After Action Review (AAR) is a presentation or discussion following an event or activity by those involved with, or interested in, that event and whose purpose is to learn from it.  An AAR should describe what was intended to happen, what was actually accomplished, what mistakes were made, what lessons were learned, and how participation in similar events might be improved in the future.  They may be recorded in a variety of media as a form of reference for future use.  Briefings and AARs (also referred to as Debriefings) are excellent learning tools and help to instil an information-sharing culture.  Their effectiveness depends to a great extent on accurately identifying the most appropriate audience.  See also: Briefing, Debriefing, Intranet, Knowledge management, Narrative, Report.

Analysis involves the examination of complex Information in order to ascertain its constituent elements and to more easily understand the meaning. The fundamental forms of analysis are: Deduction, Induction, Pattern recognition, and Trend analysis. See also: Intelligence analysis, Predictive analytics, Synthesis.

Automatic indexing uses a program to select words or phrases to identify content. It often employs several Indexing languages ( Classification scheme , natural language, Controlled vocabulary, Standard Industry Code, Country Code, etc).

Balanced scorecard is a performance measurement system that, in addition to financial measures, quantifies items that had previously been considered as Intangible assets, such as brand image, customers, reputation, Human capital , Information , Innovation , and Corporate culture .   See also: Customer relationship management, Intellectual property, Knowledge assets, Knowledge management.

Benchmarking is a continuous, systematic process for evaluating and comparing an organisation's activities, products, services, and work processes with those of organisations that are recognised as representing best practices for the purposes of performance improvement. A secondary purpose is to reveal useful practices or ideas that may be adopted or adapted with advantage. See also: Reengineering, Reverse engineering.

Bibliographic reference is the Information necessary to identify a Document.  It normally includes: author; title; place of publication, publisher, and date (in the case of a book); or author; title; name of journal; volume/edition, page number(s), and date (in the case of an article).  Additional details may be included for clarification.  See also: Annotation, Bibliography, Bibliometrics, Citation, Citation index, Metadata.

Blog is a direct means for an individual to share ideas, thoughts, opinions, and Information concerning a particular topic with an audience, using the Web as the medium.  It usually takes the form of a diary or chronological narrative (in reverse chronological order) initiated, and frequently updated, by the blogger.  Its main value lies in the establishment of networks and the Social capital created as a result, and usually comprises ephemeral material.  See also: Corporate blog, Wiki.

Business intelligence is any combination of Data, Information , and Knowledge concerning the Business environment in which a company operates that, when acted upon, will confer a significant Competitive advantage or enable sound decisions to be made. Thus, for practitioners, the term encompasses both Competitive intelligence and Knowledge management . Involvement in business intelligence operations will enable the organisation to, inter alia :

Classify is to assemble or group items in a rational and consistent manner. It is based upon a preconceived plan, with the whole field of interest divided into categories, classes, and sub-classes. It also means to designate a Document as an official secret or as not available for general disclosure. See also: Classification scheme, Classified information, Directories, Hierarchical classification, Index, Keyword, Ontology, Taxonomy, Thesaurus, Trade secret.

Community of interest is a network of people who are committed to the mutual exchange of ideas and Information . The focus tends to be on learning about areas of common interest, rather than producing practical results. See also: Community of practice.

Community of practice (CoP) is an informal, self-organising, interactive group that develops in response to a specific, work-related activity, subject, practice, or problem of mutual interest. Membership is determined by participation and may transcend hierarchical and organisational boundaries. It provides a means of developing best practices or solutions to problems through Communication , that is, through participation in the exchange of Information and the creation of Knowledge . A community of practice may use a variety of media for this purpose, including face-to-face meetings, reports, email, instant messaging, collaborative workspaces, and intranets. Communities of practice can sometimes make a major contribution to Social capital in organisations. A CoP may sometime be called a Community of purpose or commitment. Large, geographically dispersed communities tend to be referred to as Networks of practice. See also: Community of interest, Electronic mail, Groupware, Intranet, Knowledge management, Networking, Report, Team.

Competitive intelligence is a systematic and ethical programme for gathering, analysing, and managing Information about the external Business environment that can affect a company's plans, decisions, and operations. Although narrower in scope, it is commonly employed as a synonym for Business intelligence.

Competitor profiling is the systematic Analysis of competitors in order to learn from their strengths and exploit their weaknesses. The knowledge acquired is used to gain and maintain a Competitive advantage . See also: Competitor , Intelligence analysis , SWOT analysis.

