& Research Article

Knowledge-Oriented Process PortalWith BPM Approach to Leverage NPDManagement

Henrique Rozenfeld*, Creusa Sayuri Tahara Amaral,Janaina Mascarenhas Hornos da Costa and Andrea Padovan Jubileu

University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil

New product development (NPD) processes can be improved through change projects managedin a context of business process management (BPM). In order to fully characterize andimplement NPD process change projects it is necessary to be able to identify and adequatelydescribe ‘‘to-be’’ processes. These ‘‘to-be’’ processes should be based on best practices, which canbe structured into NPD reference models and body of knowledge (BOK). Despite the availabilityof NPD BOKs today, they are not easily applicable to process improvement, since they arepublished in on- and off-line guidelines that are unsuitable for dynamic updating by acollaborative network such as a community of practice (CoP). A proposal is therefore putforward for the collaborative systematization of best practices through a two-level portal externaland internal to an organization, enabling users to participate in creating generic and public NPDreference models and BOKs. The proposal allows for the selection of a specific reference modeland an existing BOK as required. This paper presents the main concepts underlying the proposaland its methodology, which focuses on agile project management (APM). It also describes theportal vision and the main deliverables of this research, with emphasis on the concept of theknowledge-oriented process (KOP) portal. Three prototypes based on this concept are shown,which represent the evolutionary development of the KOP portal. Finally, the main results of theapplication are presented and discussed. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

INTRODUCTION

New product development (NPD) is a businessprocess (BP) aimed at converting market opportu-nities, technology, and customer needs into tech-nical and commercial solutions. To apply new bestpractices and ensure the optimization of processes,NPD requires a management approach based on

integrated business process management (BPM).BPM, together with strategic planning, providesperformance metrics that are used to monitorbusiness and NPD processes (Costa et al., 2007).The continuous improvement of a BP may, in turn,be based on a reference model. BP reference modelscomprise a collection of best practices that serve todefine a specific BP (also known as a standardprocess) for an organization. This generic referencemodel can also be used to benchmark and define anew to-be model, so change projects may contributeto transforming an as-is into a to-be situationrepresented in the model. Thus, a NPD referencemodel promotes a single product-development

Knowledge and Process Management

Volume 16 Number 3 pp 134–145 (2009)

Published online in Wiley InterScience

(www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/kpm.330

*Correspondence to: Henrique Rozenfeld, Department of Pro-duction Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Ave. TrabalhadorSao-carlense 400, Sao Carlos 13566-590, SP, Brazil.E-mail: roz@sc.usp.br

Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

vision for the benefit of all involved, placing allstakeholders at the same level of knowledge.

Existing reference-model elements (i.e., specify-ing work instructions, activities, information, tools,methods, templates, and best practices) must beadapted to the company’s NPD maturity levels.These elements may involve materials such asinstructional publications; guides for method appli-cation; case descriptions for benchmarking; booksdesigned to teach the basics of groups of activities;specialist resumes or even technology supplierswho support firms in implementing best practices;descriptions and further resources (e.g., spread-sheet and software) related to the application of bestpractices, etc. These knowledge objects alwaysrepresent explicit knowledge and may includedescriptions of tacit knowledge. These are dynamicelements, subject to updating by members of anorganization or a community of practice (CoP). Allthe participants contribute to collaborative creationand information sharing, which becomes the so-called body of knowledge (BOK). Linking anelement of a BP model to a knowledge object anda specific best practice within a BOK gives peoplethe opportunity to learn by themselves, which, inturn, may lead to process improvement within theirorganizations.

Few companies are aware of the advantages ofsuch practices, few continuously improve theirNPD processes, and most of them carry out changeprojects only occasionally. In addition to low levelsof competence, the explanation for this is lack oftools that facilitate the integration of a specificreference model with a generic one. Furthermore,such situations reflect the absence of a dynamic andcollaboratively created BOK linked to BP modelelements.

