Knowledge management for engineers

We treat several important issues for effective knowledge management and development of corresponding support systems and tools where the target group is comprised mainly of engineers. The analysis presented here is a synthesis of results of activities engaged in by the author for Infineon over a number of years. These activities included extensive development of databases and workflow tools for engineering purposes, primarily using Lotus Notes as a platform. The author's role as an interface between different user groups in semiconductor production and technology development work environments allowed for many observations of how the mentioned databases were actually used and lead to a number of discoveries regarding knowledge management for engineers, especially regarding the gaps identified during continuous improvement of these databases and associated business processes. The analysis presented should therefore be useful for developers of knowledge management systems and processes, especially those dealing with engineers.