The Relationship Between Intellectual Capital and Information Technology: Findings Based on a Systematic Review

The world is experiencing a knowledge-based economy with a revolution in information technology, innovation, and telecommunications. The rise of the "new economy", driven by information and knowledge, has led to an increased interest in intellectual capital theory, which aims to manage intangible assets of organizations. Firms belonging to technology and knowledge-based industries recognize intellectual capital as the key knowledge base that contributes to the creation of a competitive advantage for the firm. This paper aims to answer the question "How are Intellectual Capital (IC) and Information Technology (IT) related?" through a systematic review based on four steps: 1) search conduction; 2) selection of papers based on their titles and abstracts; 3) content analysis of selected papers; 4) evidence mapping and discussions. The analyzed papers were categorized into five themes: "Statistical analysis or case study in IT companies from the Intellectual Capital perspective"; "IT as a tool for Intellectual Capital Management"; "Intellectual Capital or technology knowledge assets influencing innovation and development", "Intellectual Capital assets to evaluate a technology" and "Intellectual Capital theory as a way to understand and share knowledge in IT projects". Our findings evidenced that the Human Capital was the main dimension studied by the authors, followed by Structural Capital and Relational Capital. We believe that this work may help to clarify on Intellectual Capital Management procedures into Information Technology projects, thus opening new topics for future research.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Knowledge Management on PMO’s Perspective: A Systematic Review

Much of the work developed in organizations occurs as projects and this tendency is crescent. The Project Management Office(PMO) is an organizational entity with responsibilities related to the centralization and coordination of projects under its domain. In fact, PMOs can fill many different roles or functions in different organizations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Project Management in Light of Cognitive Biases: A Public Sector IT Organization Case

When making judgments, people rely on heuristics, or general rules of thumb. In other words, they use mental "shortcuts", which may lead to rational solutions and good estimates. In certain situations, however, these simplification techniques can cause inconsistencies and promote cognitive biases. One root cause of almost all project failures is human error or misjudgment. Although the ability to make right decisions is considered a main indicator of project management professionalism, many project managers are unwilling to try to improve the quality of their decisions. Because project managers rarely have enough time and resources to perform a proper analysis, and a decision analysis expert is not always available, there is always the temptation to make intuitive decisions. Even having enough knowledge of a particular area, some natural limitations to thinking mechanisms can lead to potentially harmful choices. Since people tend to rate themselves as above average when asked to characterize their abilities, they tend not to see their own biases. This paper proposes to shed light on the susceptibility of project managers to cognitive biases and how they deal with them, including techniques and tools they use to minimize their negative effects. This study evaluates ten cognitive biases: anchoring bias, exposure effect, pseudocertainty effect, certainty effect, hindsight bias, halo effect, planning fallacy, sunk-cost fallacy, availability-related bias, and Parkinson´s law effect. The qualitative approach was based on semi-structured interviews with seven experienced project managers in a Brazilian large public sector IT organization. Other three project managers participated in the triangulation process in order to validate the concepts map resulted from this process. All project managers recognized susceptibility in eight of ten cognitive biases. Some agile practices such as use of burndown chart for daily monitoring of planned versus accomplished activities and bottom-up planning from short activities were suggested as alternatives to minimize planning fallacy. The last technique was also indicated to minimize Parkinson´s law effects along with daily team meetings. Opinion of others, including experts, was the most mentioned alternative method by project managers, aiming to reduce the negative impact of seven biases. Although its limitations, we believe that this work may help to improve project managers' awareness of cognitive biases and also their susceptibility to these systematic errors, eliciting common tools and techniques used to minimize their negative effects, which can lead to better decisions, and thus, to better project´s outcomes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Software Processes Improvement in light of Cognitive Biases: A Cross-Case Analysis

When making judgments, people rely on heuristics or shortcuts that can lead them to good solutions. In certain situations, however, these techniques can cause inconsistencies and promote cognitive biases. Referring to software processes improvement initiatives, it is important that the practices, techniques, methods and tools suggested for the processes provide mechanisms to support decision-making, thus minimizing the negative effects of such biases. This paper, based on a qualitative research applied in two IT companies in Brazil and Portugal, aims to examine eight biases: anchoring bias, exposure effect, hindsight bias, halo effect, planning fallacy, sunk-cost fallacy, availability-related bias, and Parkinson´s law effect. Through semi-structured interviews with project managers (PMs), roots causes were identified for each bias, as well as methods and tools used to minimize its negative effects, which were consolidated into a concepts map. Agile practices and knowledge management activities were cited as essential in software processes focusing on decision-making improvement

Decisius: Um Processo de Apoio à Decisão e sua Aplicação na Definição de um Índice de Produtividade para Projetos de Software

