AU2010233056A1 - Method and System for Managing Organisations - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant: Chris Sampson Actual Inventor: Chris Sampson Address for Service: C/- MADDERNS, GPO Box 2752, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention title: METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING ORGANIZATIONS The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of perfonrming it known to me.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the management of organisations. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 5 Organisations of more than a few people soon begin to run into significant problems with managing their collective knowledge. The organisation can begin to operate a number of different activities (projects, services etc.) and involve a range of different staff and stakeholders including suppliers, clients and other participants. 10 It can very soon become difficult to understand the connection and the current state of knowledge across all the different activities and participants. Over time, the staff and stakeholder personnel change which results in a loss of corporate knowledge and increased difficulty in understanding the connection between activities, 15 stakeholders and other knowledge sets in the organisation. As organisations become larger and more complex (for example, government departments, large corporations), the problems grow exponentially. Different parts of an organisation will often not deal with each other at all, 20 Accordingly, people (especially employees) can often get 'lost' in complex organisations, and it can be difficult to know exactly how their role and tasks relate to the broader aims of the organisation, and how they relate to activities other people within'the organisation are doing. As a result, there is often a huge amount of duplication - the same or similar tasks are 25 performed by multiple people (or groups of people), without any communication or co operation between them. There is also a large 'lost opportunity cost' due to the potential for better collaboration across the organisation. Furthermore, because of the lack of connectivity between parts of the organisation, there is a 30 lack of agility in the organisation as a whole - it is difficult for it to react quickly to change. In order to attempt to manage itself and its stakeholder relationships, an organisation will often keep track of its operations, employees and stakeholder. For example, organisation charts are used to track the positions and responsibilities of employees and database systems 35 keep track of stakeholders and related communications. However, it is difficult for management to keep these database systems and charts up-to-date, particularly in light of the constant changes in personnel, stakeholders activities and other aspects of the organisation.

Existing systems operated across organisations are difficult to use and are often dealing with only part of the overall knowledge set. 5 In view of the above issues, there is a need for a way for organisations to manage knowledge in a more flexible and adaptive way. There is also a need to spread visibility of activities, stakeholder relationships and existing knowledge sets across an organisational workforce, and for parts of an organisation to more 10 efficiently collaborate with other parts of the organisation, and with bodies external to the organisation. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to reduce or ameliorate some or all of the above difficulties, or at least to provide an alternative to conventional methods and systems 15 for managing an organisation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for managing an organisation, which in one embodiment comprises: 20 providing one or more classification data structures, each for a category of elements pertaining to the organisation, and each having at least one node; providing a virtual collaboration space known as a virtual knowledge room or 'room' for each node in each data structure pertaining to the organisation; and allowing a user to browse the scheme of linked nodes across one or more 25 classification data structures and select specific nodes to utilise the services provided by that virtual knowledge room provided at that node; and link the node to other nodes across the classification data structures; and creating new virtual knowledge rooms within each classification data structure, such that the virtual knowledge room connections create contextual clarity across the knowledge 30 domain. In this way, the present invention creates contextual clarity across the breadth of the organisation. 35 In the context of this specification, a "virtual knowledge room" is a virtual space stored in a computer environment, which allows the storage and sharing of information, and is normally accessible by one or more people. Different access may be provided to people who are room members, compared to non-members. Accordingly, in a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for 5 managing an organisation, comprising: providing one or more classification data structures, each for a category of elements pertaining to the organisation, and each having at least one node, with each node corresponding to an element pertaining to the organisation; providing a virtual knowledge room for a specified element pertaining to the 10 organisation; and allowing a user to link the virtual knowledge room to a selected node in a selected classification data structure, such that the virtual knowledge room comprises a further node in the selected classification data structure. 15 The virtual knowledge room may be initially categorised as belonging to the category of elements associated with the selected classification data structure, and there may be a requirement for the user to provide this categorisation. There may also be a time limit or other restrictions imposed on the user to link the virtual knowledge room to other nodes in the classification data structures. Furthermore, users may be assigned as members or non 20 members of a virtual knowledge room, and members may be allowed to make some information about the specified element available to non-members. The method may further comprise linking the virtual knowledge room with one or more other nodes in other classification data structures, to indicate a relationship between the specified 25 element and the elements corresponding to the other nodes. It should be noted that there will generally be no limit to the number of links between the virtual knowledge room and other nodes within the classification data structures - that is, the virtual knowledge room may be linked to multiple nodes within the selected classification data structure, and to multiple nodes in other classification data structures. 30 The classification data structures may comprise: an activities classification data structure, for classifying and establishing nodes for all of the activities of the organisation; a stakeholders classification data structure, for classifying and establishing nodes for 35 all of the stakeholders of the organisation; a subject classification data structure, for classifying and establishing nodes for all of subjects and real world objects pertaining to the organisation; an objectives classification data structure, for classifying and establishing nodes for all of the objectives of the organisation; a spatial data structure for classifying and establishing nodes for all of spatial locations pertaining to the organisation; and 5 a temporal classification data structure, for classifying and establishing nodes for all of temporal periods pertaining to the organisation. These six classification data structures provide a six-dimensional knowledge framework for use in the management of the organisation. Some or all of the classification data structures 10 may be directional graphs, setting out a hierarchy for each classification data structure. In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for managing an organisation, comprising: one or more classification data structures, each for a category of elements pertaining 15 to the organisation, and each having at least one node; means to provide a virtual knowledge room for each node in each data structure pertaining to the organisation; and means to allow a user to create, utilise and link these virtual knowledge rooms to other nodes in the classification data structures. 20 According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program product, comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement the steps of the above method. 25 According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus adapted to perform the preceding method. Yet further aspects of the present invention will be revealed throughout this specification, 30 A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention. While the invention is described in connection with such embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to any embodiment. On the contrary, the scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims and the invention encompasses 35 numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. For the purpose of example, numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention.

