Going offshore has become a norm in current software organizations due to several benefits like availability of competent people, cost, proximity to market and customers, time and so on. Despite the fact that Global Software Engineering (GSE) offers many benefits to software organizations but it has also created several challenges/issues for practitioners and researchers like culture, communication, co-ordination and collaboration, team building and so on. As Requirements Engineering (RE) is more human intensive activity and is one of the most challenging and important phase in software development. Therefore, RE becomes even more challenging when comes to GSE context because of culture, communication, coordination, collaboration and so on. Due to the fore mentioned GSE factors, requirements’ understanding has become a challenge for software organizations involved in GSE. Furthermore, Knowledge Management (KM) is considered to be the most important asset of an organization because it not only enables organizations to efficiently share and create knowledge but also helps in resolving culture, communication and co-ordination issues especially in GSE. The aim of this study is to present how KM practices helps globally dispersed software organizations in requirements understanding. For this purpose a thorough literature study is performed along with interviews in two industries with the intent to identify useful KM practices and challenges of requirements understanding in GSE. Then based on the analysis of identified challenges of requirements understanding in GSE both from literature review and industrial interviews, useful KM practices are shown and discussed to reduce requirements understanding issues faced in GSE.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T16:32:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MESTRADO_Juliana_Santi_Botton.pdf: 5642965 bytes, checksum: c3f49846987fe5a712c5e18e6f743a6f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-04 / The proposition of this study is based on the Innovation Generation Process (IGP) like basis to technology-based companies (TBC) by the knowledge management practices (KMP). It was understood that, innovation is a knowledge product, consequently, it was proposed to elaborate a theoretical and empirical construction in search of the innovation generation based on the knowledge management (KM), understanding like better way the use of the KMP. Furthermore, the choose of the study s universe, the TBCs, was based in the perspective that they have like synonymous of their work, the innovation. Therefore, this search was structured by the question: How the KMP and their application on technology-based companies, can be organized to allow the development of an Innovation Generation Process? This kind, it was obtained the general objective of this study: Developing a construct of the Innovation Generation Process, based on the Knowledge Management Practices and their application in Technology-based Companies and a) elaborating, by bibliographic study, possible levels and stages in the IGP; b) Listing, by bibliographic study, the KMP that were validates yet, that could be allocated on the IGP; c) identifying on the TBCs, the KMP most used, those whose importance is greater, and, whose would be is the level of each one in the IGP, excluding the rejects and validating other. Developed the theory part of the Construct of IGP, it was applied the questionnaire contain 40 practices and three questions, about Importance, about the frequency and, about the classify of the practices relation to the nine situational variables of IGP. To obtain a return of 47 questionnaires. It was used the test Alpha of Cronbach to confirm the reliability of data to the search. It was applied, the descriptive statistic, compromising like more important practices: Brainstorming or generation of ideas, development and apply of new process and, the corporative University; like more frequents practices: corporative e-mails, enterprise blog and, the social network. In addition, the test of Correlation of Pearson indicated relation of 64, 3% between importance and frequency, and Simple Linear Regression (respecting the regression assumptions) indicated that 42, 3% of the variations at importance are explicated by the variations at frequency. Finally, in relation on the incorporation of the practices to the IGP, they were observed the mean and standard deviation of each practice. Some propositions of analysis were done: a) the Variations coefficient; b) the visual analysis; c) the amplitude and; d) the Factorials Analysis. The first of them was refuted because it didn t supply the proposed objectives; the visual analysis indicated it s applied like auxiliary; the Amplitude Analysis indicated like the best technic to the result obtain, enabling a division with five classifies among the practices: The Primary Practices; The Central Practices; The Superior Practices; The Dispersed Primary Practices and; The Dispersed Superior Practices. The Factorial Analysis corroborated with the Amplitude, dividing the practices on Primary, central and superior practices. In summary, the practices were allocated in chart, showing which practice assist each phase of IGP. The results allow the recommendation the construct another sectors. / A proposta deste estudo está baseada no Processo de Geração de Inovação (PGI) como alicerce para Empresas de Base Tecnológica (EBT s) a partir das Práticas de Gestão do Conhecimento (PGC). Compreendeu-se que, a inovação