The fundamental question that now presentsitself is whether a feasible framework can be createdupon which to support the management of BPreference models integrated in a knowledge man-agement environment. This framework shouldsupport the development of an ICT (informationcommunication technology) tool, e.g., a portal, tosupport knowledge sharing among partners in a BP.In this paper, we focus on a NPD process.

This work proposes a knowledge-oriented pro-cess (KOP) portal based on a generic framework,i.e., an environment that enables organizations todefine and manage their own NPD referencemodels (standard process)—or even to use existinggeneric reference models—and to continuouslyupdate the associated BOK. The portal shouldenable access to reference models, their elements,and related knowledge insertions, to be shared byall stakeholders in a company; as well as lessons

learned and best practices related to the models.Furthermore, it would permit participation in a CoPthat allows for knowledge sharing and contact withspecialists.

It is important to emphasize that the use of thistechnology should be tailored to other businessrequirements and approaches, such as balancedscore cards, knowledge management, organiz-ational learning, human resources management,etc., all of which contribute to continuous processimprovement.

In the balance of the paper Section 2 outlines BPMaccording to the aforementioned concept, describ-ing NPD process management integrated withBPM. BPM features are referred to in creating aframework for continuous improvement of NPDprocesses. Section 3 then discusses the importanceof NPD reference models and demonstrates howBOKs can aid in process improvement. In establish-ing referencemodels and corresponding knowledgesources we are proposing a tool to supportcollaboration and knowledge sharing, thus Section4 describes the main concepts of knowledge sharingand CoP, and describes advanced web portals forthis purpose. Section 5 presents the methodology,vision and conceptual model of the portal, as well asprototypes that have been developed and the resultsof practical applications. The paper closes with ourconclusions, in Section 6.

BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT(BPM)

BPM is equally about business and technology(Smith and Fingar, 2003). From the vantage point ofbusiness, BPM is regarded as a best practicemanagement principle to help companies maintaina competitive edge. From a holistic perspective,BPM combines total quality management (TQM),which is incremental, evolutionary and continuousin nature, and process re-engineering, which isradical, revolutionary, and regarded as a one-timeundertaking suitable in most circumstances forperformance improvement (Hung, 2006). A cur-rently developing trend is the application of BPM toinnovation and innovation processes (Smith andFingar, 2003).

Several authors, however, see BPM as a techno-logical tool, an evolutionary step beyond workflowmanagement systems (Aalst et al., 2003). From thisperspective, the BPM life cycle has four phases:process design, system configuration, processenactment, and diagnosis. Traditional workflowmanagement (systems) focus on the process designand BPM enactment phases of the BPM lifecycle

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(Aalst, 2004). Although workflow technologyshould be considered when NPD process improve-ment is related to the introduction of product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, this paperfocuses on the business vision of BPM, since itsobjective is to integrate NPD process improvementswithin a broader BPM framework.

Hung (Hung, 2006) defines BPM as an integratedmanagement philosophy and a set of practices thatincorporate both incremental and radical changes inbusiness processes, emphasizing continuousimprovement, customer satisfaction, and employeeinvolvement. BPM is a structured and systematicapproach to the analysis, improvement, control, andmanagement of processes to increase the quality ofproducts and services. This approach depends onthe alignment of business operations with strategicpriorities, operational elements, the use of moderntools and techniques, human involvement and,most importantly, a horizontal focus that can bestmeet and satisfy customer requirements in anoptimized way (Zairi, 1997; Mckay and Radnor,1998).

BPM, which manages company performanceindicators, should be integrated into strategic plandeployment from which change projects areusually derived. These projects can be either smallimprovements (e.g., executing kaizens) or majorchanges (e.g., implementing new standard pro-cesses). An NPD process, currently recognized asone of the key processes by which to enhancecompetitiveness (Buyukozkan et al., 2007), shouldbe consistent with BPM strategies in order meet acompany’s strategic goals. The next section dis-cusses how reference models in BPM contribute toNPD improvements.

IMPORTANCE OF REFERENCE MODELSIN NPD

Ulrich and Eppinger (Ulrich and Eppinger, 2003)define the NPD process as a sequence of steps oractivities employed by an enterprise in the con-ception, design and commercialization of a product.These activities permit the interchange of infor-mation (Browning and Eppinger, 2002).

