Using Reflective Guides to Capture Software Projects Experience

Capturing the experience team members acquire in software projects is of great value for organizations wishing to improve their software practices and process. The main drawback of existing methods for capturing this experience is that the capture process is done (if ever) after project completion, which leads to the risk of losing it because, as usually occurs, team members are finally not available to participate. In this paper we present an empirical study of the use of ¿reflective guides¿, a knowledge management tool for capturing experience in software projects, which differs from existing approach in the fact that the capturing process is integrated into the daily project activities

On-the-job Informal Learning Practices for IS Students

Information systems (IS) students find soft skills acquired in schools to be insufficient to fully prepare them for their jobs because soft skills are context-dependent and difficult to teach. To compensate for this adversity, students could acquire knowledge through continuous on-the-job informal learning; however, only 20 percent of what organizations invest in training is dedicated to enhancing informal learning. As a result, it is essential that students enter the work force with sufficient knowledge of informal learning practices in order to better acquire experiential knowledge. This paper recommends four techniques that universities can incorporate in IS curriculums to prepare students to become better on-the-job learners