Selection of Knowledge Management Tools in Software New Product Development (NPD)

Abstract

Many researchers have introduced NPD as a knowledge intensive process that with increasing growth of complexity of products and technologies, need effective knowledge management urgently. Many studies have examined the effect of knowledge management applications on new product development performance but there is a limited research on efficient knowledge management tools in this process. The goal of this paper is to address gap in this area. In this study with using of AHP and experts judgments, KM tools in new software development process and also in each stages of development process have been prioritized with respect to academic experts judgments, business experts judgments and combined all judgments. In hierarchy model of research, selection of KM tools in software NPD as a goal, is in zero level, stages of NPD process based on gate-stage model in next level, KM processes as the comparison criteria in third level and finally, KM tools as alternatives in lowest level. Based on result of this research, process of transfer and sharing knowledge, both in academic and business expert opinions allocated highest priority value between KM processes, and groupware and collaboration tools got first priority between KM tools in most stages of new software product development.

Keywords

• new product development (npd)
• gate-stage model
• software development
• knowledge management (km)
• analytical hierarchy process (ahp)