24-hour knowledge factory: Using Internet technology to leverage spatial and temporal separations

ABSTRACT

Several of the outsourcing endeavors of today will gradually converge to a hybrid outsourcing model that will involve a team spread across three or more strategically-located centers interconnected by Internet technology. White-collar professionals in the US, Australia, and Poland, for example, could each work on a standard 9--5 basis, transfer the activity to a colleague in the next center, thereby enabling work to be performed on a round-the-clock basis. The effective use of sequential workers in such a 24-hour knowledge factory requires that professional tasks be broken down to the level where individuals can work on them with minimal interaction with their peers, and where new approaches can be employed to reduce the effort involved in transitioning from one employee to the next. This article describes an Internet-based prototype system that uses a Web-based interactive approach, coupled with a unique data model, to optimize collection and storage of design rationale and history from stakeholders and workers. The idea of multiple individuals acting as one “composite persona” is explored in the context of facilitating tasks and knowledge to be shared across the Internet in a seamless manner. The article also describes related activities in the commercial arena.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.0 General

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.9 Management

General Terms:
Design, Economics, Management

Keywords:
Knowledge management, geographic boundaries, global teams, knowledge sharing, outsourcing, temporal boundaries