Content analysis describes the technique of identifying keywords and descriptors from a given document in order to facilitate Information retrieval . See also: Descriptor, Keyword , Indexing.

Controlled vocabulary is an Indexing language; that is, a standardised - yet dynamic - set of terms and phrases authorised for use in an indexing system to describe a subject area or Information domain. Ideally, the terms that are used to represent subjects, and the process whereby terms are assigned to particular documents, should be both controlled and executed by one individual. It can vary from a simple alphabetical list of terms to a complex annotated Thesaurus . Also known as a Controlled indexing language. See also: Classification scheme, Classify, Content analysis, Descriptor, Document, Index, Keyword, Natural indexing language, Ontology, Taxonomy, Topic map.

Corporate intelligence is a broad term covering both Business intelligence and Competitive intelligence as well as those elements that are inherent in global operations, such as Corporate security and Counterintelligence .

Critical success factors are the limited number of activities that need to succeed and be effective if company aims are to be achieved; or, are the few key areas of activity in which favourable results are absolutely necessary for a particular manager to reach his or her goals. Knowing the critical success factors helps to determine information needs. Also known as Key success factors. See also: Competitive advantage .

Current awareness services make available Knowledge of what is being done in specific fields of endeavour through Documents (such as notes, abstracts, clippings, email, Selective dissemination of information , and Database records) or orally (such as face-to-face or telephone conversations). See also: Electronic mail, Indicative abstract, Informative abstract .

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a software-based technique designed to select and manage customers in order to maximise their long-term value to an enterprise. The term covers several aspects of customer relationships, such as: campaign management systems, call centres, interactive voice response systems, e-commerce, point-of-sale, and sales automation. The intention is to understand and anticipate the needs, preferences, and buying habits of existing and potential customers. To that end, it usually employs some form of Data mining designed to exploit large customer databases. Seen by some as the most important aspect of Knowledge management . See also: Database , Electronic commerce.

Data consist of unconnected facts, numbers, names, codes, symbols, dates, words, and other items of that nature that are out of context, and that only acquire meaning through association. See also: Business intelligence, Code, Information, Knowledge .

Database is a collection of interrelated Data stored together without harmful or unnecessary redundancy and structured in such a manner as to serve one or more applications. The data are stored so that they are independent of programs that use the data.

Debriefing is an alternative term for After Action Review . See also, Briefing, Knowledge management.

Deduction is based on theory and logic. It involves reasoning from the general to the particular, that is, drawing specific conclusions from general premises; to infer. For example, to ascribe to one member of a class the properties generally observed in other members of that same class. In general, scientific laws are established in this way. From a number of observations, a generalisation (or law) is drawn: the greater the number of observations, the more reliable the conclusion is likely to be. See also: Analysis, Induction, Intelligence analysis .

Directories provide lists of subject headings that are arranged hierarchically, from broader to narrower terms, and are compiled by human editors. They are more suitable for browsing and easier to navigate than Search engines . Directory compilers usually rely on descriptions submitted by site creators. See also: Classify, Hierarchical classification .

Disinformation may be of two kinds. Active disinformation is that which is promulgated with the intention to deceive others in the expectation of benefit. It is designed to change people's perceptions of reality and persuade them to accept certain desired conclusions by the use of exaggerated, false, or misleading Information . Passive disinformation is when possibly detrimental information is deliberately ignored or concealed. See also: Misinformation, Social engineering .

Document contains recorded human Knowledge , in any format; or is Information structured in such a way as to facilitate human comprehension. See also: Explicit knowledge, File, Report, Surrogate .

Espionage is the use of illegal means (spying) to collect Information , more particularly secret or unpublished information. Offences may range from trespass and theft to treason. See also: Counterintelligence, Knowledge assets, Trade secret .

Explicit knowledge consists of anything that can be codified, or expressed in words, numbers, and other symbols (such as plans, marketing surveys, customer lists, specifications, manuals, instructions for assembling components, scientific formulae) and can, therefore, be easily articulated, usually in the form of documents, processes, procedures, products, and practices. See also: Document, Know-how, Knowledge, Knowledge management, Tacit knowledge .

