Producing Knowledge: The Use of the Project Team as a Vehicle for Knowledge and Skill Acquisition for Software Employees

This article finds that a considerable proportion of learning and skills development for software workers occurs through learning from colleagues and other software professionals. Although the authors observed that employees were generally satisfied with the formal training they received, very little knowledge acquisition actually takes place as part of a recognized training programme. Knowledge is frequently gained through project-based work both from other team members and the team or project work necessitating individuals to update their skills set. The data used within this article were collected using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques within five software organizations in Scotland. Introduction There is a belief within the organizational studies and management literature that advanced western economies are progressively becoming knowledge economies (Blackler et al., 1993; Drucker, 1993). It is also understood that expertise and specialist knowledge are increasingly important to corporate performance and are replacing capital as the basis of social status and power, and that management rely on expertise for efficient problem-solving and for provision of customer service (Tam et al., 2002; Bell, 1973). Expanding professional groups such as software workers have emerged in commercial use or unauthorized distribution. response to the demands of modern corporations within these so-called knowledge economies (Scarborough, 1996). Furthermore, these occupations at the cutting edge of modern technology are seen to be good indicators of future trends in the workplace (Frese, 2000) and hence warrant substantial empirical research. Yet, although software employees are frequently seen as representative of work futures, there is little discussion as to the implications of new types of work on the acquisition of knowledge and skills. This article undertakes an examination of software workers in order to understand how these employees develop skills and knowledge , with a specific focus on the role of project teams in this process. Previous research indicates that organizations expect software workers to be responsible for their own career development (Amakawe et al., 2000). However, this frequently leads to conflict between the workers and the organization as employees are rarely provided with the time or opportunity to develop their own skills (Scarborough, 1993). Nevertheless, due to the level of codependence and interaction in software development work, learning frequently occurs informally, by employees sharing their broader learning experiences (Fletcher, 1996). The team-based nature of software work is therefore key for workers in the development of a portfolio of experience, new languages (see Barrett, 1999, for further …