The present invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the present invention is 5 not unnecessarily obscured. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An illustrative embodiment of the present invention will be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: 10 FIGURE 1 is a general diagram of a computer architecture which could be used to implement the present invention; FIGURE 2 is a schematic diagram of a framework for management of an organisation, 15 according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIGURE 3 depicts a graph classification data structure for use in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 20 FIGURE 4 is a visual depiction of the inside of a virtual 'room' corresponding to a node of a classification data structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIGURE 5 is a visual depiction of the outside of a virtual 'room' corresponding to a node of a classification data structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 25 FIGURES 6 to 8 sequentially depict the addition of a new node into a framework for management of an organisation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 30 FIGURE 9 is a schematic diagram of a framework for management of an organisation, in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention utilising multiple knowledge domains. In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts 35 throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention will be described with particular reference to a governmental body. However, it is important to note that the present invention may be used and applied to any other body which requires organisation of its knowledge and activities. 5 The present invention is best adapted to run on a computer. Figure I schematically and generally depicts hardware that may be used to implement an embodiment of the present invention. A central processing unit (CPU) 42, containing an Input/Output interface 44, an Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) 43 and a Control Unit and Program Counter element 45 is 10 in communication with input and output devices through the Input/Output Interface 44, and a memory 46. Various common patterns have been identified in the way that organisations work, which has allowed the creation of a fundamental framework and system for managing collaborative 15 activities in organisations. In particular, six knowledge 'dimensions' have been identified, which are set out below, and which have been incorporated into this embodiment to provide a framework for the management of an organisation. Although several of these concepts are already known, the clear identification and use of the framework described below allows for organisations to be managed in an efficient manner. 20 The knowledge dimensions are used to classify categories elements pertaining to an organisation. The actual number and use of these knowledge dimensions may vary between different embodiments - for example, some embodiments may only use three or four of the knowledge dimensions. Furthermore, the specific names assigned to these knowledge 25 dimensions may vary in different embodiments. Nonetheless, the embodiment described herein uses all of the identified knowledge dimensions, to take advantage of all their management capabilities. Firstly, organisational projects, services and programs can be classified as "Activities". In 30 particular, Activities may be classified into Programs (e.g. a Biodiversity Program, a Marine Protection Program, an Immunisation Program), which are ongoing, and Projects, which generally have a limited timespan, and are often associated with a Program (e.g. an Arts Centre Project may be part of a City Development Program). In general, the Activities framework is used to direct funds throughout the organisation - a certain amount of funding 35 may be directed to each Program, and the funding is then distributed to other (subsidiary) Programs or Projects. The Projects and Programs generally have a hierarchical structure - a particular Program may have a number of associated sub-Programs and sub-Projects.

