Designing Knowledge Management System for Traditional Craft Practitioners

Abstract

Knowledge of traditional craft practitioners has been transferred through master-apprentice relations. These rare skills are in danger of being lost. In collaboration with traditional craftsmen in a metal casting industry, we designed an interactive knowledge management system that captures and passes on distributed tacit knowledge of experts. We found that collaborative social practice with focus on computational alternatives helped craftsmen to recognize and reflect upon their skills and values of the industry. We discuss how design participation of craftsmen led to mindset changes, and argue how their receptive collaboration contributed in the design life cycle of a knowledge management system.