A Study of Knowledge Management Process Practices in Very Small Software Companies

Abstract

Problem statement: Software development is distinct from other types of engineering because the product is intangible, progress is not explicit and team members rely on the documentation of others to review progress. In addition, there are no standard processes, which make it difficult to predict which process will cause development problems. The discourse of knowledge management is becoming more evident in the software engineering literature, as the software development activity is essentially a human knowledge intensive activity. Approach: This study explores the role of software development knowledge management within software development companies. Specifically: How software knowledge is managed; identify critical factors in software development teams and software development knowledge management; understand how should software teams are organized in order to support software process improvement and the role of knowledge management in this. Results: This study presents the results of a study of knowledge management process practices in very small software companies and discusses these under the major identified issues of: Communication; Learning and sharing; Documentation and Knowledge management process and commitment. Conclusion: The findings in this study give an insight towards knowledge management practices as they relate to software development process practices in very small companies and the important factors that must be considered to preserve knowledge and quality software.