Software Patterns, Organizational Learning and Software Process Improvement

Ahlgren, Riikka Software patterns, organizational learning and software process improvement Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2011, 70 p. (+ included articles) (Jyväskylä Studies of Computing, ISSN 1456-5390; 129) ISBN 978-951-39-4173-4 Finnish summary Diss. Software process improvement is a necessity in any software organization. This thesis approaches software process improvement from an organizational learning perspective. Process improvements require both learning individuals (i.e. individuals who are learning) and embedding the knowledge into organizational practices and structures. Hence, in this thesis knowledge management and particularly knowledge sharing are investigated in order to find practical means to reach process improvement. Software patterns are analyzed as a concrete tool to support sharing of software design knowledge. This thesis comprises five independent articles. Each article approaches the research topic from different point of view. Consequently, learning and knowledge sharing are examined from individuals’, groups’ and organizational viewpoints. Multiple case studies were used as a research method and obtained data was both quantitative and qualitative. As a result the research indicates that organizational learning can be supported in software organizations at several organizational levels. Results further indicate that software patterns can be exploited in multiple ways to facilitate knowledge sharing. Patterns can be used as boundary objects to mediate information between individuals and groups. Further, patterns can provide explicit and measurable goals for process improvements in different organizational levels.