Knowledge Management architecture

Overview

A database forms the underlying element of the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementarchitecture. The AR System serveris on top of the database and processes all data entered by BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementapplications. In addition, the AR System serveris the workflow engine between the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementapplication and the database. It also verifies that a user has permission to perform each action, thereby enforcing any access control defined in the applications.

The AR System serveralso manages Approval Server, the Assignment Engine, and Full Text Search, as follows:

• Approval Server— Self-contained, shared module that enables you to automate any approval or signature process. For more information, see the Approval Serverdocumentation.
• Assignment Engine — Enables you to automatically assign requests to individuals. For more information, see the Action Request System Configuration guide.
• Full Text Search — Provides a search mechanism that is typically much faster than the native database searching functionality in long text fields. It is also the only search method available in Action Request Systemfor searching text within documents that are attached to requests. For more information, see Enabling and disabling full text search. 

BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management also uses several integrated modules and supporting applications that extend and enhance the basic AR System server functions:

• BMC Helix ITSM

  Foundation — Contains the common forms, workflow, and data that are needed to support the applications. It also provides a repository for the following data structures used by each BMC Helix ITSMapplications:

  • Company (tenancy and external company definitions)
  • Organization
  • Location
  • People
  • Support groups
  • Categorization
• Notification Engine — Provides a back-end workflow model for defining which notifications should be sent, based on different events in a BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management application. Support staff uses the People form to define which notifications they want to receive. Included predefined notifications can be turned on or off.

The BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementapplication components as well as the relationships among the database, AR System server, Approval Server, Assignment Engine, Full Text Search, the application's Foundation, Notification Engine and the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementapplications are illustrated in the following figure:

BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management product architecture

Main components

The application consists of the following main components:

• Self-service search interface — Entry point where users can search for knowledge from the knowledge base without accessing the application. Direct, user-friendly access to knowledge articles without the intervention of organizational members helps to reduce inbound call volume.
• BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge ManagementConsole (KM Console) — Lists knowledge articles in various life cycle stages that are available to you, and relates to the functionalities according to your permissions. Based on your permissions, you can use the console to select an article for viewing or editing content and metadata.

Application components

BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementconsists of the following components:

• Knowledge articles
• Knowledge life cycle management
• Knowledge search

BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementhas two types of knowledge articles:

• AR form-based — Customers can use the registration tool in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementto define which forms and which fields on this form they would like to integrate with the knowledge base. Using the AR form rich text fields, you can include rich text formatting and can embed objects including images and hyperlinks in AR form-based knowledge articles.
  BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementuses the AR based knowledge articles to define the knowledge article templates. By default, BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementprovides the following knowledge article templates:

  • How to
  • Problem solution
  • Known Error
  • Reference
  • Decision Tree
  • KCS Template

  Because these templates are based on AR System forms, a knowledge article can have permissions assigned by group. This creates a knowledge article that has field-level and knowledge article-level security. You can assign Knowledge article permissions to a knowledge article in the Developer Studio. Customers can create their own templates or modify and customize the existing templates by using the Developer Studio. They should use the Knowledge Management tool to register new templates.

• External Sources — Using Action Request System platform ARDBC Plugins, BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management can connect to any external knowledge source and can integrate that source into BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management knowledge base as knowledge articles. By integrating into the knowledge base, these external knowledge items will include information like BMC Helix ITSMcategories, update requests, feedback and workflow life cycle management. BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management is shipped by default with a connector to file systems. This connector enables external file system folders to be defined, and files such as PDF articles or Microsoft Word documents to be integrated into the knowledge base as BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementknowledge articles. These knowledge articles are later indexed by the search engine and can be searched for like any other articles in the knowledge base.

The following figure illustrates how the different types of knowledge articles are integrated into a single knowledge base. The information that is common to all knowledge articles together with the workflow logic required for lifecycle management of knowledge articles is stored in the Knowledge Article Manager AR form. 

BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management knowledge base 

AR Join forms are used in order to integrate the common knowledge information with the knowledge content form, that could be any other AR form (in this example the How To knowledge article template form) or an AR Vendor form when connecting to external knowledge source (in this example file system). 

The AR Join form is the actual knowledge article that is indexed by the search engine.