Enterprise resource planning: An applications' training aid based on semantic web principles

Abstract

An integrated ERP system is an asset for any organization using it, but since its full deployment requires increased cooperation between business units, there is a need to provide the users involved with appropriate training material, so that they can effectively and efficiently exploit the business processes, which very often change in a dynamic business environment. Existing training materials fail to represent effectively the implicit business knowledge in order to help the users understand the underlying structures and relationships. This paper proposes a prototype model for the design and development of ERP training material, where both the multimedia objects used in training scenarios and the knowledge built into them are captured and fully reusable. The proposed approach helps trainees understand: (i) which are the building blocks of an ERP application, (ii) how they relate with each other and (iii) how they can be used in order to solve business specific problems. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.