Investigating Knowledge Management Within Small and Medium-Sized Companies: The Proof of Concept Results of a Survey Addressed to Software Development Industry

Due to the dynamism and complexity of software development, software vendors need to use their knowledge as an essential competitive advantage to keep themselves innovative in a demanding market. In this sense, when the knowledge is well managed and applied, it brings to the organization business sustainability. Knowledge Management (KM) processes can avoid the loose of knowledge once they provide improve the flow of knowledge for the whole organization. Those processes are supported by practices and tools which stimulate the creation, retention, and dissemination of the knowledge within the organizational environment. Therefore, this article shows the findings of a survey assessment through a proof of concept (POC) aimed to investigate the processes, practices, and tools of KM in small and medium-sized software development companies (SME-Soft). The survey was evaluated by fifty-one professionals from the software industry and KM experts. Our findings point out that the survey is widely suitable for software industry organizations to diagnose their knowledge management processes.