However, the hierarchical structure is often not a strict tree structure - a particular Project, for example, may be associated with two or more higher level Programs. Accordingly, the Activities classification can take on a (directional) hierarchical graph structure, as shown in Figure 3. 5 The "Activities" of an organisation may be anything that is actually carried out by the organisation or its agents - what the organisation is actually doing. For example, many Activities of an organisation may be the tasks that employees of the organisation are paid to perform. 10 Secondly, a complex organisation needs to keep track of its various "Stakeholders" - the people, organisations, groups or roles within the organisation, and associated with the organisation in any way - for example, customers, suppliers, interested parties, trade associates. Again (and as for the other dimensions identified below), different organisations 15 may use different terms, but there is a need to classify and manage stakeholders in some way (e.g. maintaining an organisation chart). Again, the organisation chart will usually be hierarchical, but not necessarily a strict tree structure. Accordingly, as for the Activities of the organisation, Stakeholders may be classified using a hierarchical graph structure as shown in Figure 3, or alternatively a more orthodox tree structure, as depicted in Figure 2. 20 The term "Stakeholders" is used to cover any body which might in any way be related to the organisation (see examples above). The third knowledge dimension involves classification by "Subjects" - the topics or things 25 that the organisation deals with. An organisation may collate information on a variety of topics and things that are relevant to its operations, and again these subjects and things can be classified using a hierarchical graph structure, The fourth knowledge dimension is the "Spatial" (or "Geographic") dimension - an 30 organisation's Activities generally take place within one or more specified locations, and their Stakeholders (and even their Subjects) may also be associated with locations. Furthermore, locations can also be classified under a graphical structure - for example, any given address may be categorised as being in a particular country, state, electorate or any other geographic classification scheme. 35 The fifth knowledge dimension is the "Temporal" dimension - Activities, for example, may run for a specific time, and Stakeholders may be associated with an organisation for only a 0I limited duration. Again, the temporal dimension can be arranged as a hierarchical graph -- it may be classified into financial years, periods, weeks, days or any other temporal classification scheme etc. 5 The sixth knowledge dimension is the "Objectives" dimension - the organisation likely has a number of objectives that it aims to achieve. Individual activities can often make contributions to multiple objectives, as can stakeholders. There can also be multiple schemes of objectives linked to geographic areas, subjects, stakeholders, temporal periods and activities. Again, these objectives can be categorised as a hierarchical graph. 10 These knowledge dimensions can be applied to a wide range of different organisations. Table 1 sets out a small sample of examples of the Activities, Stakeholders, and Subjects that may pertain to various types of organisations. 15 ORGANISATION ACTIVITIES STAKEHOLDERS SUBJECTS Tourism Body Destination Promotion Visitors 1 Visitor Experiences Program Travel Agents Tourism Accreditation Program Wholesalers Infrastructure Event Project Hoteliers New Developments Other Tourism Operators Natural Heritage Biodiversity Program Community Built Assets Body Marine Protection Staff Flora and Fauna Program Volunteers Weeds Restoration Project Neighbour Land Diseases Owners Fire Tourism Operators Education Body Pre-school Program Students History Adult Education Parents Geology Program Volunteers Mathematics New School Project Suppliers Languages Health Care Body Accident & Emergency Patients Injuries (various) Program Relatives Diseases (various) Research Program Hospital Staff New Hospital Project Doctors Nurses Volunteers Suppliers Researchers Social Welfare Drug Rehabilitation Community Social Issues Body Program Organisations (various) Affordable Housing Unit Staff Program Volunteers Specific Case Projects Welfare Recipients Table 1 Accordingly, this embodiment provides classification data structures 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 5 600 for