The KiWi-vision is to make these three areas merge: KiWi aims to enable a form of knowledge management where knowledge is created because knowledge is shared. The KiWi system is therefore going to be highly usable: Its contents are linkable to allow for the creation of meaning and open for semantic (e.g. ontology-based) enhancement of meaning.

Furthermore, KiWi supports versioning to promote trust and confidence in the system and remains open and flexible for all types of contents. The KiWi system offers appropriate structures and an adaptive and modifiable interface that support the user in a way that corresponds to his or her mode of creating content.

KiWi is not ‘just another wiki system’ – as a matter of fact, it does not even have to look like a wiki if, for instance, a certain group of users are more likely to accept and work with it if it looks like cost management software. At its heart, KiWi seeks to transfer the wiki philosophy of collaborative content creation into the sphere of knowledge management and marry it there with the notion of flexible semantic structures that support the user in carrying out his or her knowledge management tasks.

KiWi does not simply manage knowledge or content: It reflects and enhances community relationships and the structure of collaborative knowledge and puts it at the service of knowledge management. The main outcome of KiWi will thus be a completely new kind of (semantic) content management system based on the Wiki philosophy, rather than just the revision of already existing technology. This system can then be tailored towards the knowledge management needs of the particular organisation or community it is deployed in.

The viability of this vision is going to be put to the test in two different use cases, both carried out together with companies from the knowledge-intensive industries: One has its focus on knowledge management in software development (conducted in collaboration with SUN Microsystems), the other one on knowledge management in project management (in collaboration with Logica). In both these and all future application scenarios, the KiWi system is going to have to be adapted to the respective needs.

Throughout the history of human civilization, the relationship between human activity and the impact of technology has been a complex one. The question who of the two is actually in the driver’s seat has been much debated, and never resolved – yet strength and advantage of having a vision has beyond argument.

The KiWi vision in as much reflects the challenges of the present as it looks into the future – stay tuned with us here on www.kiwi-project.eu if you would like to learn more.

Go back to the beginning of this section.