Strategy development, new product introduction, marketing research, and financial budgeting, are a few examples of Knowledge Intensive Business Processes (KIBPs). These processes tend to be complex and time consuming, requiring collaboration and the sharing of expertise within specific work contexts. There appears to be an intuitive awareness of processes that are more knowledge intensive than others. This paper attempts to identify the characteristics that constitute knowledge intensity of a business process. Using a case study methodology, we examine a number of very different KIBPs in large organizations. We identify the tasks needed to be completed within these processes, the decisions made, and the information and knowledge brought to bear on the decisions. Our analysis abstracts these observations into a framework of process and decision characteristics for recognizing key KIBPs within an organization with a view to explore decision support needs of knowledge workers participating in KIBPs.
[...] These processes have activities that can benefit from input of knowledge (from knowledge workers/decision makers, external knowledgeable experts, knowledge repositories, etc.). Such business processes are referred to as Knowledge Intensive Business Processes Whereas common business processes are characterized by predefined process structure and repeated tasks that are fulfilled based on the underlying process model which contains information, tasks and user roles,” KIBPs are characterized by diversity of information sources and media types, use of creativity, a high degree of innovation and have a wide decision range [10]. [...]
[...] New client scoping procedures involves generation of substantial new knowledge about the client's business, systems, and controls embedded within its IT operations. In the case of an existing client, a large part of such knowledge may have been previously captured and archived. Both senior and junior staff members work in a collaborative environment to complete the scoping activity. Scoping results in understanding the client's business and evaluating the chances of fraud misappropriations of assets or misstatements of financial results (on purpose or by accident). [...]
[...] The topics of these questions covered the stages of the business process, tasks comprising the process, knowledge workers and groups involved and their roles, decisions made, actual knowledge exchanged, information/knowledge repositories utilized, information system (including KMSs), if any, available to knowledge workers, outcome measures of the process, key performance indicators, incentive structures, if any, etc. After this initial session, the authors mapped the entire process using a process flow diagramming tool in great detail. The second step was to validate each process diagram with the respective participant in an hour-long face-to-face session, clarifying doubts, correcting errors in understanding, etc. [...]
[...] Table KIBP Characteristics Characteristics Complexity of the process Indicators of Characteristics Higher number of stages/phases Greater number of agents involved Greater interdependence between stages and agents Greater levels of uncertainty and ambiguity Multiple sources of information/knowledge needed for the process Higher agent impact on the decision making process and its outcomes Greater number of options available to agents Greater number of criteria considered during decision making Higher order problem solving Creativity and innovation in the process Greater amount of time required to acquire expertise Greater knowledge obsolescence Decision making within the process Role of Decision-Maker Complexity of the process is an intrinsic property of the process itself. [...]
[...] Similarly, at other decision points, different types of knowledge and systems to support the decisions can make the business process more effective. Figure 1 shows examples of different types of knowledge (technical, functional, market, etc.) needed at various decision points within the process Research Methodology We followed a case study approach using a two-stage data collection strategy. The purpose was to collect high-quality data from several subjects who were truly involved in KIBPs in their organizations, who were intimately familiar with the entire (end-to-end) process, and who could describe all major stages of the process along with all its nuances. [...]
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