Xpertum: Competences and social networking

Abstract

We present Xpertum, a web-based tool for visualizing social networks to provide valued insights in the knowledge and innovation management processes. Our approach is based on networking between individuals and competences. Since people could gain experience in several knowledge areas, we consider the competences as levels of knowledge in a certain technical area or discipline, which users are dynamically involved inside the organizations. Large communities of individuals offer a significant complexity not only for visualization but also for understanding and explore. We suggest algorithms to highlight the relationships between both entities, individuals and competences, which are being visualized. The tool deals also with clustering of entities and work team assembly.