é fruto do conhecimento, consequentemente, propôs-se elaborar uma construção teórico-empírica em busca da geração da inovação baseada na Gestão do Conhecimento (GC), entendendo como melhor caminho o uso das PGC. Além disso, a escolha do universo de estudo, as EBT s, foi baseada na perspectiva de que elas têm como sinônimo de seu trabalho, a inovação. Assim, esta pesquisa foi baseada no objetivo geral do estudo de Desenvolver um constructo do Processo de Geração de Inovação - PGI, baseado nas Práticas de Gestão do Conhecimento sob a perspectiva de empresas de base tecnológica do segmento de desenvolvimento de software ou web. a) Elaborar, a partir de estudo bibliográfico, possíveis níveis e estágios dentro do processo de geração de inovação; b) Listar, a partir de estudo bibliográfico, as Práticas de Gestão do Conhecimento já validadas, que possam ser aplicadas a um processo de Geração da Inovação; c) Identificar nas empresas de base tecnológica, as PGC mais utilizadas, as de maior importância, e em qual, ou quais Estágios do Processo de Geração de Inovação se encontra cada prática. Desenvolvida a parte teórica do Constructo do PGI, foi aplicado questionário contendo 40 Práticas e três perguntas, sobre a importância, sobre a frequência e sobre a classificação das práticas em relação a nove Variáveis Situacionais referentes ao PGI. Obtendo um retorno de 47 questionários, pode-se efetuar o teste Alfa de Cronbach, que confirmou a confiabilidade dos dados para a pesquisa. Aplicou-se a Estatística Descritiva, compreendendo como práticas mais importantes o Braintorming ou geração de ideias, o Desenvolvimento e aplicação de novo processo e, a Universidade corporativa; como práticas mais frequentes, os resultados indicaram os E-mails corporativos, o Blog empresarial e, as redes informais (rádio corredor). Em adição, o teste de Correlação de Pearson indicou relação de 64,3% entre as variáveis Importância e Frequência, e a Regressão Linear Simples (respeitando os pressupostos de regressão) indicaram que 42,3% das variações na Importância são explicadas pelas variações na Frequência. Finalmente, em relação à incorporação das práticas ao PGI, foram observadas a média e o Desvio Padrão de cada prática. Algumas proposições da análise foram feitas: a) Do Coeficiente de Variação; b) Da Análise Visual; c) da Amplitude e d) da Análise Fatorial. A Primeira delas foi refutada por não suprir aos objetivos propostos; a Análise Visual sugeriu aplicabilidade como técnica auxiliar; a Análise da Amplitude indicou a melhor técnica para a obtenção dos resultados, possibilitando a divisão de cinco Classificações entre as práticas: As Práticas Primárias; As Práticas Centrais; As Práticas Superiores; As Práticas Dispersas Primárias e; As Práticas Dispersas Superiores. A Análise Fatorial corroborou com a Amplitude, dividindo as práticas entre Práticas Primárias, Centrais e Superiores. Em síntese, as práticas foram alocadas em Painel, indicando qual prática auxilia em cada Estágio do PGI. Os resultados permitem a recomendação do Constructo em outros setores.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2017-04-24T12:22:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Antonio Levorci Neto_.pdf: 1937426 bytes, checksum: dd7b08adfe76b429cb9de73e1b5c9afc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-24T12:22:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Antonio Levorci Neto_.pdf: 1937426 bytes, checksum: dd7b08adfe76b429cb9de73e1b5c9afc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-16 / Nenhuma / As mudanças no modo pelo qual entendemos a ciência, o trabalho e a própria vida em sociedade têm acentuado a velocidade da informação e a necessidade de conhecimento em nossa época. Surge, nesse contexto, um modelo gerencial que se propõe a administrar o conhecimento organizacional por meio dos processos de identificação, criação, armazenamento, compartilhamento e utilização do conhecimento: a gestão do conhecimento (GC). O objetivo deste trabalho foi, a partir da abordagem da gestão do conhecimento, realizar estudo sobre o conhecimento organizacional do Observatório Astronômico (OA) da UFRGS conduzindo a um projeto para implantar um programa de gestão do conhecimento organizacional para a administração pública no OA. O órgão estudado faz parte da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), que é uma das Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior (IFES) do sistema federal de ensino superior. A metodologia utilizada foi o estudo de caso único com a utilização de entrevista semiestruturada, questionário e análise documental. Para análise dos dados, foi utilizada a análise de conteúdo. A análise do conhecimento organizacional do Observatório Astronômico da UFRGS, por meio do estudo de caso, indicou dados importantes para a gestão do órgão e com relevância para a comunidade acadêmica interna e externa à UFRGS. Os resultados do estudo acrescentam novos conhecimentos sobre o órgão investigado e indicam necessidade de melhorias nos processos do órgão, especialmente com relação à divulgação das atividades. Este estudo também apresentou a gestão do conhecimento como instrumento de gestão indicado ao Observatório Astronômico da UFRGS. As práticas de GC descritas por Batista e Quandt (2015) foram apresentadas como alternativa para se aumentar a eficiência de Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior. Como resultado final deste trabalho, o Projeto de Gestão do Conhecimento Organizacional do OA apresenta práticas de GC sugeridas ao Observatório