J Inf Process Syst, Vol.9, No.4, pp.548-566, December 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.3745/JIPS.2013.9.4.548 548 Developing a Web-Based Knowledge Product Outsourcing System at a University Mark B. Onte* and Dave E. Marcial* Abstract—The availability of technology and the abundance of experts in universities create an ample opportunity to provide a venue that allows a knowledge seeker to easily connect with and request advice from university experts. On the other hand, outsourcing provides opportunities and remains one of the emerging trends in organizations, and can very clearly observed in the Philippines. This paper describes the development of a reliable web-based approach to Knowledge Product Outsourcing (KPO) services in the Silliman Online University Learning system. The system is called an “e-Knowledge Box.” It integrates Web 2.0 technologies and mechanisms, such as instant messaging, private messaging, document forwarding, video conferencing, online payments, net meetings, and social collaboration together into one system. Among the tools used are WAMP Server 2.0, PHP, BlabIM, Wordpress 3.0, Video Whisper, Red5, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, and Virtual Box. The proposed system is integrated with the search engine in URLs, Web feeds, email links, social bookmarking, search engine sitemaps, and Web Analytics Direct Visitor Reports. The site demonstrates great web usability and has an excellent rating in functionality, language and content, online help and user guides, system and user feedback, consistency, and architectural and visual clarity. Likewise, the site was was rated as being very good for the following items: navigation navigation, user control, and error prevention and correction. Keywords—Knowledge Product Outsourcing, Knowledge Management, Web 2.0, IT in Education 1. INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION Outsourcing refers to the contracting out of services or products to external providers and is usually considered for varying purposes, such as to lower costs or to take advantage of external expertise [1]. Outsourcing remains one of the emerging trends in organizations, and can very clearly observed in the Philippines as the number of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) com- panies continues to rise. This trend is will continue to grow as organizations shift business strate- gies and opt to utilize external resources to achieve a business function [2]. One of these external resources includes knowledge products, which is the product or a creation resulting from the expertise, experience, and skills of knowledge provider in a particular knowledge field. ※ We would like to thank Silliman University for the opportunity to work with this project. We would like also to acknowledge the 1st International Conference on Open and Distance e-Learning (ICODEL 2012) for the comments and suggestions for improving this paper. Manuscript received January 28, 2013; first revision September 11, 2013; accepted October 7, 2013. Corresponding Author: Dave E. Marcial (demarcial@su.edu.ph) * College of Computer Studies, Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines (mark@su.edu.ph, demarcial@su.edu.ph) pISSN 1976-913X eISSN 2092-805X Copyright ⓒ 2013 KIPS