each of the above categories of elements pertaining to the organisation - separate classification data structures are provided for Activities 100, Stakeholders 200, Subjects 300, locations 400, times 500 and Objectives 600. Various data structures could be used in accordance with the present invention - in particular, trees and graphs are most suitable. Figure 2 depicts that for this embodiment hierarchical graphs are used to classify most of the 10 element categories, and an orthodox tree structure 200 is used to classify the Stakeholders. However, variations in the types and combinations of data structures are possible within the scope of the present invention. In this embodiment, each data structure has a plurality of nodes, and links between the nodes. 15 Each node corresponds to a particular element pertaining to the organisation - e.g. a particular Activity, or Objective - and each link between nodes indicates a relationship between the corresponding elements. The links may be directional, to indicate which of the nodes is senior in the hierarchy (eg. as shown in Figure 3). 20 For example, for an organisation dealing with health would probably wish to classify hospital employees. Accordingly, one node of the Stakeholders classification data structure may correspond to "Hospital Staff', and another may correspond to "Nurses". A directional link may be created between these two nodes, indicating that "Nurses" is a subset of "Hospital Staff'. Individual health practitioners may also have their own nodes, at another level of the 25 Stakeholders classification hierarchy. However, in accordance with the present invention, the nodes may also be linked to data structures outside their own classification data structure. For example, although a particular health practitioner may be classified within the Stakeholders classification data structure, he or she may also be linked to a particular hospital project in the Activities data structure, to a particular subject in the Subjects data structure (e.g. a subject in which this practitioner is an expert), one or more locations in the Spatial data structure (e.g. the locations at which he or 5 she is responsible for practicing), and various times in the Temporal data structure (e.g. the practitioner has been employed for the past 5 financial years). In this embodiment, a virtual knowledge room (hereafter also referred to as a "room" or "knowledge room") is created for each node in each of the classification data structures. The 10 room can be used to store information relating to the element corresponding to the node - e.g. information specifically for or about nurses may be stored in the virtual room associated with the "Nurses" node, in the example above. A separate room is provided for all hospital staff, at the "Hospital Staff' node. Other nodes within the classification structure will also have their own virtual rooms - e.g. even individual health practitioners classified within the 15 Stakeholders data structure would all have their own virtual room in which to store relevant information pertaining to themselves and the links across to other nodes across the classification data structures. Various users may be assigned as members of a particular room, and access to secure areas of 20 a room may only be granted to these members. Members have access to all or some of the functionality of the system and information held for that room, depending on their security level. In addition there can be a scheme of inherited access rights to secure areas of the room from members of rooms higher up in the classification data structure. 25 Figure 4 depicts the types of information that might be available within the room to room members, including files, databases, discussion forums, goals and objectives, maps, and progress updates. However, for non-members, each room may be envisaged as having a glass door, on which 30 information about the node may be available, as shown in Figure 5. Non-members are able to view this information, which might include the latest updates for the room content, an overview of the project, stakeholder classication, subject, geographic area, temporal period or objective, such as overview, context, contact details or any other shared information (e.g. documents and data feeds). Room members may edit and update the information that is 35 displayed to non-members. In this way, even non-members of a particular room can determine what is occurring in relation to that element pertaining to the organisation.