Five forces industry analysis helps to assess and manage the long-term attractiveness of an industry. It is designed to explain the relationship between the five dynamic forces that affect an industry's performance; these are the:

• Intensity of competitive rivalry;
• Threat from new entrants;
• Threat from substitutes;
• Bargaining power of buyers;
• Bargaining power of suppliers.

Hard information is quantitative in nature and generally consists of facts, statistics, and other formally published Information . See also: Fact .

Implicit knowledge is that which may be expressed but has not been. See also: Explicit knowledge, Knowledge, Tacit knowledge.

Index is a systematic guide to the content of one or more documents arranged in some chosen order (usually alphabetically), together with associated location elements (for example, topic description and page numbers in a book, or File titles and identification numbers in a filing system). See also: Classification scheme, Document, Classify, Controlled vocabulary, Ontology, Taxonomy, Thesaurus .

Indexing provides a means of labelling documents using freely selected keywords or phrases (natural language) or authorised descriptors from a Taxonomy or Thesaurus ( Controlled vocabulary ), or any combination of those, together with some means of indicating its location in the system. See also: Assigned-term indexing, Content analysis, Derived-term indexing, Descriptor, Document, Keyword, Ontology .

Induction is based on experience and experimentation. It involves reasoning from the particular to the general; for example, reaching a conclusion by ascribing identical properties to all members of a class of things by examining only a limited number of those things. Any conclusion must be based on a particular set of observable facts.   Possible techniques include:

• Illustration by example;
• Enumeration of particulars and details;
• Definition;
• Elaboration by comparison and contrast;
• Any combination of these.

See also: Analysis, Classify, Deduction, Fact, Intelligence analysis .

Information consists of Data arranged in some sort of order (for instance, by classification or rational presentation) so that they acquire meaning or reveal associations between data items. Information may also be defined as a physical surrogate of Knowledge (for example, language) used for communication. See also: Business intelligence, Classify, Document, File, Intelligence .

Information literacy is the ability of individuals to recognise the need for specific Information , and then to identify, locate, evaluate, organise, present, and effectively apply the needed information. Agreed competency standards are that an individual who is information literate should be able to:

• Determine the nature and extent of needed information;
• Gather the needed information effectively, efficiently, ethically, and legally;
• Critically evaluate information and its sources;
• Use information to accomplish a specific purpose;
• Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information;

Information management is the means by which an organisation maximises the efficiency with which it plans, collects, organises, uses, controls, stores, disseminates, and disposes of its Information, and through which it ensures that the value of that information is identified and exploited to the maximum extent possible. The aim has often been described as getting the right information to the right person, in the right format and medium, at the right time. Sometimes referred to as: Enterprise information management, Information resources management, or Business intelligence , especially in connection with relevant software. See also: Information literacy, Information scientist, Information system, Knowledge management .

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage, and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual, or numerical Information using computers and telecommunications. It is mainly concerned with the flow of information through networks. Primary criteria for business performance are ease of use, reliability, and responsiveness. See also: Mociology, Network, Technological fusion .

Innovation, a major focus of Knowledge management , incorporates all those activities necessary to adopt or diffuse an existing Technology , or transform an idea or Invention into a problem-solving or marketable device, process, product, service, or technique. It usually occurs as a result of the combination of Explicit and Tacit Knowledge . Sometimes referred to as Knowledge conversion. See also: Commercialisation, Creativity, Development, Diffusion, Extension service, Intellectual property, Social network analysis, Technology transfer .

Intellectual capital refers to the total Knowledge within an organisation that may be converted into value, or used to produce a higher value asset. The term embodies the knowledge and expertise of employees; brands; customer information and relationships; contracts; internal processes, methods, and technologies; and Intellectual property . It equates, very approximately, to the difference between the book value and the market value of a company. Also referred to as Intellectual assets, Intangible assets, or Invisible assets. See also: Human capital , Knowledge management, Structural capital.

Intellectual property refers to the definition and recording of a novel device, product, process, or technique so that it may be bought, sold, or legally protected. The main forms of protection take the form of Copyright , licenses, patents, registered designs, trademarks, and trade secrets. It is that portion of Intellectual capital that can be protected by law. See also: Corporate security, Counterintelligence, Design, Human capital, Invention, Knowledge assets, Knowledge base, Patent, Patent specification, Registered design, Trademark, Trade secret .

