Knowledge-intensive companies that adopt Agile Software Development (ASD) relay on efficient implementation of Knowledge Management (KM) strategies to promotes different Knowledge Processes (KPs) to gain competitive advantage. This study aims to explore how companies that adopt ASD implement KM strategies utilizing practices that promote the KPs in the different organizational layers. Through a systematic literature review, we analyzed 32 primary studies, selected by automated search and snowballing in the extant literature. To analyze the data, we applied narrative synthesis. Most of the identified KM practices implement personalization strategies (81 %), supported by codification (19 %). Our review shows that the primary studies do not report KM practices in the strategic layer and two of them in the product portfolio layer; on the other hand, in the project layer, the studies report 33 practices that implement personalization strategy, and seven practices that implement codification. KM strategies in ASD promote mainly the knowledge transfer process with practices that stimulate social interaction to share tacit knowledge in the project layer. As a result of using informal communication, a significant amount of knowledge can be lost or not properly transferred to other individuals and, instead of propagating the knowledge, it remains inside a few individuals minds.

The software value chain is knowledge-based since it is highly dependant on people. Consequently, a lack of practice in managing knowledge as a resource may jeopardise its application in software development. Knowledge-Based Resources (KBRs) relate to employees’ intangible knowledge that is deemed to be valuable to a company's competitive advantage. In this study, we apply a grounded theory approach to examine the role of KBRs in Agile Software Development (ASD). To this aim, we collected data from 18 practitioners from five companies. We develop the Knowledge-Push theory, which explains how KBRs boost the need for change in ASD. Our results show that the practitioners who participated in the study utilise, as primary strategies, task planning, resource management, and social collaboration. These strategies are implemented through the team environment and settings and incorporate an ability to codify and transmit knowledge. However, this process of codification is non-systematic, which consequently introduces inefficiency in the domain of knowledge resource utilisation, resulting in potential knowledge waste. This inefficiency can generate negative implications for software development, including meaningless searches in databases, frustration because of recurrent problems, the unnecessary redesign of solutions, and a lack of awareness of knowledge sources. © 2022 The Authors

Context: Boundary Artefacts (BAs) support software development activities in many aspects because it carries lots of information in the same object that can be used and interpreted by several social groups within an organisation. When the BAs are inconsistent regarding their content, such as many meanings or lack of contextual information, their efficiency is reduced because stakeholders will not trust them. Objective: This study aimed to understand the implications of differences in the perception of trust on software projects and their influence on stakeholders' behaviour. Methods: We conducted an exploratory case study to observe the creation and utilisation of one specific BA and the implications of differences in trust and their influence on stakeholders' behaviour. Results : Our investigation has shown that practitioners adding and adjusting existing content do not entirely understand the stakeholders' needs. Together with the partial management of the content, trust is impacted. When the content of BAs does not meet the trust factors, specifically reliability and predictability, the stakeholders cannot execute their tasks appropriately, and several implications affect the software development project. Additionally, they create workarounds to supply their needs. Conclusion: The differences in trust in BAs affect software projects in different areas of the organisation and interfere with the task execution of various stakeholders. The decrease in trust results from inconsistencies in the content associated with the lack of management of the BA. A structured strategy for representing and managing a BA's content seems appropriate to increase trust levels and efficiency.

Agile methodologies gave teams more autonomy regarding planning tasks and executing them. As a result, coordination gets more flexible, but much relevant knowledge remains undocumented and inside teams’ borders, due to informal communication and reduced development documentation. Since knowledge plays an essential role in software development, it is important to have effective knowledge management (KM) practices that contribute to a better knowledge resource allocation. Several KM practices have been reported in empirical studies in Agile Software Development (ASD). However, these practices are not evaluated regarding its effectiveness or how do they affect product quality. Besides, the studies do not demonstrate connections between the KM practices in the project level and the strategic level. The lack of connection between these levels can result in deviations from the company’s corporate strategy, wasted resources and irrelevant knowledge acquisition. This paper discusses how the strategic management can contribute to an integrated approach to KM in ASD; considering the organizational structure and the corporate strategy. Based on this discussion, we propose research areas that may help with planning KM strategies that can have their effectiveness measured and contribute to product quality. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018.

Context: Software development benefits from having Boundary Artefacts (BAs),as a single artefact can supply stakeholders with different boundaries, facilitatingcollaboration among social worlds. When those artefacts display inconsistencies,such as incorrect information, the practitioners have decreased trust in the BA. Astrust is an essential factor guiding the utilisation of BAs in software projects, it isnecessary to understand which principles should be observed when creating them.

Objective: This study aimed at develop and validate a preliminary guidelinesupport the creation of trustworthy BAs.

Method: We followed a multi-step approach. We developed our guideline througha literature review and previous results from our case study. Second, we submittedthe guideline for an expert evaluation via two workshops and a survey. At last, weadjusted our guideline by incorporating the feedback obtained during the workshops.

Results: We grouped the principles collected from a literature review into threecategories. The first category (Scope) focuses on the scope, displaying principlesreferring to defining each boundary’s target audience, needs, and terminology. Thesecond category (Structure) relates to how the artefact’s content is structured tomeet stakeholders’ needs. The third (Management) refers to principles that canguide the establishment of practices to manage the artefact throughout time. Theexpert validation revealed that the principles contribute to creating trustworthy BAsat different levels. Also, the relevance of the guideline and its usefulness.

Conclusions: The guideline strengthen BA traits such as shared understanding,plasticity and ability to transfer. Practitioners can utilise the guideline to guide thecreation or even evaluate current practices for existing BAs

This article discusses the importance of managing knowledge as a resource due to its great potential to create economic value. We detail the types of knowledge resources, the challenges associated with their management, and potential solutions to maximise their utility. Our contribution is based on empirical studies performed in an industry context.