**5. Methodology**

204 New Research on Knowledge Management Technology

In the construction industry, KM is a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to the creation, capture, sharing and reuse of the domain knowledge of a profession obtained from projects that have been previously undertaken. Most project-related problems, solutions, experience and know-how are in the minds of individual engineers and experts during the construction phase of a project. Implicit knowledge is generally undocumented or stored in a system database. To preserve implicit knowledge as corporate property, capturing the implicit knowledge and making it in the form of explicit experience is a vital aspect of KM. Two broad categories of knowledge are tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is personal, context-specific experience that is difficult to formalize, record or articulate; it is stored in the minds of people (Malhotra, 2000). Tacit knowledge is personal knowledge acquired through individual experience, which is shared and exchanged

**4.1 Previous research in knowledge management in the construction industry** 

through direct, face-to-face contact (Malhotra, 2001; Malhotra, 2000; Tiwana, 2000).

**4.2 Previous research on knowledge maps in construction** 

Numerous research efforts have focused on applications of knowledge management in construction. A Hong Kong study examined the main barriers to effective knowledge sharing, as well as critical factors and benefits in the construction companies in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom (Fong and Chu, 2006). Intelligent representation structures store and access construction domain knowledge and couple it with advanced planning tools to facilitate rapid formulation and assessment of initial construction project plans (Udaipurwala and Russell, 2002). Fong et al. (2007) pointed out that the knowledge-creating capability of value management teams not only enhances the reputation of value management, but also, helps to dispel the perception of value management as an outdated

A knowledge map includes the sources, flows, and points of knowledge within an organization (Liebowitz, 2005). All captured knowledge can be summarized and abstracted through the knowledge map. The knowledge map, also, provides a blueprint for implementing a knowledge management system. Well-developed knowledge maps help users identify intellectual capital, socialize new members and enhance organizational learning (Wexler, 2001). A knowledge map is a consciously designed medium for communication between makers and users of knowledge by a graphical presentation of text, model numbers or symbols (Wexler, 2001). Knowledge mapping helps users understand the relationship between stored knowledge and dynamics. Knowledge maps have been applied in various applications, including development of knowledge maps for knowledge management software tools (Noll et al., 2002). Numerous research efforts have focused on the use of knowledge maps to support various knowledge management tasks (McAleese, 1998). Davenport and Prusak (1998) observed that developing a knowledge map involves locating significant knowledge in an organization and publishing a list or image that indicates a roadmap to locate it. Mind maps (Buzan and Buzan, 1993) illustrate the structure of ideas in an associative manner which attempts to represent how ideas are stored in the brain. A concept map provides a structure for conceptualization by groups developing a concept framework that can be evaluated by others (Trochim, 1989). Dynamic knowledge mapping can assist in the reuse of experts'

**4. Background research** 

problem-solving tool.

tacit knowledge (Woo et al., 2004).

Although maps of knowledge representation have been developed for knowledge-based applications, no knowledge map has been developed for knowledge management (KM) in construction. To assist engineers in extracting the knowledge gained from their own experience in projects with which they have been involved, this study proposes a novel topic-based maps (TBM) approach for the application of KM in construction. The TBM help to efficiently illustrate the experiences in the minds of engineers to generate and organize experience within a core topic. The TBM are based on associations flowing outward from a central image in a free-flowing, yet organized, and coherent way. The above content also functions as the experience acquisition tool in the CWTKM system. Furthermore, engineers may access and edit many resources, as attachments, in the system. Hence, the CWTKM system can provide engineers with an experience exchanging environment, as well as a web-based platform for acquiring experience from more experienced engineers.

#### **5.1 Concept of topic-based maps**

The proposed TBM are specific approaches to KM in the construction field. Although knowledge and concept maps are easily recognized in knowledge management, the proposed TBM approach is a novel concept and is specific to construction KM. TBM can be defined as a diagrammatic and graphic representation of experience linking relationships between knowledge and attributes of MAP. The TBM mainly provide assistance for easily and effectively obtaining the necessary experience of users. The primary advantages of TBM are as follows: (1) TBM are simply, clearly and dynamically represented in the CWTKM system; (2) users can easily navigate the CWTKM in order to: a) understand and determine which engineers and experts own special experience related to a problem as it arises, and b) edit their experience based on what the situation may require; (3) TBM enable users' ability to expand flexible knowledge illustration and linkage; and (4) TBM enhance the available visual knowledge illustration in the maps.