NPD is a BP implemented by a group of people totransform data on market opportunities and tech-nical possibilities into useful information for thedesign of a commercial product (Clark and Fujimoto,1991). NPD is considered a critical BP to increasecompany competitiveness, diversity and productmix—especially on the international market—andto reduce the product life cycle (Buyukozkan et al.,2007; Rozenfeld, 2007).

Product development requires interdepartmentalcooperation, and involves people with differentareas of expertise and varying levels of experience.Thus, effective communication is critical in imple-menting NPD as a continuous learning process(Soderquist, 2006; Bradfield and Gao, 2007).

Efficient management of product developmentdepends on making the process visible to allstakeholders (Costa et al., 2007), which results in arepresentation that describes the company’s BP(Pernici and Weske, 2006). This representation isknown as the business process reference model. Ageneric reference model is usually developed forindividual industrial sectors. Companies withineach sector can then create their standard processmodels by adapting the generic reference model totheir own specificities. Thereafter, NPD projects canbe mapped out. By means of a reference model, asingle product-development-vision can be attained,bringing all the stakeholders participating in aspecific development to the same level of knowl-edge (Rozenfeld, 2007).

Some examples of NPD reference models, withdifferent levels of detail, are: Stage-gate Process(Cooper, 2001), Pahl & Beitz Model (Pahl and Beitz,2003), Product Design and Development Model(Ulrich and Eppinger, 2004), CMMI (SoftwareEngineering Institute, 2006), and PDPnet referencemodel (Amaral and Rozenfeld, 2007; Rozenfeld,2007), which is adopted herein as a generic NPDreference model. This model synthesizes NPD bestpractices, which are structured into the followingphases: strategic product planning, project plan-ning, informational design, conceptual design,detailed design, production preparation, productlaunching, product and process follow-up, andproduct discontinuation (Amaral and Rozenfeld,2007; Rozenfeld, 2007).

The PDPnet model highlights the integration ofstrategic planning and portfolio management; theincorporation of PMBOK concepts (Project Manage-ment Institute, 2004) into the planning phase; thedefinition of integrated iterative cycles (detailingproduct acquisition and product cycle optimiz-ation) in the detailed design phase; the insertion ofoptimization activities; and integration of theproduct launching phase, wherein other businessprocesses such as technical assistance and salesprocesses are defined and implemented.

These reference models have been developed tocapture processes and data abstractly and mayrepresent the best practice solutions for a specificindustry. The models usually cover the entire rangeof solution components such as product models,business rules, data models, and service models(Kuster et al., 2006). Once developed, a reference

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model for a specific problem domain may beutilized in different ways (Fettke and Loos, 2003):

1. To provide a framework for the identification,development, and coordination of related stan-dards, while facilitating communication amongstakeholders.

2. To develop more specialized models to supportspecific requirements and scenarios (standardprocesses).

3. To map onto a collection of software componentsand data flows between those components and toobtain a reference architecture that can be refinedby adding sufficient implementation details,resulting in a system architecture.

4. To permit the use of an architecture-baseddevelopment process. Architecture-based devel-opment is characterized by combining or integrat-ing separately developed components into afunctional entity, while respecting constraintsand the organizational structure imposed by thesystem architecture (and the reference model).Suchdevelopment is generally thought to increasequality and/or to be cost-saving, during bothsystem development and normal operational life.

