Enterprise Social Network Platforms as a Management Tool in Complex Technical Systems

摘要

Technical systems like communication networks or IT systems tend to grow more and more large and complex. Their management is handled by a workforce divided into different locations and responsibility areas. This adds to the system vulnerability by misconfiguration and hidden side effects of administrative actions. Web 2.0 social network platforms, on the other hand, are a canonical tool to increase information flow and transparency. This paper proposes a custom-tailored social network platform to be used as a tool in managing such systems. A prototype for such a platform has been implemented and, as a thought experiment, applied to the operation support system of a mobile communication network. This experiment shows the strengths of this idea, together with a number of caveats of which one should be aware.