Architectural Knowledge Management Practices in Agile Global Software Development

Abstract

The management of knowledge, in particular knowledge about the architecture, plays a pivotal role in global software development (GSD). In earlier research, we have defined what architectural knowledge is, and elaborated several practices for sound architectural knowledge management in a distributed setting. In this paper, we report on a large survey performed at an agile global software development organization in which we interviewed 38 employees spread across three development sites. Our aim was to validate our earlier research by determining what practices for architectural knowledge management in GSD are used in practice. The results show that the case study organization emphasizes architectural knowledge management practices that promote decentralization and, as a consequence, personalization (as opposed to centralization viz. codification). We identified one new useful practice: "peered sites", covering a combination of activities that support a balance in decision-making power across sites.