Atualmente, gerentes de projeto estão constantemente procurando maneiras de entregar produtos de qualidade o mais rápido possível. De modo a desempenhar suas atividades, tais gerentes se vêem muitas vezes diante de situações conflitantes, que envolvem questões de médio e grande risco, cujas decisões, caso mal tomadas, podem atrasar o cronograma do projeto, levando-o muitas vezes ao fracasso. Por ser algo tão cotidiano, supõe-se que a tomada de uma decisão seja algo totalmente compreendido e conhecido. No entanto, não é o que acontece. O que se observa é uma ausência, na prática, de um processo formal de apoio à decisão em projetos de software, no sentido de torná-lo uma atividade estruturada na resolução de problemas não estruturados. Dessa forma, de modo a preencher tal espaço no contexto dos projetos de software, esta dissertação propõe o Decisius, um processo formal de apoio à decisão, que faz uso da Metodologia de Conferências de Decisão, Abordagem Multicritério de Apoio à Decisão, SODA (Strategic Options Development and Analysis) e MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique). De modo a aplicar o Decisius na prática, verificou-se que, no âmbito da Engenharia de Software, a produtividade é determinada pela interação de muitos fatores, de modo que nenhum fator em especial é capaz de garantir a alta produtividade em um projeto de software. Apesar disso, a produtividade é medida de forma única, através da divisão entre a quantidade produzida pelo esforço necessário. Portanto, tornase necessário uma forma de medição da real produtividade de um projeto de software levando em consideração os fatores influenciadores para o aumento ou diminuição da mesma, através de uma abordagem multicritério. Dessa forma, o processo proposto foi utilizado para apoiar a decisão na definição de um modelo que possibilite a geração de um índice de produtividade que incorpore os fatores que influenciam no desenvolvimento de um projeto de softwar

Atividades de dissecção de cadáveres e residência médica: relato da experiência do Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica do Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos da Universidade Federal da Bahia Cadaver dissection activities in medical residency: experience of the Plastic Surgery Service of Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos, Universidade Federal da Bahia

INTRODUÇÃO: O adequado conhecimento da anatomia do ser humano é crucial para o desenvolvimento de uma técnica cirúrgica apurada. O treinamento com peças anatômicas no meio universitário, muitas vezes, é insuficiente para o aprendizado. Assim, o uso de cadáveres para o ensino de anatomia e habilidades cirúrgicas na graduação e pós-graduação tem sua importância reforçada. O objetivo deste estudo foi relatar a produtividade do Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica do Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos (HUPES) da Universidade Federal da Bahia, no que se refere às atividades de dissecção de cadáveres realizadas de 2009 a 2011, bem como a importância dessa atividade no treinamento dos residentes do serviço. MÉTODO: Foi realizada análise observacional retrospectiva da produção do serviço em decorrência das atividades de treinamento em dissecção de cadáveres, no período de 2009 a 2011. RESULTADOS: Foram desenvolvidas atividades no âmbito de ensino, pesquisa e extensão por meio de convênio firmado entre o Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica do HUPES e o Instituto Médico Legal do Estado da Bahia. Entre as ações pedagógicas empreendidas, a atividade de dissecção proporcionou a criação de um material rico de ensino que inclui diversos retalhos importantes para a prática diária dos médicos residentes. Em relação à pesquisa, foram desenvolvidos diversos artigos científicos que geraram publicações e apresentações em eventos científicos. Essa atividade deu origem, ainda, a uma monografia de conclusão de residência e a uma tese de doutorado. Por meio do convênio firmado, foi realizado estágio extracurricular para os acadêmicos de medicina, membros da Liga Baiana de Cirurgia Plástica (LBCP), em que puderam desenvolver habilidades não praticadas na universidade. CONCLUSÕES: Pode-se concluir que o Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica do HUPES obteve ganhos consideráveis com o desenvolvimento das atividades de dissecção cadavérica. Isso demonstra que o serviço vem consolidando sua atuação nos três pilares da educação: ensino, pesquisa e extensão.BACKGROUND: Understanding human anatomy is crucial to the development of accurate surgical techniques. Training with anatomical specimens in the university environment is often insufficient for learning. Thus, the importance of using cadavers to teach anatomy and surgical skills in undergraduate and post-graduate courses is reinforced. This study aimed to report scientific outcomes related to cadaver dissection in the Plastic Surgery Service of Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos (HUPES), Universidade Federal da Bahia, from 2009 to 2011, and the importance of this activity for plastic surgery resident training. METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational analysis of scientific production resulting from training activities related to cadaver dissection for the period from 2009 to 2011. RESULTS: We developed activities related to education, research, and extension by means of an agreement signed between the HUPES and the Forensic Medicine Institute of the State of Bahia. Among the educational activities undertaken, dissection activities led to the creation of rich educational materials relevant to the daily practice of resident physicians. With regard to research, several papers have been written, resulting in publications and presentations at scientific meetings. Cadaver dissection also was the subject of a conclusion dissertation and a PhD thesis. Through the partnership, extracurricular training was conducted for medical students as well as members of the Plastic Surgery League of Bahia (LBCP), allowing them to develop skills that had previously not been practiced at the university. CONCLUSIONS: The Plastic Surgery Department - HUPES obtained considerable gains by developing activities related to cadaver dissection. The service is contributing to progress in the three pillars of education: education, research, and extension