A proposed model of knowledge management in the software industry sector

This paper reports on a research project that aimed to identify the different aspects of knowledge management (KM) in the software (SW) industry sector. The study employed an inductive qualitative approach based on a single case study of a successful SW development company in Taiwan. The company was selected as it is already explicitly using knowledge sharing (KS) through story telling in their practices. Overall twenty-one participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview script. The findings of the study show that it is tacit knowledge that is more difficult to share and that this type of knowledge is of a very different nature depending on the stages of design and development. The study showed that tacit knowledge in the SW process ranges from very soft skills of dealing, dialoguing and negotiating with users to the very technical aspects of programming. This clearly represents a serious challenge to professionals in this sector and requires inclusive KM and KS processes based on an in-depth understanding of both the process and tacit knowledge involved. This paper aims to provide an extended and revised taxonomy and model for KM and KS in the sector.