Rik Farenhorst

Bio: Rik Farenhorst is an academic researcher from VU University Amsterdam. The author has contributed to research in topics: Domain knowledge & Knowledge sharing. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 19 publications receiving 636 citations. Previous affiliations of Rik Farenhorst include University of Amsterdam.

Architectural knowledge: getting to the core

Abstract: Different organizations or organizational units are likely to store and maintain different types of information about their software architectures. This inhibits effective management of architectural knowledge. We experimented with a model of architectural knowledge to characterize the use of architectural knowledge in four different organizations. Based on this experimentation we identified four perspectives on architectural knowledge management, and additionally adjusted the model to better align theory with practice. The refined model defines a minimal set of concepts with supposedly complete coverage of the architectural knowledge domain. Because of the minimalistic aspect of the model, we refer to it as a 'core model' of architectural knowledge. Supporting evidence for the validity of our model, i.e. the supposed complete coverage, has been obtained by an attempt to falsify this claim through a comparison with selected literature. Application of the core model to characterize the use of architectural knowledge indicates possible areas of improvement for architectural knowledge management in the four organizations.

Architectural Knowledge Management: Supporting Architects and Auditors

Abstract: 2 1 1 2 4 5 5 5 5 5 concrete content 1 1 1 1 3 5 5 5 4 4 packing input for development 1 1 1 1 3 4 5 5 4 4 output of development descriptive / static 1 1 1 1 3 3 5 5 4 4 use / time dimension app. functionality 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 4 5 5 system administration design 1 1 1 1 3 4 3 5 5 5 deployment conceptual 1 1 1 2 2 4 3 4 5 5 concrete/instance high level 5 3 1 1 2 5 3 4 4 4 detailed absolute 1 1 1 1 3 5 2 2 2 2 relative (wrt prev. version) application 1 1 1 1 5 2 2 2 2 2 organisation used by me 4 2 1 2 5 2 1 1 3 3 not used by me analyzed, for instance to determine clusters of documents that contain similar documents. Figs. 16.6 and 16.7 depict the document clusters according to auditor 1 and 2 respectively. The clusters have been determined with the single linkage hierarchical clustering method (Johnson, 1967). The axis denotes the difference between the documents, calculated as 1 minus the similarity. For instance, for auditor 1 the similarity between documents FD and FM has been calculated as 0.87, therefore the difference between the two equals 0.13, as shown in Fig. 16.6. Although there are some differences between the two cluster configurations, both auditors seem to agree that there are two large document clusters. One cluster contains documents FD, FM, PD, and XX. The other documents are grouped in the second cluster. Note that we left AS and DB out of the figures to allow for a fair comparison with the effect of LSA. Recall that those two documents were no longer available, due to which LSA was unable to process them. Had we included them in the cluster figures, they would have shown as a small sub-cluster of two very similar documents (similarity according to auditor 1: 0.96; auditor 2: 1.00). For both auditors this sub-cluster is most similar to document IM (auditor 1: 0.79, auditor 2: 0.84). To illustrate the effect of LSA on the document vector-space model, we applied LSA to the 8 documents from the audit that were still available. We determined the

A Just-In-Time Architectural Knowledge Sharing Portal

Abstract: In recent years, management of architectural knowledge has become a more prominent theme in software architecture research. Although various specialized tools have been proposed for use in the architecting process, observations show that architects in industry have yet to meet a tool environment that matches their knowledge needs. In order to discover what architectural knowledge needs architects have, we conducted a study in a large organization. In this study we discovered that architects are especially in need for 'just-in-time architectural knowledge'. To fulfill this need we designed and implemented an architectural knowledge sharing portal. Our portal's integrated functionality supports architects in their decision-making process, by providing easy access to the right architectural knowledge at any given point in time.