Intelligence is high-level, processed, exploitable Information . See also: Business intelligence, Competitive intelligence, Intelligence analysis, Knowledge, Knowledge management, Market intelligence, Synthesis, Technological intelligence ,

Intelligence analysis is the systematic examination of any combination of relevant Data , Information , and existing Knowledge for applicability or significance, and the transformation of the results into actionable Intelligence that will improve Planning and decision-making or enable the development of strategies that offer a sustainable Competitive advantage . The most profitable or beneficial Analysis calls for Creativity and insight; an ability to look beyond the obvious. Sometimes referred to as Strategic analysis. See also: Business intelligence, Competitive intelligence, Knowledge management, Strategy, Synthesis .

Intelligence audit is an examination of an organisation's current level of Intelligence activities with the objective of improving those operations in order to gain, and maintain, a significant Competitive advantage . It involves:

• identifying those people engaged in intelligence or related operations;
• Locating collections of Information concerning the organisation's Business environment ;
• Establishing a set of Key intelligence topics or ascertaining management intelligence needs.

Intelligence briefing may be either an oral or written presentation designed to provide accurate, impartial, and timely Intelligence - together with an indication of its implications and recommendations for action - in a concise and easily assimilated form. See also: Briefing, Debriefing, Report .

Intelligence library may be either a separate entity or housed in a War room . In contrast to the more usual in-house libraries, it should act as a directory, not a repository. In other words, it may contain such items as Directories and Professional association membership lists; a collection of major competitors' Trade literature ; Competitor , Market , or country files; Seminar and Conference brochures; lists of Internet sources; and a Thesaurus or Taxonomy together with a glossary of terms.

Key intelligence topics (KITs) are those topics identified as being of greatest significance to an organisation's senior executives, and which provide purpose and direction for Competitive intelligence operations. Key intelligence topics are invariably derived from a series of interviews. They are then grouped into appropriate categories and allocated a priority, usually by the same, or a representative, group of people. The basic categories are:

• Strategic decisions and actions (including the development of strategic plans and strategies);
• Early-warning topics ( eg , competitor initiatives, new technology developments, and government actions);
• Descriptions of key players (including competitors, suppliers, regulators, and potential partners).

See also: Competitor, Intelligence audit, Strategic planning .

Know-how consists of accumulated practical skills or professional experience that permit tasks to be performed effectively but is difficult to codify, express, or articulate. See also: Tacit knowledge .

Knowledge is a blend of experience, values, Information in context, and Insight that forms a basis on which to build new experiences and information or to achieve specific goals. It refers to the process of comprehending, comparing, judging, remembering, and reasoning.

Knowledge is Data that has been organised (by classification and rational presentation), synthesised (by selection, Analysis , interpretation, adaptation, or compression), and made useful (by presenting arguments, matching needs and problems, assessing advantages and disadvantages, and so on).

Knowledge is the uniquely human capability of interpreting and extracting meaning from Information . It may be thought of as a structured (inter-related) set of concepts in the mind. See also: Classify, Cognitive science, Concept, Educational technology, Embodied knowledge, Explicit knowledge, Implicit knowledge, Intelligence, Know-how, Knowledge-based industries, Knowledge engineering, Knowledge-intensive industries, Knowledge management, Knowledge map, Meme, Tacit knowledge .

Knowledge management is an integrated, systematic process of identifying, collecting, storing, retrieving, and transforming Information and Knowledge assets (including previously unarticulated expertise and experience held by individuals) into Knowledge that is readily accessible in order to improve the performance of the organisation. The means for doing so might include apprenticeship schemes and mentoring programmes, briefings and debriefings, bulletin boards, databases, documents, educational and training programmes, knowledge maps, meetings, networks, and visits. Performance improvements may be effected through enhanced learning, problem solving, Strategic planning , and decision-making. See also: After action review , Briefing , Business intelligence, Classify, Community of practice, Competitive intelligence, Corporate culture, Corporate security, Customer relationship management, Database, Debriefing, Diffusion, Document, Index, Information literacy, Information management, Information scientist, Innovation, Intelligence, Knowledge creation, Knowledge management system, Knowledge map, Learning organisation, Network, Networking, Patent, Patent specification, Social network analysis, Taxonomy, Thesaurus .

Knowledge-management system usually incorporates a Search engine , Data-mining facilities, and - since Knowledge is primarily embodied in people - an expertise directory or location service (known as a Knowledge map ). Content may include profiles of key people, industry trends, Market surveys, descriptions of current and proposed projects or activities, solutions to past problems, and discussion group facilities. The term also implies the creation of a culture and Information structure that promotes information sharing and Innovation , and places considerable emphasis on learning and personal development. See also: Knowledge management .

