This chapter covers the following topics:
Oracle Knowledge Management is an information management system that uses knowledge capture, storage, and distribution tools that Oracle has developed. Implementing Oracle Knowledge Management provides the features of solution search, creation, organization, and access to new solutions. Oracle Knowledge Management provides focused results that more directly relate to the issue being researched, thus reducing the cost of providing service while increasing customer satisfaction and gaining an edge over competitors.
Oracle Knowledge Management provides solution management functionality to other Oracle Applications, such as Oracle iSupport, Oracle TeleService, Oracle Field Service, Oracle Depot Repair, Oracle Customer Support, and Oracle EMail Center. The architecture supports diverse use. Other Oracle products share the architecture.
You can classify information in Oracle Knowledge Management into different subject areas. You can set up different levels of access controls to restrict the access of information for different types of users.
Key features in Oracle Knowledge Management include:
Flexible Structure of Knowledge
The flexible structure of knowledge offers you:
In Oracle Knowledge Management, solutions are segregated in categories or folders for browsing or for performing a category-specific search for solutions.
A merchant can categorize solutions for retrieval by its users. A user can choose a category or a subcategory during search to direct the search to a specific information area.
Creation and Searching by Multiple Solution Types
Information in Oracle Knowledge Management is organized into solutions, which is a collection of statements. You can create multiple Solution Types to organize solutions. You can also search by either the Symptom-Cause-Action (default) Solution Type or any other Solution Type, such as Problem and Resolution, that you can create.
Solution Security allows you to restrict which areas of the knowledge base that users can search and browse. It also provides the ability to control the categories for which a knowledge worker can create and update solutions.
Security for solutions and solution categories are based on:
Category Security Group (also known as Category Group): Controls the part of the category tree that you can access.
Visibility: Indicates how sensitive the category, solution or statement is on a linear scale. Solution and category visibility are extensible.
Oracle Knowledge Management provides searching capability through both structured and unstructured content. The application integrates with Oracle Text to provide the text searching functionality through structured knowledge such as service requests, solutions, and categories. Oracle Knowledge Management allows you to search using different search options, such as Any Keywords, or All Keywords. To focus search results, you can search for solutions under different products, platforms, or categories.
Scoring of each solution is based on the text match that Oracle Text performs. The maximum score is 100. Solution scores vary depending on the search method that you are using.
The search score can incorporate users' feedback.
Oracle Knowledge Management provides the Simple Search to allow you to search for solutions and other useful information, such as service requests messages. You can include different repositories in the Simple Search. If you would like to perform a more detailed and expanded search on solutions, you can use the Advanced Solution Search.
With the enterprise search capability, which utilizes Oracle Secure Enterprise Search, you can search for unstructured content stored in external repositories such as file servers, in addition to the structured content stored in the Oracle Knowledge Management repository. The enterprise search capability is available both during the standalone knowledge search flow and the knowledge search flow during service request creation.
Oracle Knowledge Management provides the functionality to create, update, and approve solutions. A solution is a structured piece of knowledge that consists of the following primary attributes: title, type, Visibility, an associated category, and statements. You can classify solutions by associating the solutions to items (products) or platforms. Solution can also contain attachments, task group templates, and references to external objects.
Oracle Knowledge Management provides an HTML content creation tool for those who create statements through the Rich Text Editor. While creating a statement, you can find matching statements in the knowledge base to prevent duplication. You can reuse statements in more than one solution.
When you work on a solution, you can lock the solution and work on a local copy before the solution is ready to submit for approval.
When the solution is ready for submission, you can preview the solution before submitting it. The preview allows users to detect any potential errors and correct mistakes in the solution content.
Solution reviewers can use comments as a communication channel.
Oracle Knowledge Management integrates with:
Oracle TeleService
Oracle Customer Support
Oracle Depot Repair
Oracle Field Service
Oracle iSupport
Oracle Email Center
Oracle Partner Management
Users of all these applications can search the same knowledge base for solutions and contribute new solutions to the knowledge base. For information on how these products integrate with Oracle Knowledge Management, see Integration.
The hardware and software components required to implement Oracle Knowledge Management largely depend on your particular installation. For information on system requirements, see Oracle E-Business Suite Installation Guide: Using Rapid Install and the Oracle E-Business Suite CRM System Administrator's Guide.