Elli Georgiadou

Cultural Impacts on Knowledge Sharing: Empirical Data from EU Project Collaboration

Purpose – EU‐sponsored lifelong learning projects involve a variety of experts of diverse cultural, organisational, and professional backgrounds connected together in one project with time and money constraints. The members of the consortium, often unknown to one another from the beginning, come together for a specific period of time to accomplish certain distinctive objectives. A special knowledge‐sharing strategy is needed in order to incorporate culturally diverse values, and to overcome the technical difficulties of dispersion and limited access to informal communication. This paper aims to explore the way in which EU projects appreciate diverse cultural (national, organisational, and professional) influences on knowledge sharing in project‐based collaboration.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on longitudinal studies, own multicultural experiences and earlier conceptually grounded arguments regarding cultural complexities to knowledge sharing in project environments. The key cultural i...

In search for a widely applicable and accepted software quality model for software quality engineering

Software Quality Engineering is an emerging discipline that is concerned with improving the approach to software quality. It is important that this discipline be firmly rooted in a quality model satisfying its needs. In order to define the needs of this discipline, the meaning of quality is broadly defined by reviewing the literature on the subject. Software Quality Engineering needs a quality model that is usable throughout the software lifecycle and that it embraces all the perspectives of quality. The goal of this paper is to propose the characteristics of a quality model suitable for such a purpose, through the comparative evaluation of existing quality models and their respective support for Software Quality Engineering.

Software Process and Product Improvement: A Historical Perspective

In this paper, a historical overview of significant attempts to get over the software crisis is presented. In particular, we trace the development of lifecycle models and information systems development methodologies during the last four decades. Finally, we explore the role of measurements and outline current and future works leading to process and product improvement.

Empirical Measurement of the Effects of Cultural Diversity on Software Quality Management

The difficulties of achieving social acceptance for Software Quality Management systems have been underestimated in the past, and they will be exacerbated in the future by the globalization of the software market and the increasing use of cross-cultural development teams within multinational companies. Management that can take account of the cultural context of their endeavours will improve understanding, minimize risk and ensure a higher degree of success in improvement programs within the software industry.This paper addresses cross-cultural issues in Software Quality Management. Qualitative and quantitative research was carried out in five European countries by using a postal questionnaire. Empirical measures of organizational culture, national culture and their interdependence, are presented together with interim instruments developed for the purpose of classifying organizations. Verification of the statistical results from the survey was carried out by triangulation, which included qualitative research methods in the form of interviews and observation. Cultural factors, which may have bearing on successful adoption and implementation of Software Quality Management were identified, and an assessment model, has been developed for use by organizations developing software in different parts of the world. The intention is that the recommendations following from the assessment will lead to greater cultural awareness in addressing quality, and will provide stimulus for improvement. The models aims is to predict to what degree there is a fit between the organizational and the national culture, and to give recommendations and guidelines for software process improvement.

GEQUAMO—A Generic, Multilayered, Customisable, Software Quality Model

Software quality models have primarily been based on top down process improvement approaches. Such models are based on the fundamental principle of empowerment of all involved and foster a questioning attitude through the active exchange of ideas and criticism ensuring that the most appropriate approach for quality improvements is adopted. The holistic view of systems enables the incorporation of many viewpoints held by different parties within the same organisation and by the same party at different stages of development. In this paper the GEQUAMO (GEneric, multilayered and customisable) QUAlity MOdel is proposed. GEQUAMO encapsulates the requirements of different stakeholders in a dynamic and flexible manner so as to enable each stakeholder (developer, user or sponsor) to construct their own model reflecting the emphasis/weighting for each attribute/requirement. Using a combination of the CFD (Composite Features Diagramming Technique) developed by the author, and Kiviat diagrams a multilayered and dynamic model is constructed. Instances of models are presented together with the algorithm for the computation of the profiles. Indications of future work conclude the paper.

