Agile-Based Education for Teaching an Agile Requirements Engineering Methodology for Knowledge Management

Abstract

The importance of the role that knowledge management (KM) plays in the success of knowledge-intensive organizations has long been acknowledged. However, requirements engineering (RE) methods for KM solutions still lack maturity, as do the educational programs in this domain. In this paper, an agile-based educational method for teaching RE for KM solutions, specifically an agile KM RE methodology (AKM-REM), is proposed. The paper reports a teaching experience, in which 17 teams of graduate students learned and implemented AKM-REM, each in a different real-life case study. Data were collected via class observations and from the students’ submitted projects and underwent qualitative content analysis. The findings demonstrate the manner in which AKM-REM creates a culture of collaboration, trust, and reflection, fostering the dynamic and flexible organization that is required in today’s competitive business environment. The contribution of this paper is fourfold. First, it presents an extension of the research on agile-based RE for KM solutions as a specialized area. Second, it presents an extension of an existing method KM-REM along the agile principles. Third, it provides means for agile-based education for analyzing and addressing KM challenges effectively. Finally, it describes the importance of agile KM RE in the context of sustainability.