This article adds to the discussion on knowledge management (KM) by focusing on the process of knowledge sharing as a vital part of KM. The article focuses on the relationship between knowledge, learning, communication, and participation in action, and the role of social inter-action and technical media in the knowledge sharing process. We develop an initial theoretical framework of knowledge sharing on the basis of a literature study. Drawing on an empirical study of knowledge sharing in a software development company, we discuss what supports and what hinders knowledge sharing in software development. Finally, we use this knowledge to improve the theoretical framework.

Within the field of information systems development (ISD) most contributions concern formalised development methods and focus either on how they should be or on how they are used. In contrast, this paper explores the relationship between what influences and shapes a unique and local method and how it consequently emerges. Based on a synthesis of prominent IS literature, an analytical framework is developed using three perspectives: (1) the structuralist, (2) the individualist and (3) the interactive process perspective. Each perspective supplies a set of key concepts for conceptual understanding and empirical exploration of method emergence in practice. The analytical framework is applied to a longitudinal case study of method emergence in a web-based ISD project in a case company where the Multiview methodology was adopted. The case study account is supported by the development and use of a graphical mapping technique, called method emergence mapping for representing the complex interplay between structural elements, human action and the emergent method as it unfolded over time. The contribution of this paper to ISD theory is the development of an analytical framework that can be applied as a lens for explaining how a unique and local method emerges in practice. Also lessons for ISD practice are identified: no ‘one’ is in control of an ISD project, projects should organise around a vision rather than a fixed plan; and methods should be used as guiding frameworks for action rather than prescriptions.

Software process improvement is a demanding and complex undertaking. To support the constitution and implementation of software process improvement schemes the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) proposes a framework, the so-called IDEAL model. This model is based on experiences from large organizations. The aim of the research described here was to investigate the suitability of the model for small software enterprises. It has therefore been deployed and adjusted for successful use in a small Danish software company. The course of the project and the application of the model are presented and the case is reflected on the background of current knowledge about managing software process improvement as organizational change.

User participation and participatory design (PD) have not yet been topics of central interest in the context of formal education for computing professionals. This article addresses this subject. It takes its starting point in the ongoing curriculum debate and discusses how mathematical- and engineering-based approaches and traditional system-development training contribute to education in computer science and informatics. All these approaches have shortcomings as they each relate mainly to a technical-oriented paradigm, which pays little attention to other vital aspects of computing, namely organizational, social, and political ones. Therefore, the curriculum debate is widened and it is argued why user participation and PD (as approaches that deal with these issues) should be part of a comprehensive computing education. An example of an actual course program and the description of one particular course demonstrate how these subjects can be integrated in computer science and system development education.