Ontologies for Knowledge Management

Abstract

Within Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, the term ontologies was coined in the Knowledge Sharing and Reuse Effort, for efficient engineering of (distributed, cooperating) knowledge-based systems. It is not surprising that it soon entered the Knowledge Management (KM) area: Sharing and reuse of personal, group, and organizational knowledge are among the central goals aimed at in most KM projects. In this chapter we introduce the main ideas of KM, as well as the role of and requirements for information technology (IT) in KM. We discuss the potential of ontologies as elements in IT support for KM. We characterize their current role in research and practice, derive a working focus for the near future, and conclude with an outlook on trends in KM software and their implications on ontologies.