Knowledge map may be either, or a combination of aspects of both, of the following:

• A graphical display (either hierarchical, or in the form of a Semantic network ) of the core Knowledge , together with the relationships between various aspects, of a subject or discipline;
• A Directory (incorporating identity, location, and subject expertise) of people possessing, or having access to, specific knowledge.

In the latter sense, it is a guide to, not a repository of, knowledge or expertise. A critical element is that those people whose details are incorporated must be traceable through keywords describing the area of expertise or subject knowledge. Sometimes referred to as an Expertise database or Expertise location service, it is often compiled with the aid of Expertise locator software . When properly compiled and maintained, it may be by far the most valuable of all Knowledge management tools. Colloquially known as Yellow pages . See also: Expertise locator software , Keyword, Visualisation .

Market intelligence concerns the attitudes, opinions, behaviour, and needs of individuals and organisations within the context of their economic, environmental, social, and everyday activities. See also: Business intelligence, Intelligence, Market, Marketing research, Psychographics, Sample .

Metadata is Information (in the form of a Metatag) that describes an Internet Document and facilitates its retrieval. It is very similar to a Bibliographic reference , but - where present - is often more extensive, and may include author, title, affiliation, sponsor, Abstract , additional keywords, language, publisher, date published, contact details, Classification scheme , and so on. See also: Enrichment, Indexing, Keyword .

Meta-indexes permit searches using several search engines simultaneously through the medium of one search request. Individual results are presented as a single list. See also: Search engine .

Metasearch engine is a Search engine that simultaneously submits a search query to a number of other search engines and produces results that may be manipulated in some way for the benefit of the searcher.

Misinformation is erroneous Information that is not intended to deceive; it may result from ignorance. See also: Disinformation .

Networking is the informal exchange of Information between individuals who have grouped together for some common purpose. Also known as a Social network. See also: Alliance, Cluster, Community of practice, Joint venture, Lead-firm network, Production network, Professional associations, Service network, Social network analysis, Strategic alliance .

Notation is a set of symbols, abbreviations, or codes associated with a Classification scheme , annotated Thesaurus , or Taxonomy , and used to facilitate the arrangement of items so classified. A notation enables the use of an Explode facility. See also: Code, Ontology .

Push technology, currently referred to as Personalisation, is a colloquialism for Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI).

Report may be a Document containing the findings of an investigation or study, or offering an interpretation of facts and ideas, and usually incorporating recommendations. It may give an account of the activities of an organisation over a specific period, or describe a process or operation. Very often it is produced in response to stated terms of reference, with a known audience in mind. Although producers of reports must examine essential evidence in an impartial and disinterested manner, they may express personal opinion - provided that it is a rational interpretation of Information set out, or referred to, in the report, and that it is identified as opinion. A report may also take the form of an oral presentation. See also: After action review, Briefing, Debriefing, Digest, Extract, Indicative abstract, Informative abstract, Intelligence briefing, Management reports, Precis, Review, Special intelligence briefing, Summary, Synopsis .

Reverse engineering refers to the process of systematically examining or dismantling a competitor's product or service in order to reveal details of its design and manufacture; such as materials employed, techniques used, level of Technology , standard of quality, elegant solutions to problems, and so on. See also: Benchmarking .

Scenario analysis is a systematic method of studying possible or probable future events that may affect the organisation or its operating environment. It may, for instance, be used to: forecast trends in an industry; assess probable Competitor strategies; evaluate the effect of emerging technologies. Sometimes known as Alternative outcomes or 'What if?' analysis. See also: Business environment, Scenario planning, Strategy .

Scenario planning is a technique for articulating possible future events that may affect the company and its operations and preparing appropriate responses. Subsequent plans usually cover a range from best case to worst case probabilities. The technique allows users to explore the implications of several alternative futures and enables them to modify their strategic direction as events unfold. The technique may be more simply described as informed flexibility . Also known as Contingency or Foresight planning. See also: Opportunities , Planning, Threats .