Architectural Knowlege Management Strategies: Approaches in Research and Industry

Abstract: The software architecture community has recently gained an increasing interest in managing architectural knowledge. However, up until now there have been no attempts to obtain an overview of the work in the field. In this paper we present a preliminary review on current approaches to architectural knowledge manage- ment. To this end, we compare approaches known from literature and encountered in industry with knowledge management theory. We found that in reports from research and practice there appears to be a preference to use the codification strategy. However, our obser- vations of the software architecture industry show that organizations in general tend to use a personalization strategy unintentionally. This paper serves as a call for awareness of this gap between intention and real- ity, and questions the biased focus on intentional cod- ification alone. We suggest to close this gap through focusing on hybrid approaches.

The knowledge-creating company

Abstract: How have Japanese companies become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries, among others? What is the secret of their success? Two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, are the first to tie the success of Japanese companies to their ability to create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. In The Knowledge-Creating Company, Nonaka and Takeuchi provide an inside look at how Japanese companies go about creating this new knowledge organizationally. The authors point out that there are two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge, contained in manuals and procedures, and tacit knowledge, learned only by experience, and communicated only indirectly, through metaphor and analogy. U.S. managers focus on explicit knowledge. The Japanese, on the other hand, focus on tacit knowledge. And this, the authors argue, is the key to their success--the Japanese have learned how to transform tacit into explicit knowledge. To explain how this is done--and illuminate Japanese business practices as they do so--the authors range from Greek philosophy to Zen Buddhism, from classical economists to modern management gurus, illustrating the theory of organizational knowledge creation with case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, Nissan, 3M, GE, and even the U.S. Marines. For instance, using Matsushita's development of the Home Bakery (the world's first fully automated bread-baking machine for home use), they show how tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge: when the designers couldn't perfect the dough kneading mechanism, a software programmer apprenticed herself withthe master baker at Osaka International Hotel, gained a tacit understanding of kneading, and then conveyed this information to the engineers. In addition, the authors show that, to create knowledge, the best management style is neither top-down nor bottom-up, but rather what they call "middle-up-down," in which the middle managers form a bridge between the ideals of top management and the chaotic realities of the frontline. As we make the turn into the 21st century, a new society is emerging. Peter Drucker calls it the "knowledge society," one that is drastically different from the "industrial society," and one in which acquiring and applying knowledge will become key competitive factors. Nonaka and Takeuchi go a step further, arguing that creating knowledge will become the key to sustaining a competitive advantage in the future. Because the competitive environment and customer preferences changes constantly, knowledge perishes quickly. With The Knowledge-Creating Company, managers have at their fingertips years of insight from Japanese firms that reveal how to create knowledge continuously, and how to exploit it to make successful new products, services, and systems.

Problem-Based Learning: An Approach to Medical Education

Abstract: When there are many people who don't need to expect something more than the benefits to take, we will suggest you to have willing to reach all benefits. Be sure and surely do to take this problem based learning an approach to medical education that gives the best reasons to read. When you really need to get the reason why, this problem based learning an approach to medical education book will probably make you feel curious.

Systematic literature reviews in software engineering - A tertiary study

Abstract: Context: In a previous study, we reported on a systematic literature review (SLR), based on a manual search of 13 journals and conferences undertaken in the period 1st January 2004 to 30th June 2007. Objective: The aim of this on-going research is to provide an annotated catalogue of SLRs available to software engineering researchers and practitioners. This study updates our previous study using a broad automated search. Method: We performed a broad automated search to find SLRs published in the time period 1st January 2004 to 30th June 2008. We contrast the number, quality and source of these SLRs with SLRs found in the original study. Results: Our broad search found an additional 35 SLRs corresponding to 33 unique studies. Of these papers, 17 appeared relevant to the undergraduate educational curriculum and 12 appeared of possible interest to practitioners. The number of SLRs being published is increasing. The quality of papers in conferences and workshops has improved as more researchers use SLR guidelines. Conclusion: SLRs appear to have gone past the stage of being used solely by innovators but cannot yet be considered a main stream software engineering research methodology. They are addressing a wide range of topics but still have limitations, such as often failing to assess primary study quality.