Just like on the individual level knowledge creation in communities occurs through learning. Since communities as well as individuals are more likely to take learning efforts, if they are attracted by incentives, we believe that for community learning it is most important to provide awareness of potential positive results of the participation in social knowledge processes. Grounding on an activity oriented understanding of community knowledge we propose two complementary design principles, prospective awareness and prospective control, which should support motivation in social knowledge processes.

Empirical studies on workflow usually focus on systems which have already been introduced and on the problems which occur with these systems if exceptional cases differ from the regular business processes. This study focuses on the problems that occur in the early stages of projects intended to introduce workflow systems but which do not inevitably succeed. In most cases the companies under investigation eventually introduced other types of software, or the business processes were merely analysed and improved but not automated during the project. We explain this phenomenon by referring to Orlikowski’s concept of metamorphoses which analysed organizational change under conditions of groupware usage. A number of empirical details in our study of seven companies during a 4-year period can be related to this concept as well as to literature on workflow. In our ex-post study of the workflow projects we concluded that paradoxically starting with a workflow project might be an appropriate way of introducing improvement in cooperation and coordination without using workflow management technology and that concepts for flexible workflow technology are of minor relevance for this improvement.

Special methodological approaches are needed, particularly in the area of modelling, to develop socio-technical systems in the field of CSCW. Engineering tasks and the development of organizational structures have to be integrated including elements of participatory design. From a theoretical background, needs for new modelling concepts can be derived: representation of contingency, explicit incompleteness, multiplicity of perspectives and self-referential meta-relations. Based on these concepts we developed the semi-structured, socio-technical modelling method SeeMe and used it in five empirical cases to assess its practical relevance. We found that SeeMe can help people to become aware of the specific features and requirements of ‘their’ socio-technical system and therefore enables them to take part in processes of learning and improvement.

Die Einführung technischer Wissensmanagementsysteme wird mit dem Ziel der Verbesserung des unternehmensweiten Wissensaustausches verbunden. Dieser Beitrag widmet sich Möglichkeiten der Unterstützung des Wissensaustausches sowie einer detaillierten Beschäftigung mit der Rolle des Metawissens im Wis- sensmanagement. Es werden zunächst technische und organisatorische Möglich- keiten zur Unterstützung des Wissensaustausches vorgestellt, bevor auf verschie- dene Arten des Metawissens eingegangen wird, die die Nutzung des Wissensmanagementsystems für die Zusammenarbeit in einem Projekt sowie den unternehmensweiten Wissensaustausch beeinflussen. Schließlich werden Mög- lichkeiten der Förderung des Metawissens vorgeschlagen, indem die verschiede- nen Arten des Metawissens zu bestehenden technischen Wissensmanagementsys- temen in Beziehung gesetzt werden. Eine der technischen Komponenten von Wissensmanagementsystemen zur Erzeugung des Metawissens sind Awareness- mechanismen, die in diesem Beitrag beispielhaft vertiefend erläutert werden. Dazu werden hier zunächst Awarenenssmechanismen in bestehenden Systemen und ihre Möglichkeiten zur Förderung des Metawissens vorgestellt. Zugleich werden neue- re Entwicklungen präsentiert, die sich auf einige, bislang wenig unterstützte Arten des Metawissens beziehen.

Patterns, which are based on in-depth practical experience, can be instructing for the design of groupware applications as socio-technical systems. On the basis of a summary of the concept of patterns - as elaborated by the architect Christopher Alexander - its adoptions within computer science are retraced and relationships to the area of groupware are described. General principles for patterns within this domain are formulated and supported by examples from a wide range of experience with knowledge management systems. The analysis reveals that every pattern of a groupware application has to combine the description of social as well as technical structures, and that a single pattern can only be understood in the context of a pattern language. It also shows that such a language has to integrate patterns of socio-technical solutions with measures and procedures for introducing them, and that the language not only has to express one type of directed relationship between the patterns but a variety of different types which have to be deliberately assigned to the patterns.

Einer der Schlüsselfaktoren für ein erfolgreiches Wissensmanagement in Organisationen ist die Integration der Wissensarbeit in die Geschäftsprozesse, da das Wissen als besonders wertvoll eingeschätzt wird, das die Effektivität und die Effizienz der Organisation in ihren Kerngeschäftsprozessen erhoht.

We found evidence in several cases that semi-structured modelling methods are quite helpful to model cooperative work. How can our positive findings with modelling be related to those publications which emphasize a sceptical view on representing work with models and list a number of problems, risks and inappropriatenesses with respect to the explicit representation of cooperative work? In this paper we evaluate the chances and risks of modelling based on three case studies. Various arguments about impacts of mode lling are assigned to a framework differentiating the following three levels: A) perceiving and reflecting of structure, B) explicating, articulating and negotiating structures and C) contributing to the developing of structures. Within this framework we discuss possible chances and risks from literature and from our case studies. We argue that improved methods, notations and tools can help to reduce or even avoid the risks and use the chances for cooperative work. We found evidence in several cases that semi-structured modelling methods are quite helpful to model cooperative work (10). This semi-structured method avoids the equalization of modelling and formalization (e.g. (3), referring to (15)). However there remain some central questions: How can our positive findings with modelling be related to those parts of the literature which emphasize a sceptical view on representing work with models (e.g.(14)) and list a number of problems, risks and inappropriateness with respect to the explicit representation of cooperative work. And furthermore, if the answer about the usefulness of explicit representations is not just yes or no, what are the criteria according to which we can compare the benefits with the risks and costs of developing explicit models of cooperative work - and how relate these criteria to the literature as well as to empirical case studies. To answer these questions in this paper, we start with a framework (fig. 1) which differentiates between three levels of structuring. The three levels are helpful to assign the different orientations of the arguments on explicit representation of cooperative work which are given in the discourse: A. Individual mental models are developed in interaction with the perception of the structure of parts of the reality (such as work processes, organizational units) B. Mental models are made explicit and structure is developed in interrelation with the method of representation and by combining the viewpoints of different individuals