Search engines are microprocessor-driven software programs capable of successfully retrieving Information from computer networks or databases in order to match the needs of searchers. They automatically Index keywords in context, usually by using Robots , then search those indexes for keywords that match the user's request. Generally speaking, they are more suitable than Directories for conducting Research . Current developments may incorporate Visualisation techniques. See also: Bot, Crawler, Database, Keyword, Metasearch engine, Network, Spider .

Selective dissemination of information (SDI) is a personal Current awareness service . It refers to a technique for directing new items of Information , from whatever source, to those individuals whose current interests in a particular subject are high, and who may be able to take advantage of such information. SDI is based on a user interest profile which is normally selected by the user from a list of keywords, descriptors, or indexing terms. Often referred to by the more recent term, Push technology or Personalisation .

Soft information is essentially qualitative in nature and consists of ideas, suggestions, opinions, Rumour , gossip, feedback, anecdotes, speculation, and tips. It may be derived from direct observation and by scanning the mass media (newspapers, magazines, the Internet, television, and radio) but, predominantly, through networks, telephone interviews, or in other face-to-face activities. It is particularly valuable in Intelligence operations. See also: Humint, Networking .

Spam is mass, unsolicited commercial Electronic mail on the Internet .

Special intelligence briefing is a brief Report that identifies a specific issue, summarises the key supporting analyses, and recommends one or more courses of action. See also: Analysis, Briefing, Intelligence briefing, Summary .

SWOT analysis is the evaluation of available Information concerning the Business environment in order to identify internal strengths and weaknesses, and external Threats and Opportunities . Also known as Situational analysis and, when applied to competitors, as Competitor profiling .  

Tacit knowledge is the product of interaction between people, or between people and their environment. It refers to Knowledge that is gained only experientially and, therefore, cannot be readily articulated or explained to inexperienced parties (for example, drawing, painting, writing, Planning , decision-making). An individual will acquire tacit knowledge only by gathering Information , relating it to existing knowledge, and accumulating experience; it involves judgment, intuition, and common sense. In groups, tacit knowledge exists in the practices and relationships that develop through working together over time. The major challenges are in its recognition, sharing, and management.   See also: Corporate culture, Implicit knowledge, Know-how, Knowledge management, Meme.

Taxonomy, in its original form, refers to the science of the classification of living and extinct organisms. In modern parlance, it applies to any system or software designed to organise Information or Knowledge so that it may be more easily stored, maintained, and retrieved. It usually reflects the language and culture of a specific enterprise or industry and acts as the authority for identifying documents and the content of knowledge maps. A taxonomy is often created by reference to several thesauri, classification schemes, and indexes using a combination of human intellectual effort and specialised software.

Technological intelligence is a subdivision of Business intelligence covering those technical activities that are concerned with translating Research findings or other scientific Knowledge into devices, materials, products, processes, or services. See also: Intelligence .

Thesaurus is a list of terms, or authorised descriptors, used to provide a Controlled vocabulary for Information storage and retrieval. It shows hierarchical (broader, narrower), synonymous, and other relationships between terms. A thesaurus may incorporate a Notation .

Trade literature is produced by individual companies, primarily to instruct or inform existing and potential buyers. It includes sales pamphlets, advertising brochures, promotional material, product or parts catalogues, maintenance or instruction manuals, handbooks, user guides, data sheets, and certain in-house journals or newsletters. See also: Grey literature .

Visualisation of information is a technique for making visual representations of the topics or ideas contained in a body of Information , and of their relationships with each other. They usually take the form of maps or other graphical depictions that can be readily understood. Visualisation expands the capacity of the human mind to deal with complex matters, enables users to extract Knowledge more efficiently, and helps them to find insights not always obvious when information is presented in traditional formats. Other terms used include: Argument mapping, Concept mapping, Content visualisation, or Graphic visualisation. See also: Computer graphics, Dashboard, Knowledge map, Predictive analytics, Social network analysis, Sonification .

War gaming is a process, adapted from the military, in which teams or individuals, representing the company and its competitors, simulate a business situation and act out the roles of decision makers in timed phases. Comparison between the results leads to the next stage. This continues until at least one feasible Strategy , counter-strategy, or solution emerges. War gaming is very effective in industries undergoing high rates of change. Sometimes referred to as a Strategy game or as Virtual competition. See also: Business environment, Competitor .

War room is an area set aside for use as an Intelligence or Knowledge centre or as a demonstration room for Reverse engineering purposes. Also referred to as an Operations or Situation room; it may:

Yellow pages is the colloquial term for a Knowledge map.