The benefits of reference models are widelyrecognized, but there is still a lack of understandingabout the types of reference models that should beused for specific applications (Fettke and Loos,2003). Moreover, existing reference models arelimited and their content is somewhat static, i.e.,they tend to represent a frozen collection of bestpractices rather than sources of alternativeapproaches and and support for the improvementof NPD knowledge. As a result, they typically donot allow for updating, and hence, for continuousimprovement through the sharing of structuredNPD knowledge by an online community, nor aremost of them open for free access. Sometimes thelevel of detail is insufficient to support themodelingof detailed activity procedures. Only some of themoffer an integrated maturity model to support thesmooth evolution of a company’s specific model.Furthermore, it is not easy to find a flexible changemethod associated to a model that allows for theimplementation of a to-be model within the BP. Inthe following section, some ways to share knowl-edge—knowledge sharing concepts and portals—are explained in the next section.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING, COMMUNITYOF PRACTICE, AND WEB PORTALS

Given that knowledge is a strategic resource forcompanies, researchers, and managers have sought

to determine new ways to efficiently gather andmanage these resources to produce new knowledge(Hahn and Subramani, 2000).

However, the accumulated knowledge of anorganization is only strategically useful whenshared, synthesized, and used in unique ways(Zahra et al., 2007). Hence, companies mustimplement specific practices to share and dissemi-nate their knowledge so as to build and strengthentheir technological capabilities or skill set to buildupon and leverage in capitalizing on differenttechnologies and systems.

There are two complementary viewpoints aboutknowledge sharing (Zahra et al., 2007). The first,known as formalized knowledge sharing, considersknowledge as a collectable, storable, and retrievableartifact (Leonard-Barton, 1995). In this case, organ-izational knowledge can be packaged and trans-ferred by means of structured and formal knowl-edge-sharing practices. The second, called informalknowledge sharing, regards knowledge as tacit,socially constructed, and collectively held byindividuals throughout the organization (Nonakaand Konno, 1998).

Collective knowledge sharing can be supportedand nurtured by communities of practice (Yoo et al.,2007). Wenger (Wenger, 1998) describes commu-nities of practice as the source of an evolutionarygroup-learning process. Such communities consistof three basic elements: domain, community, andpractice (Wenger et al., 2002). Domain refers to thesubject selected by a community, the knowledge ofwhich is shared and accumulated. Communities arecomprised of interacting people who build relation-ships around a given domain. They create thepossibility of collaborative learning about how toaddress and deal with issues that interest com-munity members. A fundamental aspect of com-munity is the effective information sharing, which isconducive to the construction of new accumulatedknowledge.

The community’s experience and collaborationare worked into ‘‘artifacts’’ (e.g., symbols, pro-cedures, rules, technology, products, lessonslearned, etc.) (Wenger et al., 2002). Communitiesare cultural entities that emerge from virtual or non-virtual organizations. Virtual communities aregroups that use networked technologies to com-municate and collaborate across geographicalbarriers and time zones (Johnson, 2001).

Nowadays, markets demand higher quality andhigher performance products, with shorter andmore predictable life cycles and lower costs.Therefore, companies use information and com-munication technologies in NPD to acceleratethe process, increase productivity, facilitate team

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collaboration, communication and co-ordination,foster versatility, produce and share knowledgeabout new products, improve decisions about newproducts, and to develop superior products (Ozer,2004; Buyukozkan et al., 2007).

For such purposes, portals can be profitably usedto promote the integration of people, and forapplications and services through a single accesssite. Portals allow for the collection, management,sharing, and utilization of information (e.g., textualdocuments, web pages, images, videos, sound, etc.)available in multiple sources, such as applicationdatabases (Benbya et al., 2004; Smith, 2004). There-fore, portals can include administration, research,content management, and collaboration tools,among others.

Portals can be classified as environment-related(public or corporate) and function-related (decisionsupport and/or collaborative) portals (Dias, 2001).Public portals, also known as internet portals, webportals or consumer portals provide a singleinterface for the entire network of Internet servers.Corporate portals, which have evolved fromintranets, comprise new tools that enable theidentification, capture, storage, retrieval, and distri-bution of vast amounts of information frommultiple internal and external sources. Decision-support portals help executives, managers, and

analysts gain access to corporate informationin order unify business decisions. Collaborativeportals deal with information from traditionalsupply chains stored and handled by corporateapplications, as well as information produced bygroups or individuals outside of these chains.

A knowledge portal (also called an enterpriseinformation portal) can be classified as a decisionsupport portal as well as a collaborative portal.Thus, we have outlined a proposal for the creationof a KOP portal for continuous NPD processimprovement, which we present in the followingsection.

