Temporal Analysis of the Diffusion of Knowledge in Networks of Software Maintenance and Development Project Team

Abstract

Different approaches have been established for applications of social and complex networks involving biological systems, passing through collaborative systems in knowledge networks and organizational systems. In this latter application, we highlight the studies focused on the diffusion of information and knowledge in networks. However, most of the time, the propagation of information in these networks and the resulting process of creation and diffusion of knowledge, have been studied from static perspectives. Additionally, the very concept of diffusion inevitably implies the inclusion of the temporal dimension, due to that it is an essentially dynamic process. Although static analysis provides an important perspective in structural terms, the behavioral view that reflects the evolution of the relationships of the members of these networks over time is best described by temporal networks. Thus, it is possible to analyze both the information flow and the structural changes that occur over time, which influences the dynamics of the creation and diffusion of knowledge. This article describes the computational modeling used to elucidate the creation and diffusion of knowledge in temporal networks formed to execute software maintenance and construction projects, for the period between 2007 and 2013, in the SERVIÇO FEDERAL DE PROCESSAMENTO DE DADOS (FEDERAL DATA PROCESSING SERVICE-SERPRO)—a public organization that provides information and communication technology services. The methodological approach adopted for the study was based on techniques for analyzing social and complex networks and on the complementary extensions that address temporal modeling of these networks. We present an exploratory longitudinal study that enabled a dynamic and structural analysis of the knowledge networks formed by members of software maintenance and development project teams between 2007 and 2013. The study enabled identification of knowledge categories throughout this period, in addition to the determination that the networks have a structure with small-world and scale-free models. Finally, we concluded that, in general, the topologies of the networks studies had characteristics for facilitating the flow of knowledge within the organization.