Knowledge Management in Agile Software Projects: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Many methodologies, practices, techniques and tools have been suggested for process improvement, among them knowledge management and agile methodologies, which are the focus of this study. Systematic reviews published on knowledge management and agile methodologies have significantly contributed to detailed and deep discussions surrounding these issues. Nevertheless, we realised that there was a gap between these two areas that needed further clarification. Therefore, the objective of this study was to raise the main topics that emerge from knowledge management in agile methodologies. The research method used in this paper is based on a systematic review. We reviewed studies of knowledge management and agile methodologies, published in major software engineering journals and conference proceedings. The search strategy identified 2879 studies, of which 25 were selected as primary studies. The main topics were taken from these 25 works and, in order for them to be discussed; meta-analysis techniques were used to group these topics. The main discussion generated around these analyses was the preferential use of tacit knowledge, instead of explicit knowledge, and its influence on agile projects. This situation has implications for communication, human and social factors, software development cycle and artifacts, tools for knowledge management and knowledge representation forms.