Knowledge modeling for the preservation of institutional memory

An iterative approach to the elicitation and representation of organizational knowledge called PreSERVe, which stands for prepare, scope, elicit, render, and verify, is presented.

Abstract

After setting the stage by briefly surveying knowledge elicitation techniques, this article presents a description of an iterative approach to the elicitation and representation of organizational knowledge called PreSERVe, which stands for prepare, scope, elicit, render, and verify. The method involves an initial process of preparing for knowledge elicitation, followed by an iterative process of assessing the scope of the endeavor, knowledge elicitation and rendering, and, verification. Use of the PreSERVe method is illustrated by a case study involving work with six senior engineers at NASA Glenn Research Center (NASA GRC), Cleveland, OH, USA.