Scenarios in groupware-based environments show the problems of accessing knowledge
structures in general and organizational knowledge structures in particular. By applying
topic maps, as defined in ISO/IEC 13250, to groupware-based organizational knowledge
bases, it is possible to close a gap between knowledge and information. In this paper, the
aims of the K-Discovery project – applying topic maps to groupware-based environments
– are presented. Based on this, an architectural model will be introduced creating
knowledge structures by generating topic maps in a process-oriented groupware
environment.

After a brief introduction and overview, two concrete scenarios of groupware-based office
systems are described. The basic ideas of the K-Discovery project are presented and
followed by an architectural model and two implementation approaches. This paper ends
with some conclusions.