AI knowledge management was the research question behind KIproWork, a publicly funded project run by miraminds, the team behind FlowShare, with Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and an industrial application partner.
In collaboration with Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and Eisenwerk Würth GmbH, miraminds—the team behind FlowShare is conducting research on AI-powered Knowledge Management 4.0 as part of the“Future of Work” funding program. The research project aims to externalize and transfer experts’ business process knowledge which is critical to success through intelligent, work-integrated data analysis and process documentation.
Embedding procedural knowledge with AI knowledge management better protecting German small and medium-sized businesses from knowledge loss.
In small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, the knowledge critical to success regarding key business processes is often concentrated in the hands of a few so-called key personnel. Preserving and passing on this procedural knowledge, which is difficult to formalize and communicate, poses challenges for SMEs and creates additional work for key personnel. The aim of the research project“AI-Supported Acquisition of Procedural Knowledge in SME Work Processes”( KIproWork for short) is therefore to enable SMEs to better utilize and permanently embed the existing, success-critical knowledge regarding processes within their organizations.
To achieve this goal, the project developed and evaluated a generically applicable, AI-based solution for the work-integrated, automated documentation and transfer of procedural knowledge from key personnel. A concept for identifying these key personnel was developed and tested using scientific methods. The results led to a cluster of characteristics for key personnel, which was published in a scientific journal. The project also yielded an approach for prioritizing the work processes of key personnel, which was likewise published in a scientific journal. Corresponding online tools were implemented for both approaches. These and other key research results and insights from AIproWork are made available online to interested SMEs in the form of a toolkit.
The project places particular emphasis on involving and engaging future users in order to improve the working conditions of key personnel and users outside the process, with the aim of introducing technology in a human-centered manner that promotes acceptance.
As part of the project, we plan to develop, test, and evaluate a generically applicable, AI-based solution for the work-integrated documentation of the procedural knowledge held by key experts. A concept for identifying these key experts will be tested, and tools for integrating their knowledge into existing knowledge management systems will be developed.
The findings of the project are intended to be transferable to other interested SMEs in the long term.
This research and development project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the program “The Future of Value Creation – Research on Production, Services, and Work” and is managed by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA). The author is solely responsible for the content of this publication.
Project partners
The project is being carried out in collaboration with experienced partners from the business and academic communities. This ensures that we gain insights into the real-world challenges faced by SMEs and that the latest research findings in this field are taken into account at all times.
Technology Partner: miraminds
At miraminds, our goal is to make software accessible to everyone. With our documentation software FlowShare, we are already dedicated to the step-by-step documentation of business processes. The guides created with FlowShare empower employees to easily carry out processes on their own, without requiring any background knowledge or special software skills.
We want to make work instructions even more tailored to users’ needs. The AI being developed as part of this research project is designed to identify employees’ knowledge levels and individual usage patterns. This will allow us to proactively provide information about the next steps in a task.
Research partner: Institute for Learning and Innovation in Networks (ILIN)
The Institute for Learning and Innovation in Networks (ILIN) in the Department of Business Informatics, headed by Prof. Dr. Steffen Kinkel, is a research institute at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA). ILIN’s research focuses on the areas of networked learning and knowledge and competency development, as well as networked innovation and production.
As a research partner in AIproWork, ILIN examines human-centered, socio-technical, and organizational frameworks for technology adoption.
In addition, ILIN is developing an approach that enables companies to independently identify individuals with knowledge critical to their success (so-called key personnel) so that they can take steps to preserve and disseminate that knowledge. Furthermore, ILIN is evaluating the knowledge management system developed in the project, particularly with regard to user acceptance. To make the research results from AIproWork accessible to other companies as well, ILIN is also developing a toolkit to support companies in the creation, storage, distribution, and application of business-process-relevant knowledge.
Application Partner: Eisenwerk Würth
Eisenwerk Würth GmbH develops, manufactures, and distributes abrasives for surface treatment. Its global customer base includes companies in the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, steel and plant construction, as well as leading foundries.
Eisenwerk Würth GmbH is the application partner in this collaborative project. Currently, Eisenwerk Würth GmbH is encountering obstacles in documenting and transferring specialized knowledge from employees in sales, purchasing, and human resources. The key experts in the specialist departments are difficult to replace: while substitutes covering for vacation or sick leave have general subject matter knowledge, they lack specific, procedural knowledge.
Against this backdrop, Eisenwerk Würth, in collaboration with its partners as part of the KIproWork initiative, intends to improve its internal knowledge documentation processes so that the specialized knowledge of relevant employees—which is essential for decision-making and critical to success—can be preserved over the long term and passed on to other employees.