Astronômico com base no referencial teórico, na análise dos dados empíricos da pesquisa e no olhar deste pesquisador, que é membro da equipe do órgão. / Changes in the way we understand science, work and life itself in society have accentuated the speed of information and the need for knowledge in our time. In this context, a managerial model is proposed that aims to manage organizational knowledge through the processes of identification, creation, storage, sharing and use of knowledge: knowledge management (KM). The objective of this work was, based on the knowledge management approach, to carry out a study about the organizational knowledge of the UFRGS Astronomical Observatory (AO) leading to a project to implement an organizational knowledge management program for public administration in AO. The body studied is part of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), which is one of the Federal Institutions of Higher Education (IFES) of the federal system of higher education. The methodology used was the single case study with the use of semi-structured interview, questionnaire and documentary analysis. For analysis of the data, the content analysis was used. The analysis of the organizational knowledge on UFRGS Astronomical Observatory, through the case study, indicated important data for the management of the body,with relevance to the academic community internal and external to the UFRGS. The results of the study add new knowledge about the body investigated and indicate the need for improvements in the body processes, especially in relation to the dissemination of activities. This study also presents knowledge management as a management tool indicated to the UFRGS Astronomical Observatory. The KM practices described by Batista and Quandt (2015) were presented as an alternative to increase the efficiency of Federal Institutions of Higher Education. As a final result of this work, the Project of Organizational Knowledge Management on AO presents KM practices suggested to the Astronomical Observatory based on the theoretical reference, the analysis of the empirical data of the research and the look of this researcher, who is a member of the team of the body studied.

Submitted by Noeme Timbo (noeme.timbo@metodista.br) on 2017-05-30T16:58:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FernandRM.pdf: 1137422 bytes, checksum: 38f2c80a16247223b7be04502a17b2cc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-30T16:58:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FernandRM.pdf: 1137422 bytes, checksum: 38f2c80a16247223b7be04502a17b2cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Organizational learning studies aim to describe and analyze forms and reasons of knowledge creation, development and using in companies, and how these processes help an organization to generate value and competitiveness in their markets. Emphasis was given to organizational learning practices in order to determine initiatives made by companies to generate an learning favorable ambience, while knowledge management practices acts to support and complement organizational learning practices, since they’re related to activities developed in consulting companies, who were focus of this study and composed the cases here described. Discussion contained in this dissertation taken as basis an qualitative and interview-based approach, using content analysis and document analysis, with two cases analyzed individually and in a cross-sectional way, and was conducted between November 2016 and January 2017 in two big consulting companies, based in São Paulo city. When comparing perceptions and statements to the companies’ public documents and to literature-based references, it concludes that the identified practices aim to give workers a set of capabilities suited to their acting in organizations, using previous experiences, best practices mapping and knowledge transferring. Clients’ diversity of profiles and acting areas demand from studied organizations a workforce who simultaneously shows certain quality standards and singularities that gives advantages to these consulting companies and, consequently, to their clients. / O estudo da aprendizagem organizacional visa descrever e analisar as formas e motivos pelos quais ocorre a geração, aprimoramento e utilização do conhecimento dentro das empresas, e como tais processos as ajudam a gerar valor e competitividade em seus mercados de atuação. Foram enfatizadas práticas de aprendizagem organizacional, para determinar as iniciativas adotadas pelas organizações na geração de ambiência propícia ao aprendizado, enquanto as práticas de gestão do conhecimento suportam e complementam aquelas de aprendizagem organizacional, por estarem relacionadas à atividade das empresas de consultoria, alvo deste estudo e que compuseram os casos descritos neste artigo. A discussão realizada utilizou uma abordagem qualitativa baseada em entrevistas, análise de conteúdo e análise documental, com dois casos analisados individualmente e de forma cruzada, sendo realizada entre novembro de 2016 e janeiro de 2017 em duas organizações de consultoria de grande porte, localizadas na cidade de São Paulo. Ao comparar percepções e depoimentos colhidos com documentos públicos das organizações estudadas e referências constantes na literatura, concluiu-se que as práticas identificadas buscam proporcionar aos colaboradores um conjunto de capacidades adequado à atuação destes nas empresas, com aproveitamento de experiências anteriores, mapeamento de melhores práticas e transferência de conhecimentos. Os múltiplos perfis de clientes e suas áreas de atuação exigem das organizações estudadas um quadro funcional que apresente simultaneamente perfis padronizados de conhecimentos por cargo ou nível hierárquico, e especialistas em determinadas vertentes do conhecimento, para atingir padrões de qualidade e singularidade e oferecer um diferencial a estas organizações de consultoria e, consequentemente, seus clientes.