The use of the classification data structures allows a user to search for information relating to a particular topic. For example, if they wish to know which Projects are addressing a particular Organisation objective, they can determine this based on the links from that objective. If they wish to determine what Projects are occurring in a particular location, they 5 can also determine this based on the links from that location in the temporal classification data structure, to Activities in the Activities classification data structure. Accordingly, a user can readily determine where their particular roles fit within the greater context of the operations of the whole organisation. 10 It will be appreciated that the above-described system addresses many of the difficulties associated with managing a complex organisation - it allows the various elements pertaining to the organisation's operations to be classified in meaningful ways, and tied together across classifications, to a high degree of resolution. It allows information to be stored relating to all of these elements in the virtual knowledge rooms, and it allows that information to be readily 15 accessed by other parts of the organisation (where appropriate) by the use of 'glass doors'. Accordingly, users can readily determine what other parts of the organisation are doing, and this is likely to increase collaboration, reduce duplication and increase productivity. However, there still remains the issue of maintaining all of this information in an up-to-date 20 manner. It is obviously difficult for any one delegated person to keep informed of all of the operations of the organisation, down to the level of resolution supported by this embodiment of the present invention - e.g. a single individual may not know when new low level Activities are undertaken, the full scope of the role of a new employee, or when a very specific Subject becomes of interest to an organisation. Accordingly, this embodiment of the 25 present invention allows the maintenance of the six-dimensional to be conducted in a distributed manner. Referring to Figure 6, which shows a partial framework according to an embodiment of the present invention, the system will allow a user (e.g. any employee of the organisation) to 30 create a virtual room I10 of their own. In this embodiment, this new room will be categorised upon creation as relating to a particular category of element (e.g. Subject, Stakeholder, etc) of course, in other embodiments, the new room I 10 may be categorised at a later date. In Figure 6, the new room 110 is categorised as an Activity room. 35 On creation, the new room 110 does not need to be immediately classified within the appropriate data structure - i.e. this new room 1 10 will initially be simply a 'floating' room within the six-dimensional framework, as shown in Figure 6. For example, the new room may relate to a particular new Activity that a user (employee) wishes to undertake. However, higher levels of the organisation management may not have yet approved this Activity at this stage, or the room creator may not be sure exactly where it fits in the greater scheme of the organisation. Nonetheless, they can still create the virtual room, which gives them somewhere 5 to begin to collaborate, collate and store information relating to that Activity. There may, however, be a time limit or other limitation imposed for linking the new room 110 to other nodes within the classification structure for that category of element (e.g. a limitation on the ability to allocate time or financial resources to that activity). 10 The task of integrating this new room into the classification data structures can then be performed by a member of the new room - e.g. the room creator themselves. Using the example of a new Activity, the room creator may link it to particular Stakeholders who may be involved with the Activity, link it to a particular Subject dealt with by the organisation, or link it to particular objectives of the organisation. In particular, they may wish to link the new 15 Activity to an existing Program - this is usually particularly important for obtaining funding in organisations, because funding is typically tied to particular Programs or Projects (i.e. Activities under the six-dimensional framework of this embodiment of the present invention). A high level Program of an organisation is generally allocated funds, which are then divided between subsidiary Programs and Projects associated with that high level Program. If an 20 Activity is not associated with a Program or Project which has been assigned funding, then it will generally not be able to obtain funding. Therefore, there is an incentive for the creator of a room for a new Activity to fit it into the existing Activities classification data structure. The exact mechanism which allows a user to create links within the classification data 25 structures may vary depending on the requirements of the organisation. Many organisations will wish to control user privileges, such that (for instance) a given user may not create certain kinds of links (e.g. linking an Activity to existing Activities), or links above a certain level in the hierarchy. Rather, these links require approval from someone with more privileges. Alternatively, any link may be subject to the approval of a member of a particular 30 room - any user may apply to link a room to another room, but the link is not created until it is approved by a member of the linked room. In Figure 7, links between the new room I 10 and various other nodes in the framework have been applied for, but not yet approved, and so are shown dashed. 35 The six-dimensional framework described above may assist in allowing the managing user to determine whether they should approve the creation of the link. For example, a member of an existing Activity room may not approve a link to a new Activity room unless the new Activity room already has links to specific Objectives of the organisation, or to specific Subjects which are relevant to the existing Activity. Once the managing user is satisfied that the link is appropriate, they can approve the link, which might be a prerequisite for obtaining funding. Figure 8 depicts the links from room 110 once they have been approved. 5 Of course, for some rooms, there may be no need to require room member approval for a link, For instance, a person may create a Stakeholder room for themself. They may consider that they belong to a particular class of Stakeholders - e.g. musical artists - and so link themselves to a node for "Musical Artists". Depending on the particular organisation, there may be no 10 necessity to obtain approval for this link. For example, by classifying themself as a musical artist, this may simply mean that the person receives information produced by the organisation for musical artists. If this information is not appropriate (i.e. the user's classification is incorrect), then the user can simply remove their link to the higher level artist room. 15 Rather than requiring a single person to maintain the information in the system in an up-to date manner, the present invention allows the maintenance of the system to be a collaborative effort. This means each part of the system is kept up-to-date by those people best informed about that part. By its nature, it also provides incentives for users to keep the information up 20 to-date, so that they can be provided with up-to-date information, or obtain funding. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present invention restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted 25 herein. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims. 30 For example, the system may use multiple "knowledge domains" to classify elements, as shown in Figure 9, In this situation, larger and more complex organisation can be divided into separate knowledge domains where there are separate hierarchies of activities, stakeholders and subjects. For example, a tourism authority may be in the same organisation as a heritage authority, but they have separate hierarchies of activities, stakeholders and subjects. This 35 allows for more specific classification nomenclature to be used for the nodes within each classification data structure. However, a system according to the present invention may still allow for nodes in different knowledge domains to be linked together.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. For a hardware implementation, processing may be 5 implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof Software modules, also known as computer 10 programs, computer codes, or instructions, may contain a number a number of source code or object code segments or instructions, and may reside in any computer readable medium such as a RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM or any other form of computer readable medium. In the alternative, the computer readable medium may be integral to the processor. The 15 processor and the computer readable medium may reside in an ASIC or related device. The software codes may be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor, in which case it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means as is known in the art. 20 Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words "comprise" and "include" and variations such as "comprising" and "including" will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. 25 For example, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "file" will be understood to imply one but not the exclusion of more than one file. The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common 30 general knowledge.