Review of digital educational resources, such as course modules, simulations, and data analysis tools, can differ from review of scholarly articles, in the heterogeneity and complexity of the resources themselves. The Partnership Review Model, as demonstrated in two cases, appears to promote cooperative interactions between distributed resource reviewers, enabling reviewers to effectively divide up the task of reviewing complex resources with little explicit coordination. The shared structural outline of the resource made visible in the review environment enables participants to monitor other reviewers' actions and to thus target their efforts accordingly. This reviewing approach may be effective in educational digital libraries that depend on community volunteers for most of their reviewing.

Mehr und Mehr setzt sich seit einiger Zeit in Forschung und Praxis des Wissensmanagements die Erkenntnis durch, dass Verzogerungen, überflüssige Wiederholungen, vermei dbare Ruckschritte und Abbruche in Abläufen ein wesentliches Hemmnis fur den Erfolg von Wissensmanagementsystemen darstellen. So werden unterschiedliche Ansätze fur eine prozessorientierte Unterstützung der Wissensarbeit entwickelt, von denen die wichtigsten aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum in diesem Band vertreten sind.

This paper discuses some issues experienced during three cases, where structures were made explicit. There are wanted benefits as well as unwanted costs from these kind of projects. Organizational transparency for participants, testing planned organization by organizational walkthroughs, getting confidence for practice and avoiding conflicts and enhancing effectiveness and efficiency of a designed solution are wanted outcomes of systematic structurization. On the other hand we are aware of several costs like the effort for participation, the effort to keep models alive, problems with violations of presumptions and exceptions to prescribed conditions or possible hindrances of innovation. These issues are arguments for a need for a careful analysis of possible outcomes. In many cases the wanted benefits will outweigh the costs if appropriate actions to reduce costs and avoid negative outcomes are taken.

Dieser Beitrag faßt die Quintessenz der Ergebnisse des MOVE-Projekts zusammen. Als Einleitung gibt der Bericht einen Überblick Müber den Stand der drei geförderten Betriebsprojekte. Anschließend werden Erfahrungen mit der EinfMührung von Workflow-Management-Systemen (WMS) und mit der Verbesserung von Geschäftsprozessen berichtet und verglichen. Im letzen Abschnitt geht es um Qualifizierung (“Lernen fMür Workflow„) sowie um die kontinuierliche Weiterentwicklung von Organisation, Technik und Qualifikation (“Lernen mit Workflow„). Die am MOVE-Projekt beteiligten wissenschaftlichen Institute und Firmen ziehen nach drei Jahren Projektlaufzeit ein positives Fazit: Die im wissenschaftlichen Umfeld entwickelten Methoden haben sich in der Praxis bewährt und die Firmen nach vorne gebracht. Die Erfahrungen der Praxis waren wertvoll fMür die Weiterentwicklung der Theorie. Aufbauend auf den Ergebnissen des MOVE-Projekts ist die Verbesserung von Geschäftsprozessen mit flexiblen WMS heute mit weniger Risiken verbunden und insgesamt einfacher geworden.

Novel selective herbicidal compositions comprising an herbicidally effective amount of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of N-methyl-N-isopropylthio-N'-phenyl-urea, N-methyl-N-(2-chloroethylthio)-N'-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-urea, N-methyl-N-n-butylthio-N'-(4-isopropylphenyl)-urea, N-methyl-N-isopropylthio-N'-(4-isopropylphenyl)-urea, N-methyl-N-isopropylthio-N'-(3,4-dimethylphenyl)-urea and N-methyl-N-n-butylthio-N'-(3,4-dimethylphenyl)-urea and a carrier and a method of selectively killing weeds in cereal crops and fields of beets.

Diagrammatic representations are commonly accepted as valuable tools in requirements engineering and systems design. However, the most prominent techniques, are not sufficient for requirements negotiation with users because they focus on the design of technical systems. In user-centered design of socio-technical systems there is a strong demand for models which integrate different viewpoints. We believe that appropriate semi-formal diagramming techniques can facilitate the negotiation of the design, especially when they are combined with additional representations. Therefore we have designed a notation that supports the generation of integrated models of organizational, social, and technical structures e.g. business processes, social relations and dependencies among protagonists, resources, work-objects, and software functionality. SeeMe, the diagramming-technique for modeling semistructured socio-technical systems moreover provides special concepts for the representation of vagueness, incompleteness, and contradictions that are inherent to user requirements. In this paper we present a first evaluation of the SeeMe-diagramming technique. The results are drawn from four different case-studies. We briefly introduce the main features of the SeeMe-Diagramming technique and subsequently present the result of our evaluation according to four aspects.

Acknowledging the “untidiness of knowledge work”, we agree that organizational learning calls for flexible and adaptable IT support. However, recurring situations which generate experience or information needs require appropriate functionality. In this paper we suggest an approach to d esigning KM applications that complies with situated learning and situated information needs without restraining creativity and flexibility of knowledge processes.