Knowledge Transfer in Software Process Initiatives

From Information Systems at Pitt Business

Software process initiatives require individuals to rethink work patterns and relationships, develop new cognitive frameworks and schemas, and embed these new structures in to their work practices. This broad, deep understanding of processes and practices requires knowledge transfer between individuals located throughout the organization. Individuals use various mechanisms at varying levels of intensity to transfer this knowledge to others.

This study examines the role of knowledge transfer portfolios (mechanisms and intensity of knowledge transfer) in software process initiatives. Explicitly, this study examines the factors that influence the structure of the portfolio and its effectiveness.

[edit] Abstract

Because of challenges often experienced when deploying software, many firms have embarked on software process improvement (SPI) initiatives. Critical to the success of these initiatives is the transfer of knowledge across individuals who occupy a range of roles in various organizational units involved in software production. Prior research suggests that a portfolio of different mechanisms, employed frequently, can be required for effective knowledge transfer. However, little research exists that examines under what situations differing portfolios of mechanisms are selected. Further, it is not clear how effective different portfolio designs are. In this study, we conceptualize knowledge transfer portfolios in terms of their composition(the types of mechanisms used) and their intensity(the frequency with which the mechanisms are utilized).

We hypothesize the influence of organizational design decisions on the composition and intensity of knowledge transfer portfolios for SPI. We then posit how the composition and intensity of knowledge transfer portfolios affect performance improvement. Our findings indicate that a more intense portfolio of knowledge transfer mechanisms is used when the source and recipient are proximate, when they are in a hierarchical relationship, or when they work in different units. Further, a source and recipient select direction-based portfolios when they are farther apart, in a hierarchical relationship, or work in different units. In terms of performance, our results reveal that the fit between the composition and intensity of the knowledge transfer portfolio influences the recipient’s performance improvement. At lower levels of intensity direction-based portfolios are more effective, while at higher levels of intensity routine-based portfolios yield the highest performance improvement. We discuss the implications of our findings for researchers and for managers who want to promote knowledge transfer to improve software processes in their organizations.

[edit] Paper Information

Authors: Sandra Slaughter, Laurie Kirsch

Check out the article at The Effectiveness of Knowledge Transfer Portfolios in Software Process Improvement: A Field Study

This article was originally published in ISR, Vol 17, No. 3, September 2006.

[edit] Keywords

Knowledge Transfer Mechanism Portfolios, Portfolio Intensity, Portfolio Composition, Knowledge Transfer, Software Process Improvement, Management of Information Systems