Use of Wiki Software for the Knowledge Management at the IEN

Thanks to the broad availability of internet access and the development of browser-based web applications known as "wikis" (Hawaiian word for "quick, fast"), it became possible for internet users to participate on big collaborative encyclopedic projects. The best example is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia based on MediaWiki that receives contributions from internet users around the world. In this context, the word "wiki" usually refers to the wiki software itself, and/or the collection of hypertext documents managed by it. Wiki software allows creating, editing and managing online-shared documents, which become available immediately after they are created/edited. With such capabilities, wikis can also be used within organizations as tools to allow its employees to collaborate in the construction of a common knowledge base containing information relevant to the organization. In such context, the wiki becomes a tool for knowledge management. This article describes the implementation of the WikiIEN, which is based on MediaWiki, as a tool for knowledge management at the IEN – Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear. This tool aims to improve the sharing of information among institute researchers, thorough a dynamic common knowledge base that can be on-line updated. In the article are presented the logical and computational structure of the wiki created for deposit of the knowledge generated at the IEN.