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Knowledge Management Initiatives and Strategies in Small and Medium Enterprises
Software development organization (SDO) is a kind of knowledge-intensive business and their large majority is small and medium enterprise (SME) facing similar challenges of large ones. The diversity and complexity of the SDO environment makes knowledge the fundamental element in the software development process, which strengthens the importance of an effective knowledge management process. The software development process involves multidisciplinary teams, and the various working meetings that occur during a project are conducive to generate and share a lot of knowledge, in particular tacit knowledge. The use of a knowledge management process that enables to manage tacit knowledge will define the difference between a good SDO performance and the best SDO performance. This chapter aims to present an exploratory study based on literature review, with the aim of identifying the main challenge of knowledge management in the SDO context. The authors also aim to address some new research d...
The International Technology Management Review, 2008
This paper describes the role of knowledge management and its application in the context of software development. Knowledge management (KM) can be used to capture, organize, and catalo knowledge and experience generated during the software process. Methodology: Literature review Findings: The paper proposes a new way of thinking about the role of (KM) in software engineering environments by developing an extended framework that integrates five types of knowledge into the five phases of software development lifecycle and the five phases of the KM life cycle. The results found that the proposed framework for managing knowledge during software development will help individuals in identifying the critical knowledge available during software development and choosing the right phase of KM lifecycle for the right knowledge area in the right phase of software development lifecycle. Implications for practice: The application of the proposed framework will improve the success rate of software development projects, through enhancing the exchange and transfer of knowledge and experience among software development teams. This will also result in improved software development training programs, policies, project management, and practices in software development projects. Value of the paper: The paper will be of interest to researchers, academics, knowledge workers, top management, and software practitioners. Number of pages: 20 Number of figures: 4 Section headings: Abstract, Introduction, Research problem, Knowledge in Software Organisations, Reasons why people would not share knowledge, KM in Software Engineering Environments, The need for capturing and sharing process and product knowledge, A five C's KM lifecycle, A five-layered KM model for software team knowledge, Combining the five layered and the five C's models, Discussion and Key Findings, Conclusions and future work, References.
2001
Software Engineering is a wide area of knowledge and various other types of knowledge are required during the software development and maintenance. This paper describes a survey carried out to characterize the importance given by software developers to varying types of knowledge mentioned in the technical literature on Software Engineering. The survey results have been used to guide the elaboration and incorporation of content and tools to the TABA workstation, which allows one to configure and instantiate software development environments for different companies. This paper also addresses the use of the TABA workstation to support software processes deployment in small and medium size Brazilian companies. The goal is to increase the capability of software organizations by the adequate use of Software Engineering techniques in their development and maintenance processes.
SA Journal of Information Management, 2017
Software process improvement (SPI) frameworks such as the capability maturity model and capability maturity model integration and new software development methodologies such as agile methods have been introduced in the industry to address software development challenges (Bellini & lo Storto 2006; Lehtinen et al. 2014). These intervention strategies do not seem to have absolutely addressed these problems. This is because organisations either do not know these frameworks or perceive them as expensive, time consuming and difficult to perform (Al Tarawneh, Abdullah & Ali 2009; Richardson & von Wangenheim 2007; Saranya & Kannan 2013). Consequently, software organisations are turning to knowledge management (KM) strategies in an attempt to address the challenges they face (Lindval et al. 2002; Sholla & Nazari 2011). This is because software development is a knowledge-intensive task that has the potential to benefit from KM principles (Dorairaj, Noble & Malik 2012; Jiang et al. 2009). In the global software industry, Background: Software organisations have been experiencing software development failures since the beginning of software development. Globally, latest Standish Group CHAOS reports indicate that only 29% of projects are successful. In South Africa (SA), the ITWeb report (2013) indicates that only 11% of all projects are successful. Intervention strategies such as software process improvement (SPI) frameworks and new software development methodologies such as agile methods have been introduced to address this issue. These intervention strategies do not seem to be effective because software development projects continue to fail. To address this issue, software organisations are turning to knowledge management (KM). This is because software development is a knowledge-intensive task. Objectives: The study aimed to investigate KM practices in small, medium and micro (SMMEs) software development organisations in SA and to determine if KM has benefited the organisations. Method: Fifteen software development project managers from 15 software development SMMEs were interviewed. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: The study found six KM practices in the organisations: knowledge acquisition, creation, storage, sharing, organisation and application. The study found that KM has benefited organisations by making them effective, efficient and productive. Conclusions: The study concluded that software development organisation have adopted KM, although informally, and that KM practices have improved organisational routines and processes.
IEEE Software, 2002
Software engineering is knowledge-intensive work, and how to manage software engineering knowledge has received much attention. This systematic review identifies empirical studies of knowledge management initiatives in software engineering, and discusses the concepts studied and the research methods used. Seven hundred and sixty-two articles were identified, of which 68 were studies in an industry context. Of these, 29 were empirical studies and 39 reports of lessons learned.
