A spatial hypertext wiki for architectural knowledge management

Abstract

The absence of a disciplined approach for capturing and managing architectural knowledge causes the loss of substantial knowledge generated during the software architecture process. This paper describes the use of a Spatial Hypertext Wiki (ShyWiki) as a tool for Architectural Knowledge Management (AKM) support. Specifically, we demonstrate that ShyWiki can be used for implementing lightweight knowledge sharing workspaces, which includes AKM tools, decision support facilities, and activity awareness features. We also describe how distributed stakeholders involved in the software architecting process can share knowledge and manage their tasks by various features provided by ShyWiki.