Launching Innovation in the Market Requires Competences in Dissemination and Exploitation

It is widely recognised that innovation is required for economic growth on a number of levels, such as in Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), large organisations, regions and nations. Innovation is an important driver for organisational survival, sustainability, improvement, long-term productivity and economic growth. However, innovation in isolation is not only wasteful but also not useful. All projects, and in particular innovation projects, need to disseminate and exploit their results for maximising achievements and increasing sustainability after their completion. This includes launching of the innovation to market, transfer of results and best practices to different and broader contexts; potential tailoring to the needs of others; continuation after the funding period has finished; influences on policy and practice; as well as serving the public good. The emphasis should be on optimising the value of the project and on boosting its impact.

The I5P Visualisation Framework for Performance Estimation through the Alignment of Process Maturity and Knowledge Sharing

This paper argues that Knowledge Management KM and Knowledge Sharing KS are strongly linked to organisational maturity. The mechanisms that enable this upward movement and depict measurable effects of performance as the organisation climbs from ad hoc levels to institutionalised high levels of process maturity are investigated. The I5P visualisation framework which aligns a Knowledge Sharing level to the appropriate maturity level and characterises the process from incidental to innovative is examined. This framework provides the basis, in terms of preparedness and disposition towards knowledge sharing, for estimating and measuring organisational performance. In todays competitive global business environment organisations are increasingly dependent on Information and Communication Technologies ICTs and particularly vulnerable to knowledge dilution. The framework links knowledge sharing to process maturity providing a framework that aims to encapsulate tacit accumulated knowledge in the organisation by preserving it for future needs. The framework will be useful to Information Technology IT organisations that are familiar with maturity models, such as CMMI.

KASL-II: a dynamic four-loop model for knowledge sharing and learning

Knowledge sharing is by far the most important component of a knowledge management programme. Organizations strive to gain competitive advantage through efficiencies. When organizations realize that organizational knowledge is by far the most valuable resource, they need to find ways for efficient and effective knowledge sharing. We explore the barriers to knowledge sharing especially in virtual and multicultural teams. In particular, we unfold the human and cultural challenges that can create added competitive value for virtual and networked organizations. We conclude that the ideal environment and working practices will be to change the mindset and behaviour of team members so that instead of perceiving knowledge sharing as an extra task for the team members, isolated from the knowledge of other team members, it (knowledge sharing) becomes the natural way to work for everyone. Finally, we propose the dynamic knowledge acquisition and sharing lifecycle (KASL‐II) model for aiding the knowledge sharing process by showing the stages of translating an organizations mission and goals into objectives, and how decisions and actions operate for materialising these objectives. Copyright

Professional issues in software engineering curricula: case studies on ethical decision making

The development of the Internet and the World Wide Web presents both Information Systems professionals and business managers with many new ethical problems. It is therefore, necessary to teach students about professional issues. This paper looks at how Professional Issues entered the Higher Education curriculum during the last decade. In particular we present the experience gained within the School of Informatics and Multimedia Technology at the University of North London through the integration of case studies for the Professional Issues part of the In-Course-Assessment (ICA) of a Software Engineering module. The case studies fulfil one of the two core capabilities covered in the module. The marking scheme and two different resolutions to the ethical dilemma posed in one of the scenarios (case studies) reached by particular students are presented together with our conclusion and indications of further action and research.

INCUVA: A Meta-framework for Sustaining the Value of Innovation in Multi-cultural Settings

Innovation is increasingly seen as the main vehicle for value creation in business organisations as well as in civic societies. Consequently, funding agencies and businesses continue to invest huge amounts of money and other resources on innovative projects with a view to creating and sustaining the desired value outcomes. However, creating value is not the same as sharing and sustaining value, especially when such value needs to be shared and sustained in a multicultural space. This paper analyses the interaction of three key elements, namely Innovation, Culture and Value, that could facilitate or inhibit the sharing and sustenance of value created through innovative projects. The paper also proposes a meta–framework based on work done during the EU-funded project VALO, aimed at developing and disseminating effective ways of maximising and sustaining the value created in innovative projects.