Nowadays, Knowledge became superpower for organizational growth and software is the tools which can manage knowledge with efficient manner; if application framework is appropriate made by the software engineering practices. Many knowledge management frameworks and tools are available in the form of software but still need a theoretical framework for organizational knowledge by the knowledge communities. In this global business economy era each and every activity to be recorded for future reference and this reference leads better decision for organizational growth. In this paper we are doing exploratory study for the organizational knowledge management and software engineering. The basic reason of this study is to find out the appropriate way to make a theoretical framework for Knowledge management prop up for software engineering
International Journal of Computer Applications, 2014
Software development organizations are focusing on improving the process of software development so that the resultant software is of high quality and the development cost is low from the viewpoint of the competitive advantage. Software process improvement (SPI) is a methodical and continuous improvement approach for the software development processes to develop quality software. SPI establishes a relationship between process maturity and product quality. SPI provides improvement through knowledge creation and collaboration. In flourishing SPI effort Knowledge management is an important element. This paper presents and discusses the various ideas and models for SPI and specifies how knowledge management is significant for SPI.
Anais do XXV Congresso Ibero-Americano em Engenharia de Software (CIbSE 2022)
The software development companies conduct activities that generate a considerable amount of knowledge. Knowledge Management (KM) allows working with the generated knowledge helping in organizational learning. However, professionals in software companies still face several challenges to articulate and leverage knowledge in the organization. We aim at providing evidence about how KM has been adopted in practical environments of software development. We designed a survey instrument that was distributed to Brazilian software development professionals. The survey results improved the current understanding of KM and how it manifests itself in practical software development environments.
Knowledge and Process Management, 2010
Software projects require tacit knowledge and shared contexts for creative problem solving. Existing knowledge management frameworks focus on codifying knowledge laying an emphasis on managing explicit knowledge, typically ignoring the tacit element. This research provides a framework that mobilises and integrates both tacit and explicit knowledge, and facilitates the flow of common knowledge to address unstructured situations in software projects. The framework is developed from empirical evidence gathered while conducting an extended case study at one of the world's largest software organisations. The research has implications for the knowledge management literature by establishing knowledge as something that is made resourceful by being competently mobilised and utilised, rather than by being managed through capture and storage. Thus, the paper attempts to fill a gap in the literature on a phenomenon that is increasingly becoming more relevant in empirical settings.
Procedia Computer Science, 2018
Software Development Projects (SDPs) are knowledge oriented in nature, knowledge intensive and they rely on two types of knowledge in order for them to be conducted successfully. The other type of knowledge that is being used is called tacit knowledge which provides a challenge when it comes to application of it. The challenges of application of it has resulted in knowledge imbalance and that leads to the failure of SDPs. This study tries to understand the issues that affect the application of tacit knowledge within SDPs in the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Researchers conducted a qualitative study within RSA. They conducted a total of 17 semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using grounded theory data analysis. The interviews were conducted on different individuals that are working on different SDPs. The results indicated that there are issues that affect the application of tacit knowledge within SDPs. A total of 10 issues were identified and those issues were interrelated. They have influence on each other. It became imminent that the trust is also vital in the application of tacit knowledge especially the trust on the source of tacit knowledge and the results of tacit knowledge.
Knowledge management is expected to be integral part any software development and services companies. Knowledge has become an important capital for many organizations in the international competition. So knowledge management is gradually becoming the core competence and key of sustainable development for organizations. Many enterprises have already used concepts and methods of knowledge management for operation and achieved remarkable results. Based on the analysis of knowledge management system, a framework model for enterprise knowledge management is presented in this paper. For an enterprise, it is necessary to build this knowledge management system to share knowledge resources, provide scientific supports for decision-making, face fiercely competitive market, and so on.
Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, 2005
Information technology (IT) organizations, especially software development organizations, are knowledge-intensive firms where the knowledge is mainly embedded in human beings and is largely in the form of tacit knowledge. Managing knowledge in global software teams in very critical as knowledge is a source of competitive advantage for these organizations. They have adopted emergent team-based structures as a response to changing business needs and are globally distributed. Sharing of tacit knowledge requires more people-to-people interaction which is impossible in these organizations. Due to this reason, it is essential to manage certain critical knowledge during the progress of the projects related to achieving the performance goals and the learning goals to consistently sustain and improve project performance. This study identifies the following critical knowledge areas related to the learning goals: user requirements knowledge functional domain knowledge technical knowledge proje...
Proceedings of the 8th WSEAS international …, 2009
The software development process is knowledge-intensive. Knowledge is dynamic and evolves with technology, organizational culture and the changing needs of organization's software development practices. Although, knowledge management in software engineering is a topic that received a lot of attention from international academicians and practitioners this subject was not so appealing to the Romanian counterparts. In this paper we conduct an investigation for evaluating aspects of knowledge management practice in Romanian software engineering industry and discuss the concepts studied and the major findings.
