A Knowledge Mapping Technique for Project-level Knowledge Flow Analysis

A pilot study was conducted within a software development domain using "knowledge mapping" (K-mapping) as a research technique to locate and indicate improvements to problematic software project-level knowledge flows (K-flows). The goal of the study is to show that the mitigation or removal of obstacles to project-level K-flow will result in software process improvement (SPI) by lowering project labor cost, improving schedule adherence, and/or enhancing end-product quality. Results show support for the efficacy of the study\´s K-mapping technique for the identification and management of software project K-flow obstacles. Additionally, the suggested alleviation of such obstacles was acknowledged by project team members as having the potential for a positive effect on SPI.