Title: An extensible architecture for environmental scanning from web sources

Authors: Hercules Antonio Do Prado, Edilson Ferneda, Andre Ribeiro Magalhaes, Eduardo Amadeu Dutra Moresi

Addresses: Graduate Program on Knowledge and IT Management, Catholic University of Brasilia, SGAN 916, Modulo B, Sala A-126, 70.790-160 Brasilia, DF, Brazil; Management and Strategy Secretariat, Embrapa – Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Parque Estacao Biologica – PqEB s/n, Asa Norte, 70770-901 Brasilia, DF, Brazil. ' Graduate Program on Knowledge and IT Management, Catholic University of Brasilia, SGAN 916, Modulo B, Sala A-126, 70.790-160 Brasilia, DF, Brazil. ' Graduate Program on Knowledge and IT Management, Catholic University of Brasilia, SGAN 916, Modulo B, Sala A-126, 70.790-160 Brasilia, DF, Brazil. ' Graduate Program on Knowledge and IT Management, Catholic University of Brasilia, SGAN 916, Modulo B, Sala A-126, 70.790-160 Brasilia, DF, Brazil

Abstract: Most organisations respond to internal and external challenges with different degrees of effectiveness. One of their biggest challenges is the ability to identify and respond appropriately to changes in their external environments. How effective are the organisational responses depend on the scope, timeliness and quality of the information available. However, such attributes depend not only from the quality of the sources accessed but also from the availability of tools for information extraction in timeliness and with adequate presentation. Considering the web one of the most comprehensive sources of information currently available, it is proposed in this paper an extensible software architecture for the instantiation of web monitoring tools. Such architecture includes generic classes that allow its permanent extensibility, according to the necessity of including new functionalities. A prototype is presented and a case study is described to illustrate its applicability.

Keywords: competitive intelligence; environmental scanning; software architecture; web monitoring; internet; information monitoring.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRIS.2011.037735

International Journal of Reasoning-based Intelligent Systems, 2011 Vol.3 No.1, pp.1 - 7

Published online: 26 Dec 2010 *

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