PROPOSAL OF THE KNOWLEDGE-ORIENTE KOP PORTAL

A hypothetical-deductive approach was adopted todevelop a KOP portal. This methodologicalapproach is more suitable for iteratively developedresearch projects, resulting in many prototypes thattest new hypotheses individually. Whenever aprototype cannot be refuted, the concept is con-sidered robust (Coughlan and Coghlan, 2002). Thehypothesis in this case was the KOP itself. Thisportal facilitates both access to referencemodels andsystematic knowledge sharing to improve NPD

Figure 1 Project plan based on the agile approach

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processes. In the first implementation, the KOP wasdivided into two portals, namely, ‘‘process’’ and‘‘knowledge.’’ The first process portal prototypeincluded a generic NPD reference model and wasavailable to a CoP, called a PDPnet (Rozenfeld et al.,2002). Subsequently, another prototype, namedIDEAIS, was developed and adopted by a smallcompany. In addition, a more flexible processportal was developed simultaneously with theknowledge portal. Both will be integrated in thefifth iteration.

In this work, we adopted the agile projectmanagement (APM) approach (Highsmith, 2005).The first phase involved the development of theportal vision. This was followed by the outline ofthe project’s scope, after which the project planwas executed. The software development methodadopted here was the rational unified process(RUP) (Kruchten, 2003), which is based on iterativeand incremental development involving thephases of conception, elaboration, construction,and transaction. This method is therefore in linewith APM.

Figure 1 describes the iteration deliverables. Thepartial results obtained so far are associatedwith thefourth iteration. This paper presents the followingdeliverables: portal vision, the conceptual model,PDPnet and IDEAIS prototypes, and the imple-mentation of the process and knowledge portals.

Portal vision

The portal’s mission is to offer an environment thatenables organizations to define and manage theirown NPD reference models (standard processes)—or even to use existing reference models—and tocontinuously update the BOK associated with theirreference models. This mission was divided intotwo main objectives:

1. To manage the BOK associated with the NPDreference model. The BOK can be used colla-boratively within a CoP which produces andshares knowledge about the model’s elements.

2. To offer an environment that enables organiz-ations to manage, i.e., to create, read, update,and delete their own NPD standard process or

Figure 2 The conceptual model of the portal

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to use existing reference models, provided thata system to manage reference models isavailable.

Five main groups of requirements were definedto ensure that these objectives are achievable:

1. That a mode of inserting and developing newreference models be provided. These referencemodels comprise best practices and describeactivities, and information and resources usedtherein, including methods, techniques, and toolsas well as roles played by people involved inelement organization.

2. That portal users (organizations) be allowed touse available reference models as the basis todefine their standard NPD processes. The usersmay adapt the reference model to their require-ments, excluding or inserting model elements.

3. That exchange of reference models be allowedbetween the KOP portal and BP modeling tools.

4. That portal users be empowered to insert NPDknowledge objects and link them to any modelelements, thereby facilitating continuous processimprovement. To this end, lessons learnedthrough the use of the model elements andknowledge about these elements is vital.Reported knowledge may include any BOKobjects of knowledge (described below).

5. That portal users be entitled to participate in aCoP, since this enables management of the BOK

associated with reference models. Furthermore,users can access community comments relatingto the BOK of a given reference model.

Based on these requirements, we elaborated aconceptual model of the portal, as described in thefollowing section, and identified many projectdeliveries.

Portal conceptual model

Figure 2 shows the conceptual model of the portal.The user profile includes professionals, researchers,teachers, students, and all those interested in NPD.User privileges may be stated in the portal, as wellas all viewing possibilities and also areas restrictedto companies, research groups, projects, and com-munities.

The main categories of objects are related toknowledge processes. Reference models may begeneric or standard. Models may include the follow-ing attributes: activities, tasks, input and outputinformation, responsibilities, associated knowledge,methods and tools to be applied, and performanceindicators. The BOK comprises a set of categories,called knowledge objects, such as papers, presenta-tions, books, videos, tools, methods, concepts,systems, cases, best practices, and academic work.These objects may be accessed, commented on, andlinkedtoreferencemodelobjects, sinceanactivity canuse a tool as a resource.

