Software development is all about acquiring knowledge. Most companies however lack an understanding of how knowledge creation happens, and focus only (if at all) on the sharing of explicit knowledge.
In this presentation I describe a model for understanding how knowledge creation happens, and give examples of activities and principles we can follow that helps us improve our efforts in all aspects of knowledge creation.
1. Knowledge
The key to effective software development
Chris Hedgate
@chrishedgate
chris@hedgate.net
http://www.hedgate.net/
2. In an economy where the only
certainty is uncertainty, the one
sure source of lasting competitive
advantage is knowledge.
Ikujiro Nonaka
The Knowledge-Creating Company
Harvard Business Review, 1991
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6. Ask the
architect
Read docs
Policies? Understand
design
Avoid
performance
issues
âFakeâ example Follow policies Find the
right place Understand
existing code
Write
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Where in
code base?
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from expert... New
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7. Ask the
architect
Read docs
Policies? Understand
design
Avoid
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issues
âFakeâ example Follow policies Find the
right place Understand Am I allowed?
existing code
Write Do I have
Google it âcorrect codeâ necessary rights?
Where in
code base?
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similar Which solution?
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What code?
Get time Write code
from expert... New
technology?
8. Ask the
architect
Read docs
Policies? Understand
design
Avoid
performance
issues
âFakeâ example Follow policies Find the
right place Understand Am I allowed?
existing code
Write Do I have
Google it âcorrect codeâ necessary rights?
Where in
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similar Which solution?
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technology?
10. | Software development is a knowledge-acquiring activity
Photo from benchiladaâs Flickr stream http://www.ïŹickr.com/photos/benchilada/2467805788/
22. Phillip G. Armour
The Five Orders of Ignorance
Communications of the ACM, October 2000
23. âThe way we learn is to discover
what we donât know we donât know,
make it something we (just) donât know,
then make it something we know.â
Phillip G. Armour
The Five Orders of Ignorance
Communications of the ACM, October 2000
24. âThe way we learn is to discover
what we donât know we donât know,
make it something we (just) donât know,
then make it something we know.â
âWithout a method for discovering
what we donât know we donât know,
itâs a problem weâll never solve.â
Phillip G. Armour
The Five Orders of Ignorance
Communications of the ACM, October 2000
29. | Effective knowledge transfer
Motivation of
sender to share
A B
Value of senderâs
knowledge base
30. | Effective knowledge transfer
Motivation of
sender to share
A B C
Value of senderâs Availability of
knowledge base transmission channels
31. | Effective knowledge transfer
Motivation of Motivation of
sender to share receiver to receive
A B C D
Value of senderâs Availability of
knowledge base transmission channels
32. | Effective knowledge transfer
Motivation of Motivation of
sender to share receiver to receive
A B C D E
Value of senderâs Availability of Absorbation capacity
knowledge base transmission channels at receiver
49. Q: What if I train staff and they leave?
A: What if you donât, and they stay?
Twitter (attribution unknown)
Hinweis der Redaktion
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Ground breaking article, started Knowledge Management field. Nonaka, with Takeuchi, wrote The New New Product Development Game in 1986, which led to Scrum.\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
How can anybody claim that building software is about writing code?\n
Phil Armour. The hard part in building software is not building it (coding), it is knowing what to do and how to do it. Coding is simply the mechanism used to capture knowledge.\n
How can we improve knowledge-acquiring? It happens by itself to an extent, but not enough.\n
Knowledge sharing takes time away from grinding at the keyboard. Courses and books cost money. If it becomes a question of budget you have lost.\n
Budgets only focus on sharing explicit knowledge. We forget the continuous sharing of tacit knowledge.\n
With knowledge creation happening continuously and holistically there is nothing stopping us!\n
To understand where we need to improve our efforts we need a model of how knowledge creation happens.\n
In The Five Orders of Ignorance Phillip Armour talks about ignorance as the flip-side of knowledge. Acquiring knowledge is the same as reducing ignorance. 0OI is lack of ignorance, 1OI is lack of answer, 2OI is lack of question, 3OI is lack of process, 4OI is meta ignorance. 3OI is where methodologies, processes and models come in.\n
In The Five Orders of Ignorance Phillip Armour talks about ignorance as the flip-side of knowledge. Acquiring knowledge is the same as reducing ignorance. 0OI is lack of ignorance, 1OI is lack of answer, 2OI is lack of question, 3OI is lack of process, 4OI is meta ignorance. 3OI is where methodologies, processes and models come in.\n
We value databases of information. Make it searchable, findable, attainable. Have policies about codifying knowledge, and sharing it.\n
Work with the people, as bearers of knowledge. Focus on personal relations, networks and meeting places for tacit knowledge to manifest.\nBoth perspectives are important, but it is easy to focus only on codifying knowledge with movement of employees etc. This is a fallacy though, lots of knowledge does not lend itself to codifying.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
Masters essay in informatics, Maria Håkansson and Frida Wedefelt, Göteborgs Universitet, 2003\nA: Easy, competence efforts.\nB: Medium, though most people like to share. Work continuously.\nC: Easy, focused efforts.\nD: Very difficult. People must want to learn. Cultural. Work continuously.\nE: Easy if you want it. Give space & time.\n
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You cannot control knowledge creation, especially the tacit knowledge. Incentives only hurt. Create an environment where knowledge creation can thrive, and it will.\n
The Japanese word ba, meaning “place”, is used when talking about the environment work happens in. It has physical, virtual and cultural aspects. Work on all!\n