Claims (11)

1. A method for managing an organisation, comprising: providing one or more classification data structures, each for a category of elements pertaining to the organisation, and each having at least one node, with each node 5 corresponding to an element pertaining to the organisation; providing a virtual knowledge room for a specified element pertaining to the organisation; and allowing a user to link the virtual knowledge room to a selected node in a selected classification data structure, such that the virtual knowledge room comprises a further node in 10 the selected classification data structure. 2, The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the virtual knowledge room further comprises: requiring the user to categorise the virtual knowledge room, by categorising the 15 specified element as belonging to one of the categories of elements.

3. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising linking the virtual knowledge room with one or more other nodes in other classification data structures. 20 4. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the classification data structures comprise an activities classification data structure, for classifying the activities of the organisation.

5. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the classification data structures 25 comprise a stakeholders classification data structure, for classifying the stakeholders of the organisation.

6. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the classification data structures comprise a subject classification data structure, for classifying subjects, concepts and real 30 world assets pertaining to the organisation.

7. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the classification data structures comprise an objectives classification data structure, for classifying the objectives of the organisation. 35 S. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the classification data structures comprise a spatial data structure for classifying spatial locations pertaining to the organisation. 5 9. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the classification data structures comprise a temporal classification data structure, for classifying time cycles pertaining to the organisation.

10. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the each classi fication data structure 10 comprises a directional graph. IH. The method of any preceding claim, wherein users may be assigned as members or non-members of a virtual knowledge room, and further comprising: allowing members to make some information about the specified element available to 15 non-members,

12. The method of any preceding claim, wherein there is a time limit or other restriction imposed on the user to link the virtual knowledge room to a node. 20 13. A system for managing an organisation, comprising: one or more classification data structures, each for a category of elements pertaining to the organisation, and each having at least one node, with each node corresponding to an element pertaining to the organisation; means to provide a virtual knowledge room for a specified element pertaining to the 25 organisation; and means to allow a user to link the virtual knowledge room to a selected node in a selected classification data structure, such that the virtual knowledge room comprises a further node in the selected classification data structure. 30

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising: means for allowing a user to link the virtual knowledge room to one or more nodes in other classification data structures, indicating a relationship between the element associated with the virtual knowledge room and the one or more nodes. 35

15. The system of claim 13 or 14, wherein when providing the virtual knowledge room, the specified element is categorised as belonging to a specified category, and wherein the selected data structure is for that category of elements pertaining to the organisation, 5 16. The system of any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the classification data structures comprise: an activities classification data structure, for classifying the activities of the organisation; a stakeholders classification data structure, for classifying the stakeholders of the 10 organisation; a subject classification data structure, for classifying subjects, concepts and real world assets pertaining to the organisation; an objectives classification data structure, for classifying the objectives of the organisation; 15 a spatial data structure for classifying spatial locations pertaining to the organisation; and a temporal classification data structure, for classifying time cycles pertaining to the organisation. 20 17, The system of any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein one or more of the classification data structures are directional graphs.

18. The system of any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein there is a time limit or other restrictions for the user to link the virtual knowledge room to the other nodes. 25

19. A computer readable medium, encoded with data representing a computer program, that can be used to direct a programmable device to perform the method of any one of claims I to 12, 30 20. A computer system for managing an organisation, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 10