Process Quality Knowledge Bases

While organizations have focused increasing attention towards the acquisition and use of process knowledge for the purposes of quality performance, significant advances in information systems have occurred. The emergence of these two forces creates an opportunity for organizations to benefit from the integration of information systems and quality systems. The basic purpose of an information system is to acquire and represent knowledge. The basic purposes of a quality system are quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. We therefore define a process quality knowledge base (PQKB) as an information system that acquires process knowledge and represents it for the purposes of quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. This article proposes that the presence of a PQKB can improve the quality performance of the focal process, as well as the quality performance of processes similar to the focal process. We argue that the degree to which a PQKB can effect quality performance is moderated by the richness of the process description encapsulated inside the PQKB, and the diversity of knowledge sources that are engaged during the construction and use of the PQKB. Managerial and research implications are highlighted.