To increase competitive advantage, organizations are developing how they manage internalknowledge. This has been tackled by implementing various Knowledge Management Systems,which have been developed based on the needs of specific teams and/or latest trends. Suchapproach is problematic since it does not take into consideration what the users currentKnowledge Management practices are, nor if the system is relevant for a larger mass.The purpose of this thesis is to identify what requirements from users, regarding content andfeatures, are relevant to focus on when designing a Knowledge Management System, targetedtowards knowledge intensive businesses. To examine this, an exploratory research approachhas been applied on a global Information and Communication Technology (ICT) company.100 semi-structured interviews were conducted, with employees located at various globallocations and with varying job roles, in order to get a detailed picture of the user requirementson a Knowledge Management System. The interviews were later sorted and analysed by usingthe Technology Acceptance Model, and quantified by calculating the frequency count on thedifferent requirements. The findings were later reduced, based on their generalizability, inorder to facilitate a list of user requirements that are relevant to focus on, when constructing aknowledge management system for a knowledge intensive business.The results show that there are several aspects to consider in the creation of a KnowledgeManagement System, meant for a knowledge intensive business. The majority of these aspectsare related to increased findability of relevant & updated document and colleagues, receiveinformation about internal operations and lessons learnt from previous projects. Examples ofthese requirements are a semantic search engine, news feed and interconnected repositories.

Knowledge management (KM) has been cited as a strategic asset and a source of competitive advantage for organisations. While the issues of KM have been widely discussed by many researchers, there is a paucity of studies pertaining to the role of KM in enhancing organisational performance, especially in the banking sector. The focus of this research was to investigate the role of KM in enhancing organisational performance in selected banks of South Africa. The objective was to find out how knowledge was identified, captured, organised and retained in order to enhance performance of the banks. There is uncertainty about whether the use of KM could partly solve the banks‟ approaches to improving their quality of service to their communities in the modern information environment. Though KM has been implemented in commercial and business environments towards operational advantages and financial gains, KM survival principles and tools might help South African banks improve performance and fulfil their mandate. Knowledge, when properly managed, can significantly enhance an organisation‟s performance. The research design that was used in this study was an embedded case study design. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of middle level managers with the aid of a survey whilst interviews and document analysis were used to collect qualitative data. The findings of this study indicated that KM concepts were not universally understood at selected banks. The findings showed that collaboration between banks and the communities in creating a meaningful and relevant knowledge environment was essential for the survival of organisations. The banking industry practices were not deliberately based on KM but the study established that they were amenable to KM practices. The recommendation was to perform a knowledge inventory which could help develop appropriate institution-wide policies and practices for proper and well-organised methods of integrating work processes, collaborating and sharing (including the efficient use of knowledge technology platforms), and developing an enabling institutional culture. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Defence organisations have now significantly developed and in the process they have applied various measures to sustain their progresses and encourage innovation. One of those measures is by embarking on KM programs. KM in military is seen as a strategic approach to achieving defense objectives by leveraging the value of collective knowledge through the process of creating, gathering, organizing, sharing and transferring knowledge into action. It is through proper knowledge management practices that an organisation embraces and manages its knowledge generation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge organisation, knowledge storage, transfer, knowledge sharing, and knowledge retention. The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge management practices in the Department of Defence (RSA). The objective of the study was to find out how the department appreciates, understands, interprets and handles its knowledge. This study employed triangulation method to present trustworthiness of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches