Table I.
Functional Classification of KM Tools. Adapted from (7)
| Class | Definition | References |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | ||
| Knowledge and data capture | Allows gathering and integration of data, going from basic paper to software and hardware applications with functionalities similar to a scientific notebook. It includes electronic laboratory notebooks, data logging and best practice reports. | Data integration platforms for R&D production (9), electronic data capture supporting lab work (10). |
| Retrieval | Tools used to obtain specific data from structured sources through use of Query and Answer platforms or an automated intelligent agent. | Medical information retrieval (11), retrieval in dynamic data management for chemical process operations (12) |
| Data and text mining | Applications that explore large volumes of data to find hidden patterns, creating previously unknown information from it. | Mining biological molecules structure (13), visual data mining (14). |
| Storage | ||
| Knowledge and data bases | Secondary sources for retrieval at different levels of abstraction including those with very complex forms of knowledge. They have several dimensions to be catalogued in, like syntactic vs. semantic integration, warehousing vs. federation, declarative vs. procedural access, generic vs. hard coded and relational vs. non-relational based data model. | Databases in regulatory reviews (15), libraries for clinical trials (16), data repositories for chemical kinetics (17). |
| Maps, Taxonomies and ontologies | While taxonomies and maps are hierarchical representations of knowledge, ontology defines and semantically describes the data and information, being the basis for modeling different forms of knowledge. They create a common, explicit, and platform-independent vocabulary that is both machine accessible and human usable. | Holistic ontologies in pharmaceutical engineering (18), ontologies for pharmaceutical mathematical knowledge modeling (19) |
| Analysis | ||
| Visualization | Information arrangement that displays a set of data easily understood by a wide audience. Graphs, charts and Response Surface Methods are included. | Visualizing metabolic networks (20), Response Surface Methodology in biotechnology (21) |
| Statistical analyzers | Provide quantitative measure of the inherent variability of a phenomena, assessing the current state of control and enabling process improvement. | Chemometrics-based PAT (22), Integrated statistical platforms to laboratory management (23) |
| Intelligent agents | Decision support tools that are grounded in the emulation of skills for reasoning and inference. Their system is composed by a knowledge base, an inference engine and an interface for the user. | Intelligent process management in continuous pharmaceutical operations (24), intelligent decision support in pharmaceutical development (25) |
| Models and simulation | Effective integration of knowledge, information, and assumptions with experimental data in one unified representation, to predict outcomes and express relationships. | Modeling in decision making for drug development (26), multiscale pharmaceutical mechanistic modeling (27) |
| Dissemination | ||
| Network and web technologies | Interfaces and platforms that help to interconnect resources inside the boundaries of an organization, exploiting the knowledge within the firm. Externalization can be achieved through the use of web technologies (e.g. corporate portals) aiming to the establishment of virtual organizations. | Pharmaceutical factory monitoring system based on Ethernet (28), virtual organizations for pharmaceutical engineering and science (29) |
| Collaboration | Community participation applications like groupware, collaborative project management software and electronic conferencing tools, used for accessing to a firm’s external knowledge or facilitating research partnerships. | Communities and collaboration in discovery and development (30), collaborative drug discovery (31) |
| Document management systems | This tools are found in the interface between storage and dissemination, they locate documents inside a clear management police and keep track of their status and versions. | Modern document management in the regulatory context (32), electronic document management (33) |
| Support | ||
| KM frameworks | An organized set of ideas, principles, information, rules and definitions that configure the structure of a knowledge management initiative. | Frameworks in process KM (4), a framework for knowledge-based diagnostic systems in batch chemical processes (34) |
| KM models | A theoretical representation of the desired or actual state of a system, making special emphasis on the knowledge actors, flows, constrains and relationships | Process model for knowledge management in plant maintenance (35), structural model of knowledge management across borders (36) |
| KM strategies | Plan or direction to achieve the goals of knowledge management so it can react to uncertain environments. | Strategies for drug knowledge transfer process in pharmaceutical marketing (37), strategies to manage knowledge flows between high-tech firms and universities (38) |
| KM indicators | Figures that represent the level of success for a given knowledge management activity, aiming to assess its performance in concordance with a stated goal in the KM strategy | Measurement scale for knowledge management in biotechnology (39), Structural influence index in KM (40) |