The lonesome architect

Although the benefits are well-known and undisputed, sharing architectural knowledge is not something architects automatically do. In an attempt to better understand what architects really do and what kind of support they need for sharing knowledge, we have conducted large-scale survey research. The results of our study indicate that architects can be characterized as rather lonesome decision makers who mainly consume, but neglect documenting and actively sharing architectural knowledge. Acknowledging this nature of architects suggests ways to develop more effective support for architectural knowledge sharing.