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Dissertation Information for Mark S. Ackerman

NAME:
- Mark S. Ackerman

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Management Information Systems

SCHOOL:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) (1994)

ADVISORS:
- Thomas Wendell Malone

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected

Title: Answer Garden: A tool for growing organizational memory

Abstract: "Answer Garden allows organizations to develop databases of commonly asked questions that grow ""naturally"" as new questions arise and are answered. It is designed to help in situations (such as customer ""hot lines"" or help desks) where there is a continuing stream of questions, many of which occur over and over, but some of which the organization has never seen before. Answer Garden includes a branching network of diagnostic questions, as well as additional information retrieval methods, that help users find the answers they want. If the answer is not present, the system automatically routes the question to the appropriate expert, and the answer is returned to the user as well as inserted into the information database. Experts can also modify this network in response to users' problems. Through their normal interactions, users and experts build an organizational memory.

The thesis examines organizational memory and Answer Garden from three perspectives: in terms of organizational memory at an organizational level, information seeking at an individual level, and software systems at a technical level. It is asserted that information technology can support organizational memory in two ways, either by making recorded knowledge retrievable or by making individuals with knowledge accessible. The thesis also describes two additional organizational memory applications, the ASSIST and LiveDoc, and details the Answer Garden Substrate system underlying all three applications. Finally, the thesis reports a field study of software engineers' using Answer Garden. "

MPACT Scores for Mark S. Ackerman

A = 5
C = 3
A+C = 8
T = 5
G = 1
W = 5
TD = 5
TA = 0
calculated 2012-07-30 16:50:43

Advisors and Advisees Graph