Figure 3 Navigation map model of the PDPnet portal

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The information in the portal can be accessed indifferent ways according to the user’s needs. TheBOK or reference model contains detailed infor-mation on any object. However, dynamic knowl-edge insertion and updating depend on usercommitment to the community.

This portal is based on a knowledge-managementontology, which contributes to the formalization ofconcepts about product development and relationsamong those concepts. Its aim is to help usersretrieve and reuse knowledge available in the KOP.The KOP can also be applied in organizations thathave their own specific model and BOK.

Reference models can be visualized through atree structure. The models’ structure is determined

by the information hierarchy, i.e., process, phases,and activities, and the latter can be associated toresources. For instance, a NPD tool such as QFD(quality function deployment) can be associated toan activity, enabling users to access additionalinformation, such as real examples of application,best practices, etc. Work instructions of a specificorganization may also be linked to that activityand to the people responsible for it.

Since the ability to import process models fromother modeling tools is essential, models cancurrently be imported from ARPO1 (KlugSolutions, 2007), a modeling tool. New modelingtools are now being evaluated with a view tointegrating them into the KOP Portal. The next stage

Figure 4 Web pages of the PDPnet portal

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will involve the incorporation of an imported XMLrepresentation of a Business Process ManagementNotation (BPMN) (Johannsen et al., 2007).

A CoP may use and share information incremen-tally within the portal, i.e., by adding more knowl-edge to the BOK or contributing comments onexisting knowledge.

The CoP will provide support for users toimprove knowledge relating to standard processmodels. The CoP will enable users to contact NPDspecialists, and to access links to pertinent websites,papers, books, and other important researchmaterial. Thus, users can add new experiences tothe existing BOK.

Based on the methodology employed in thisresearch, the definition of the aforementionedconceptual model was followed by project iterationdevelopment, whose results are shown in thefollowing section.

Partial results

PDPnet and IDEAIS prototypes were developed inthe 1st and second iterations, respectively. Afterthese prototypes were implemented and tested,iterations 3 and 4 were carried out to develop twoadditional environments: a more generic processportal and a knowledge portal. These environmentswere developed and tested individually. After the

validation project, Iteration 5—portal integration—will commence.

The first prototype developed was namedPDPnet. Its main goal was the rapid developmentof a simple site to publish a new reference model.The site’s navigational model is illustrated inFigure 3.

This development met, and improved on, whathad been stipulated in the initial requirements,which were related mainly to capabilities neededfor reference models and to easy use by companiesand researchers, in line with the APM approach.

This portal records about 50 000 visits and can beaccessed at www.pdp.org.br. Among its visitors areundergraduate and graduate students and pro-fessionals seeking a site that provides referencematerial for product-development courses andcompany training courses. Figure 4 shows the mainPDPnet pages.

In Iteration 2, a second prototype was created tosupport a software development process of a smallcompany (Figure 5). All the information about thisprocess (e.g., activities description, documenttemplates, resources, rules, etc.) was published inthe prototype.

The prototype was called ‘‘IDEAIS Site’’ (acro-nym in Portuguese for ‘‘Integration of Enterprisesin Systems Application and Implementation’’). Allthe information about the software development

Figure 5 First process portal prototype (IDEAIS)

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process should be managed through this proto-type. Company collaborators were asked to viewthe process and to download the templates theyuse in their daily routines from the IDEAIS Site.Later, this prototype became the company’sprocess guide.

After validating the two prototype requirements,Iteration 3 was initiated. An additional documentrequirement was developed to assure improve-ments sought in the prototype development. Thetechnologies chosen for this new project were Java,AJAX, and Hybernate.

Iteration 3 was aimed at implementing theprocess portal, which has two main areas: manage-ment and public users. The management areaenables its users to insert a process. The publicusers’ area permits navigation through processesand instantiation of development project tem-plates.

