Provides detailed methodology for digitizing project knowledge by bridging the gap between Waterfall and Agile Methodologies.

Private sector agricultural extension has expanded rapidly in many developing countries in the wake of drastic funding cuts made to public extension systems in the 1980s and 1990s. Motivated by the increase in sales or contract farming revenues that extension can generate, private providers include seed and input companies, distributors and dealers, service providers, food processors and retailers, and mobile phone companies. Mixed public-private systems are now becoming common. How well can the private sector fill the gap left by dysfunctional public systems? Knowledge Driven Development: Private Extension and Global Lessons provides a critical assessment of the effectiveness of private extension systems in developing countries.

This book presents a new methodology, known as Knowledge Driven Development, for managing project knowledge in an exhaustive and structured manner. The text highlights the importance of efficient project delivery methodology in the overall software development life cycle. Important topics such as requirement analysis, solution design, application design, and test design are discussed in depth. It establishes a connection between enterprise knowledge and project knowledge for continuous improvement and accelerated project delivery. Separate chapters on end-to-end project delivery, compliance and protocols and interface with existing methodologies makes it useful for the readers. Several case studies and examples are interspersed throughout the text for better understanding.

Knowledge Driven Development: Private Extension and Global Lessons uses actual cases written specifically to study the role and capacity of private companies in knowledge sharing and intensification through agricultural extension. Descriptions of specific models and approaches are teased out of complex situations exhibiting a range of agricultural, regulatory, socio-economic variables. Illustrative cases focus on a particular agricultural value chain and elaborate the special feature of the associated private extension system. Chapters presenting individual cases of private extension also highlight specific areas of variations and significant deviance. Each chapter begins with a section describing the background and agricultural context of the case, followed by a description of the specific crop value chain. Based on understanding of this context, extension models and methods by private companies receive deeper analysis and definition in the next section. This leads to a discussion of the private extension with respect to its relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, equity, sustainability and impact. Following that, comparison with public extension, the uniqueness of the knowledge intensification model, and lessons for its replication and scaling up are elaborated. The final chapter summarizes the major results from the ten cases presented, looking at the trends, commonalities and differences of various extension approaches and the general lessons for success or failure. It concludes with a set of messages around value creation, integrated services, market links, inclusive innovation, and capacity development. - Provides understanding of different knowledge sharing and intensification models of extension delivery and financing by private companies across the agricultural value chains - Assesses the factors leading to successes or failures of various approaches - Draws lessons and recommendations for future endeavors relating to private extension policies and programs

"This book covers theoretical, thematic, and country-specific issues of knowledge cities to underline the growing importance of KBUD all around the world, providing substantive research on the decisive lineaments of urban development for knowledge-based production (drawing attention to new planning processes to foster such development), and worldwide best practices and case studies in the field of urban development"--Provided by publisher.

The knowledge economy has become an important part of contemporary development for cities in a time of globalization and expansion. Examining theories of knowledge transfer and urban advancement allows for better adaptation in a changing global society. Knowledge-Based Urban Development in the Middle East provides emerging research on the contemporary practices of architecture, urban design, and implementation in contemporary Middle Eastern cities. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics, such as creative economy, knowledge development, and learning communities, this book is an important resource for academics, researchers, practitioners, and decision makers seeking current research on the issues and challenges of implementing knowledge-based urban development in Middle Eastern cities.

Discussing global society entails discussing the predominant characteristics of knowledge-based activities in all walks of life. Its main characteristics are based on creativity, innovation, freedom, and networking. The emergence of such a society poses several challenges to all disciplines of social sciences. Within such a context, sociologists must have practical encounters to the theoretical, methodological, and empirical challenges imposed within contemporary global society. In this vein, studying creative cities from an interdisciplinary perspective helps provide critical readings of the phenomenon and the different levels of the concept in reality. The Handbook of Research on Creative Cities and Advanced Models for Knowledge-Based Urban Development provides global models and best practices of creative cities worldwide and illustrates different theoretical blueprints for the better understanding of contemporary global society. While defining key concepts of creative cities, global society, and creative class, the book also clarifies the main differences between hubs, parks, and precincts and their contributions to knowledge-based development. Covering topics that include knowledge economy, social inclusion, and urban mobility, this comprehensive reference is ideal for sociologists, urban planners/designers, political scientists, economists, anthropologists, historians, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students.