2020
Software quality is affected by its development process. The software development process, in general, goes through several stages, including project management, system requirements analysis, architecture, and design, implementation and testing. On each of these stages it cannot be separated from the process of capturing, storing, transferring and sharing knowledge between the developer and the stakeholders. This systematic review aimed to analyze the knowledge management process in the software development process. In this systematic review we used the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. We reviewed twenty-two works of literature from several publisher sources and analyzed the knowledge management process in software development. The analysis revealed that the knowledge management process has an essential role in improving the quality of software developed. As a conclusion of this systematic review, knowledge management is one of th...
2018
The software industry is dynamic and complex, so they need to use the knowledge to excel in a highly competitive market. Thus, the knowledge well managed brings the organization a sustainable and competitive advantage. Knowledge Management (KM) processes can avoid knowledge lost since they provide knowledge flow for the whole organization. These processes are supported by practices and tools promoting the creation, retention, and dissemination of the knowledge within the organizational environment. The objective of this study was to validate, through a proof of concept (POC), a questionnaire to investigate the processes, practices, and tools of KM in SME-Soft. The questionnaire was evaluated by fifty-one professionals and KM experts from the software industry. Our findings point out that the questionnaire is suitable for the software industry.
2011
This chapter discusses knowledge management (KM) aspects of how software process and software process improvement (SPI) is practiced within very small entities (VSEs) in the context of Irish software development industry. In particular this study is concerned with the process of software development knowledge management in supporting the SPI. In order to understand the support process, we have studied how KM processes are practiced within VSEs which includes communication, learning, sharing and documentation process. This study also focuses in detail on the issues of the knowledge atrophy problem in VSEs. The findings explain how KM is been practiced and influences the software development process and process improvement in VSEs. This result indicates that KM processes in VSEs are being undertaken in a very informal manner and also in indirect way due to the small team size, autonomous working and macro-management style which have caused VSEs to be more informal in their knowledge management processes specifically and SPI generally. In addition, the results have indicated that the informal environment and culture helped VSEs to easily create and share knowledge between staff members and also assisted VSEs to mitigate the knowledge atrophy problem in their organization. KM PROCESS In order to understand VSEs KM process, we have combines 3 main categories into one section as follows: Communication Process From the analysis, we could divide the communication process in VSEs in 2 categories namely open and informal communication category and online communication category. It also shows that the communication processes in VSEs are influence by the companies team structure and process and the working and management style Table 6 shows the details communication process categories produced from the analysis.
The development of new or updated software packages by software companies often involves the specification of new features and functionality required by customers, who may already be using a version of the software package. The ongoing development and upgrade of such packages is the norm, and the effective management of knowledge in this process is critical to achieving successful enhancement of the package in line with customer expectations. Human interaction within the software development process becomes a key focus, and knowledge transfer an essential mechanism for delivering software to quality standards and within agreed timescales and budgetary constraints. This article focuses on the role and nature of knowledge within the context of software development, and puts forward a combined conceptual model to aid in the understanding of individual and group tacit knowledge in this business and operational environment.
Software Process: Improvement and Practice, 1998
Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2013
A software engineering project depends significantly on team performance, software is created by people for people involving human cooperation. In the last years, the tradicional software development approaches are changing and agile methods have received considerable appreciation. Among other attributes, the agilists claim that knowledge sharing is one of the keys to response to common problems and challenges of software development today. The agile principles and values have emphasized the importance of collaboration and interaction in the software development and, by other hand, creative work commonly involves collaboration in some form and it can be understood as an interaction between an individual and a sociocultural context. Agile methods had attained worldwide fame for its ability to increase the productivity of software teams by several magnitudes through empowering individuals, fostering a team-oriented environment, and focusing on project transparency and results. Particularly relevant are the team structure (creative and agile roles) and its functioning (creative techniques used).
IEEE Software, 2002
Software engineering is knowledge-intensive work, and how to manage software engineering knowledge has received much attention. This systematic review identifies empirical studies of knowledge management initiatives in software engineering, and discusses the concepts studied and the research methods used. Seven hundred and sixty-two articles were identified, of which 68 were studies in an industry context. Of these, 29 were empirical studies and 39 reports of lessons learned.
… , 2009. CHASE'09. ICSE Workshop on, 2009
Knowledge is considered as the main competitive asset of the organization, enabling the enterprise to be productive and to deliver competitive products and services. Software development is a knowledge-intensive activity where the level of uncertainty is high, and its success depends heavily on the developers' knowledge and experience. One of the knowledge management (KM) cornerstones is improving productivity by effective knowledge sharing and transfer. The main constraint, from the game theory perspective (specifically the prisoner and the public-goods dilemmas), is, however, that people tend not to collaborate in uncertainty conditions, when collaborative behavior is not guaranteed, and sharing knowledge is time-and effort-consuming. Therefore, KM must be a practical aspect of the general organizational culture. In this session we highlight how the agile approach initiates a culture change that is in line with the culture change needed for a KM initiative. We discuss KM enablers that are embedded in the agile software engineering approach, and illustrate how collaborating processes and knowledge transparency can weaken the dilemmas people face and lead to better knowledge extraction and sharing.
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