In Iteration 4 (knowledge portal codificationdeliverable), the following phases were established:

1. Development of knowledge taxonomy and thespecification of each knowledge-type attribute.

2. Outline of system users’ privileges.3. Systematic evaluation of an open source, content

management system (CMS), which is the basisfor portal development. The selected system was

eZ Publish, which uses the MySQL data baseApache as server and PHP as the programminglanguage (Ez Systems, 2008).

4. Implementation of the portal layout, consideringusability and navigability issues (Figure 6).

The CoP currently has about 251 members, whohave already inserted approximately 1200 knowl-edge objects into the portal. The second phase isaimed at internationalizing both portals.

In the first iterations, new requirements andproblems were identified, including access speedand optimization of module updating, since thedatabase is expected to store a large volume ofinformation which should be promptly accessible.The next iteration will involve the development of amodule that integrates the process portal prototypesand the knowledge portal.

CONCLUSIONS

NPD process management incorporated into abroader BPM framework allows for a systematicapproach to create change projects designed tocontinuously improve the process. To leveragethese projects, awareness of proven best practicesis the sine qua non. The proposal described in this

Figure 6 Home page of the Knowledge Portal

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paper provides a way of systematizing bestpractices on two levels, one external and the otherinternal to the organization. On both levels, bestpractices can be structured into reference modelsand BOKs. Although reference models can alsorepresent a BOK, in this proposal these structuraltypes are distinguished. A reference model allowsfor navigation throughout its phases, associatedactivities and information as required. A BOK isbroader, enabling users to search for specific bestpractices and related knowledge objects.

External systematization is carried out through acollection of reference models and/or a public BOK.The models may be generic or specific. Associationsor research institutions usually choose genericmodel structure processes, which may be used asa certification reference. The specific model may bemade available to everyone who wants to sharegiven experiences. The proposed public BOK is avirtual place where people can insert any knowl-edge object and/or best practices relating tobusiness processes. In this proposal, any modelelement can be linked to a knowledge object.

This external systematization allowsorganizationsor individual users to create communities of practicein order to share knowledge from which to learn.Thus, specific organizations may systematize theirknowledge internally, i.e., they can consider genericmodels and the public BOK as a reference to buildtheir own standard reference models and BOKs.Moreover, they can insert new knowledge. Theproposed infrastructure can be instantiated forinternal purposes, describing the internal level ofknowledge systematization of this proposal.

The combination of the two levels is aimed atintegrating people and providing collaborativeaccess to information/knowledge within a cycleof knowledge retention, use, and sharing. The focusof this proposal is on NPD, where this cyclesupports the generation of new knowledge, whichis incorporated into NPD reference model activities,continually increasing company capabilities inproduct development.

The iterative approach adopted here allowed forvalidation of the concept, for the prototypes havebeen employed successfully by many users. Theprototypes presented made it possible to identifynew requirements and problems, which wereconsidered in new development iterations.

The generic NPD reference model and the publicBOK are becoming increasingly familiar within thecommunity of NPD practitioners in Brazil. Newcases have been reported of organizations adoptingthem as a reference to define their own models andBOK, but this information still has to be system-atized in future research.

Since the hypothetic-deductive methodologicalapproach employed here is based on refutationresults, the present proposal has so far provedrobust. That was the objective stated at the outset.

The framework behind the portal concept isgeneric and represents the main scientific contri-bution of this paper. In principle, the same approachcould be implemented in other fields of knowledge,although this assumption should be evaluatedthrough the development of new portals and thecreation of new communities of practice.

In future, further actions will be taken to addmore knowledge objects and reference models,increase the number of participants, release newversions of the web portal based on new technol-ogies, and apply and test this proposal in diverseorganizations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are indebted to their GEI2 colleagues for theirhelpful suggestions and to CNPq and CAPES (Brazil) fortheir financial support.

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Knowledge-Oriented Process Portal with BPM 145DOI: 10.1002/kpm

Knowledge and Process Management RESEARCH ARTICLE