using positivist research design. Questionnaires, interviews and document analysis were employed to collect data. In order to arrive at the number of participants who received the questionnaires, a probability sampling method called stratified random sampling was used as well as purposive sampling. When setting up a study, it was essential to review the research identified in the literature review and to determine whether there is anything relevant to the research design of the proposed study. The study found that knowledge management was hardly understood generally in the department and was not an approach used and institutionalised for the benefit of the organisation. However there was embedded knowledge management appreciation from a few staff members in the department, only managing their own knowledge regarding learning, capturing and storage. Additionally there is a significant number of staff members who believe knowledge management is a way to go in the future and strongly believe their Defence Department needs to adopt a comprehensive and inclusive KM approach. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

Knowledge management (KM) has been cited as a strategic asset and a source of competitive advantage for organisations. While the issues of KM have been widely discussed by many researchers, there is a paucity of studies pertaining to the role of KM in enhancing organisational performance, especially in the banking sector. The focus of this research was to investigate the role of KM in enhancing organisational performance in selected banks of South Africa. The objective was to find out how knowledge was identified, captured, organised and retained in order to enhance performance of the banks. There is uncertainty about whether the use of KM could partly solve the banks‟ approaches to improving their quality of service to their communities in the modern information environment. Though KM has been implemented in commercial and business environments towards operational advantages and financial gains, KM survival principles and tools might help South African banks improve performance and fulfil their mandate. Knowledge, when properly managed, can significantly enhance an organisation‟s performance. The research design that was used in this study was an embedded case study design. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of middle level managers with the aid of a survey whilst interviews and document analysis were used to collect qualitative data. The findings of this study indicated that KM concepts were not universally understood at selected banks. The findings showed that collaboration between banks and the communities in creating a meaningful and relevant knowledge environment was essential for the survival of organisations. The banking industry practices were not deliberately based on KM but the study established that they were amenable to KM practices. The recommendation was to perform a knowledge inventory which could help develop appropriate institution-wide policies and practices for proper and well-organised methods of integrating work processes, collaborating and sharing (including the efficient use of knowledge technology platforms), and developing an enabling institutional culture. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Defence organisations have now significantly developed and in the process they have applied various measures to sustain their progresses and encourage innovation. One of those measures is by embarking on KM programs. KM in military is seen as a strategic approach to achieving defense objectives by leveraging the value of collective knowledge through the process of creating, gathering, organizing, sharing and transferring knowledge into action. It is through proper knowledge management practices that an organisation embraces and manages its knowledge generation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge organisation, knowledge storage, transfer, knowledge sharing, and knowledge retention. The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge management practices in the Department of Defence (RSA). The objective of the study was to find out how the department appreciates, understands, interprets and handles its knowledge. This study employed triangulation method to present trustworthiness of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches using positivist research design. Questionnaires, interviews and document analysis were employed to collect data. In order to arrive at the number of participants who received the questionnaires, a probability sampling method called stratified random sampling was used as well as purposive sampling. When setting up a study, it was essential to review the research identified in the literature review and to determine whether there is anything relevant to the research design of the proposed study. The study found that knowledge management was hardly understood generally in the department and was not an approach used and institutionalised for the benefit of the organisation. However there was embedded knowledge management appreciation from a few staff members in the department, only managing their own knowledge regarding learning, capturing and storage. Additionally there is a significant number of staff members who believe knowledge management is a way to go in the future and strongly believe their Defence Department needs to adopt a comprehensive and inclusive KM approach. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)