Netexpert: A multiagent system for expertise location

ABSTRACT Locating expertise sources,in a community,of interest or practice is a critical need,for distributed organizations operating in Knowledge Intensive Business Sectors. This is specially true in those ones that deal with innovation activites which have to manage knowledge,about the creation of new knowledge. Finding fastly a suitable expert and knowing,how,to reach him or her can be seen as a way to gain advantage and speed up organizational knowledge creation and learning. Usually expertise location is done through the use of personal social or knowledge networks and involves aspects such as trust and reputation. However and specially in distributed organizations relying on communication technologies for cooperation, each member of a community,is just aware of its own personal social or knowledge network,. This makes difficult to get to know other potential experts in the community,which may pertain to other members’ networks. NetExpert is an agent-based expertise location system that replicates the process of social and knowledge,network,building at a community,or organization level. In so doing it is able to connect several networks,and put into contact expertise that otherwise would,remain hidden. KEYWORDS Software agent, multiagent system, assistant agents, expertise location localize expertise, social