Dr Nick Milton

Chief Knowledge Architect
Nick Milton
Email nick.milton@epistemics.co.uk
Tel +44 (0)115 913 5815

Biographical Details

I obtained a BSc in Electronics from the University of Southampton, 1981. I then worked as an electronics engineer for 10 years at Marconi and Plessey. Having achieved the level of principal engineer, I changed career. I obtained a BA Psychology (1st class) from the University of Nottingham, 1996. I then completed a PhD at the University of Nottingham and worked as a researcher in the Artificial Intelligence group. I joined Epistemics as a knowledge engineer in 1999. Since then I have worked with many organisations as a consultant and trainer in the areas of knowledge engineering and knowledge management.

Responsibilities

My work at Epistemics has involved five main activities: (i) Improving methods and tools for knowledge acquisition; (ii) Preparing and delivering training courses in knowledge acquisition, knowledge management and PCPACK; (iii) Contributing to the strategy and development of Epistemics products and services; (iv) Creating end-user documentation and website material; (v) Performing and supporting others in knowledge acquisition.

Knowledge Engineering Projects

Here are some of the projects that I have worked on at Epistemics:

  • Cognitive Cockpit: I carried out knowledge acquisition with Royal Air Force pilots to produce a knowledge base in PCPACK. This was used to develop an expert system to automate the planning of defensive operations.
  • Airbus: I provided consultancy and training to over 100 knowledge engineers at Airbus. This contributed to Airbus's adoption of MOKA and PCPACK for their knowledge management programme.
  • BAE Systems: I have provided consultancy and training to over 40 knowledge engineers at BAE Systems. This has contributed to their use of knowledge engineering for the retention and sharing of expertise.
  • Cleary Gottlieb: I have carried out knowledge acquisition with leading corporate lawyers across Europe to create a number of knowledge webs that provide 'experience acceleration' for associates and junior lawyers.
  • Rolls-Royce: I helped to establish the Knowledge Management Centre at Rolls-Royce and trained over 120 employees in knowledge engineering. I was a major contributor to the development of their SPEDE methodology.
  • Airborne Early Warning: I carried out knowledge acquisition with Royal Navy radar observers to produce a knowledge base in PCPACK. This was used to develop an expert system to assist in threat detection and elimination.
  • Thales: I provided consultancy and training for Thales. This led to the development of a large intranet-enabled knowledge base in the area of sensors, digital signal processing and algorithm development.

Publications

Milton, N. R. (Forthcoming May 2007). Knowledge Acquisition in Practice: a step-by-step guide. London: Springer.
For more information, click here.

Milton, N., Clarke, D. and Shadbolt, N. (2006). Knowledge Engineering and Psychology: Towards a closer relationship. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Volume 64(12), 1214-1229.

Taylor, R. M., Bonner, M. C., Dickson, B., Howells, H., Milton, N., Pleydell-Pearce, K., Shadbolt, N., Tennison, J., and Whitecross, S. (2001). Cognitive cockpit engineering: Coupling functional state assessment, task knowledge management and decision support for context sensitive aiding. Human Systems IAC Gateway. Vol XII (1).

Milton, N., Shadbolt, N., Cottam, H. & Hammersley, M. (1999). Towards a Knowledge Technology for Knowledge Management. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Volume 51, p615-664.
To download this paper click here.

Shadbolt, N. R. & Milton, N. R. (1999). From Knowledge Engineering to Knowledge Management. British Journal of Management, Volume 10, p309-322.
To download this paper click here.

Milton, N. R. (1999). Acquiring Personal Knowledge for Theory and Therapy. Presented at Reconstructing Health Psychology: An International Conference on Critical and Qualitative Approaches to Health Psychology. St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. July 1999.

Shadbolt, N.R., Tennison, J., Milton, N. and Howells, H. (2000). Situation Assessor Support System: A Knowledge-Based Systems Approach to Pilot Aiding. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Ergonomics Society on Temporary Ergonomics. Grantham, July 2000.

Cottam, H. D., Milton, N. R. & Shadbolt, N. R. (1998). The Use of Ontologies in a Decision Support System for Business Process Re-Engineering. In Proceedings of IT& KNOWS Conference of the 15th IFIP World Computer Congress. Vienna/Budapest, August 1998.

Cottam, H. D., Shadbolt, N. R. & Milton, N. R. (1998). Acquiring Knowledge for Business Process Re-Engineering. Workshop Notes AAAI-98. Technical Report WS-98-13. Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press.


Textbook

I am the author of a book called "Knowledge Acquisition in Practice: A Step-by-step Guide".

The book provides a detailed guide to the methods and practical aspects of acquiring, modelling, storing and sharing knowledge.

In the book, I describe a 47-step procedure for a complete knowledge acquisition project (from its inception to its successful conclusion). Each step is described in terms of the reasons for the step, the required resources, the activities to be undertaken and the solutions to common problems.

The book is published by Springer in their Decision Engineering series and will be out in May 2007.

For more information, please click here.

Research Interests

My research work involves the development of a new computer-assisted methodology for psychological study and intervention, called the Personal Knowledge Methodology. The focus of the methodology is on the elicitation and presentation of personal knowledge. Personal knowledge includes the knowledge individuals have of their life history, their behaviours, their moods, their relationships, their ambitions, and so on. Principles and techniques used in Knowledge Engineering form the basis of the design of the Personal Knowledge Methodology. At the heart of the methodology is the use of a suite of knowledge acquisition and modelling techniques, called Personal Knowledge Techniques, and an ontology called the Personal Knowledge Ontology.

To view my PhD thesis and the Personal Knowledge Ontology, click here

Essays

Here are some short essays that I wrote as an undergraduate student of psychology. If you know little about academic and research psychology, they will give you some idea.

Go to:  The Placebo Effect
Go to:  Stress and Absenteeism
Go to:  Why do animals sleep?
Go to:  Social Psychological Methods
Go to:  Can knowledge be defined?
Go to:  Word Recognition
Go to:  Theories of Attention


Last Modified: 29 March 2007