TBM are designed to be easily integrated with mind mapping and their construction experience. The key reason for using TBM is the ease with which the combined experience can be understood and reapplied. Figure 2 illustrates an overview and conceptual framework of TBM utilized in construction KM. Like construction project management, KM is based on the concept of undertaking project planning and control activities. Knowledge and experience gained from activities in previous projects can be collected, managed and applied in future projects. Acquired experience from participating engineers can be accessed and saved as map units in categories for efficient collection, management and finally, retrieval for use in the current projects.

#### **5.2 Framework of topic-based maps**

Topic-based Maps (TBM) are defined in multiple levels, and constructed from variables which can be broken down by decomposing the knowledge units into smaller map units into which the acquired knowledge is stored. TBM may be comprised of several layers. The project unit is modelled in the first layer. The second-level layers model Map units (drawing illustration). The lower-level layers model knowledge units. Similarly, any map unit in this lower layer can be broken down further to incorporate other components in lower layers. The map contents can be viewed as either a single point or as ranges. The structure of TBM enables users to access stored knowledge through layers based on the

Enhancing Knowledge Management for Engineers Using Mind Mapping in Construction 207

framework. The procedure consists of the following five primary phases: knowledge determination; knowledge extraction; knowledge attribute; knowledge validation; and,

> Set the attribute of the event

Attach the documents related to event

This section describes the details of the Construction Web Topic-based Maps Knowledge Management (CWTKM) system. The CWTKM system is based on the Microsoft Windows 2003 operating system with Internet Information Server (IIS) as the web server. The prototype is developed using Java Server Pages (JSP), which are easily incorporated with HTML and JavaScript technologies to transform an Internet browser into a user-friendly

Three search functions are supported in the system. The server of the CWTKM system supports four distinct layers: interface, access, application and database layers; each has its own responsibilities. The interface layer defines administrative and end-user interfaces. Users can access information through web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or FireFox. Administrators can control and manage information via the web browser or by using a separate server interface. The access layer provides system security and restricted access, firewall services and system administration functions. The application layer defines various applications for collecting and managing information. These applications offer indexing, knowledge map edition, digital photo/video management functions, full text search, collaborative work and document management functions. The database layer consists of a primary SQL Server 2003 database and a backup database (also based on SQL

All knowledge information in the CWTKM system is centralized in a system database. Project participants may access some or all of these documents through the Internet according to their levels of access authorization. Any information/experience about the

Link related projects

Link related projects

Link related activities

Submit the knowledge Link related people

knowledge sharing.

Identify Topic

Identify Subtopic

Identify Relationship among subtopics

Setup the events

Server 2003).

**6. System implementation** 

Fig. 3. The Flowchart of TBM in knowledge management

interface. Software MindManager is used as mind mapping in the study.

Fig. 2. The application of TBM integrated with mind mapping in knowledge management

attributes and types of acquired knowledge. Knowledge stored in map units of a project map includes both tacit and explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge may be comprised of an knowledge topic, knowledge description and knowledge attachments (documents, reports, drawing and other explicit sources). Tacit knowledge may include problems-faced descriptions, problems-solved explanations, solution suggestions, and know-how explanations. Additionally, TBM give users an overview of available and unavailable knowledge in core project areas, enabling effective management of tacit and explicit knowledge. Identifying the relationship between main topic and subtopic map units is significant for users to link related knowledge together. The system is naturally designed to automatically or manually link activities which are highly similar. For example, the knowledge of a current project can be utilized, and the same or similar map units contributed by past projects can be accessed while the knowledge of current users is being recorded.

Fig. 3 shows the flowchart of TBM in knowledge management. TBM have components and procedures based on construction project management and, thus, differ from existing knowledge maps. The proposed TBM consist of seven components. These seven components are number of knowledge, knowledge topics, knowledge relationships, knowledge owners, knowledge diagrams, knowledge packages, and knowledge attributes. Procedures are presented for constructing TBM based on a knowledge management framework. The procedure consists of the following five primary phases: knowledge determination; knowledge extraction; knowledge attribute; knowledge validation; and, knowledge sharing.

Fig. 3. The Flowchart of TBM in knowledge management
