experts, who might best be able to forecast the way users will respond to new or different designs. In this paper, we analyze the prospects for knowledge management (KM) systems with respect to the social and technical issues discussed and illustrated in Ackerman's nine general findings of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). Based upon this examination, we then develop several hypothetical KM scenarios to illustrate the CSCW concerns. Finally, we discuss the nature of the social-technical gap for KM systems and suggest what designers can do to reduce it.

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