Understanding the role of knowledge management in software development: a case study in very small companies

Software and systems engineering is distinct from other forms of engineering as it deals with an intangible product, where the progress in construction is not explicitly visible and team members often rely on the docu- mentation of others to follow and review progress. Furthermore unlike traditional engineering disciplines, there is no single standardized unified process. The role of knowledge management in the software engineering literature is becoming more evident, as the software development activity is essentially a human knowledge intensive activity and is seen by many as a key factor. This paper discusses the role of software development knowledge management within software development process and specifically how software development knowledge is managed in software development in order to support software process improvement and the role of knowledge management in this. The authors present 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 com- mitment. 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

Bibliometric Review of Professional Skills Development in Engineering Education: Implications for Engineering Management Programs

Engineering managers benefit from having professional skills in areas such as communication, teamwork, decision-making, project management, ethical awareness, and an appreciation of contemporary issues. These skills complement the technical engineering foundation in relevant areas of science and mathematics combined with a solid grounding in engineering analysis, design and practice. However, there are continuing challenges in regard to understanding the optimal approaches for integrating professional skills and knowledge development in engineering management programs and more broadly across engineering education. Therefore, this study conducted a bibliometric review on professional skills development in engineering education. The method is based on systematic searching of the extant literature, which identified 88 documents according to keyword retrieval over a 5 year period from 2018 to 2022. The documents are categorized in terms of publication metrics (such as publication year, subject area and country of origin) followed by bibliometric analysis to determine co-occurrence of keywords, co-occurrence of text, and co-authorship in terms of countries. The study includes content analysis of the 10 publications having the highest citation count. This analysis allowed emerging trends on the publications to be identified as well as collaboration patterns, research strategies, and structure of the knowledge base. The study concludes with a set of implications for engineering management programs arising from the bibliometric review

Path Forward to Design and Implement an On-going Engineering Management Handbook

The purpose of this thesis was to determine a path forward to design and implement an on-going Engineering Management Handbook. A review was performed to establish a definition of Engineering Management, the history of Engineering Management, how this history has impacted the Body of Knowledge in Engineering Management over the years, and the current state of the Engineering Management Handbook. Two surveys were performed to discover how users perceive the Handbook. It was found that there was a desire for a useful on-line EM Handbook. This research allows for decisions to be made in the future as the Handbook is updated by showing what subjects and features are most important to users, as well as the need for structure development from the beginning. The features and structure of the Handbook are proposed, along with submission guidelines. The functionality is presented through a series of examples to illustrate the use of the new Engineering Management Handbook

Inter- & Intradepartmental Knowledge Management Barriers when Offering Single Unit Solutions

The Business-to-Business market is increasingly characterized by customers asking for solutions fitting their infrastructure and functional requirements in a short timeframe. The high frequency of such single unit solutions together with the unpredictable and often very specific customer requests impose a challenge onto the supplier’s knowledge management. This paper analyses current corresponding knowledge management barriers, which hamper the production process, in particular, because of misunderstandings between sales and engineering departments. The aggregation of the results of a literature review and an empirical study identifies three measures for overcoming these barriers in order to establish a global culture of knowledge sharing

Managing Knowledge in Aircraft Engineering

In this paper, the authors analyse knowledge management (KM) practices in civil aviation industry and introduce a framework for better management of knowledge in aircraft engineering (AE). After comprehensive review of KM literature, this paper offers insights into the existing KM practices in AE using a case study in the Saudi Arabian Aviation industry (SAAI). The KM research data was collected through discussions and interviews as well as through observations during one of the authorâs employment as aircraft engineer in the SAAI. Synthesis of these results with the KM literature was used to identify the gaps between the KM theory and current practices in AE. Finally, an operationsbased knowledge management (OBKM) system framework was developed to address these gaps and overcome ineffectiveness in current practices

Advanced Tools and Technologies for Collaborative Product Development and Knowledge Management

The shortcomings of the current state-of-the-art in distributed / collaborative product development of engineering products from concept to production are: A lack of an integrated interface for the full spectrum of functions needed by complex conceptual design for manufacture and assembly; and management and re-use of concept design knowledge within an integrated design environment. Recommendations are given on the integration of these disparate technologies for the benefit of collaborative work teams to enable them to use a seamlessly integrated interface to develop, review, analyse and reuse engineering and manufacturing knowledge and models within the enterprise and the supply chain. A proposed methodology and a functional description of such a system is presented. The system utilises the Protégé-2000 expert system on top of the Windchill data management / collaboration software. International Standard for the Exchange of Product model data – STEP is to be used for machining feature definition

The transition of an engineer to an engineering manager: The people problem.

“A review of existing literature and a survey of engineering managers are used to determine the work of the engineering manager, the career path leading to an engineering management position, and the skills that should be acquired by the engineer desiring to make the transition to an engineering management position. The work of the engineering manager, like that of any manager, is getting things done through other people. In advancing to the first formal management position, the engineer usually passes through three career stages: engineer, informal manager, and formal manager. While advancing through these career stages, the engineer must increase his skills in three vital areas: his ability to handle people, his understanding of business, and the breadth of his technical knowledge. The most critical area of expertise for the potential engineering manager, the ability to handle people, is described as the people problem. The people problem includes the delegation of authority, the assignment of responsibility, the motivation of subordinates, and effective communication. Because of the technical (as opposed to interpersonal) orientation, the independent nature, and the job expectations of engineers, the people problem is particularly acute for the engineering manager”--Abstract, page ii