Managing the Expert

An organisation′s knowledge base, acquired over a period of time and at great expense, is one of its most valuable and dynamic assets. Unfortunately, it is a most difficult resource to manage, as it is for a great part stored in a highly mobile and volatile database, namely the “heads” of the technical and managerial experts employed by the organisation. This article addresses the issue of knowledge retention and interrogation through the introduction of a company‐wide programme of expert systems development. It suggests that the personnel function should act as “product champions”, establishing a viable infrastructure to support the development of the knowledge base in an interactive and integrated manner.