Background: Understanding how to successfully deal with human and technical aspects involved in Software Process Improvement (SPI) programs is a challenging issue. Technical aspects are not enough to guarantee the success of activities. Human factors (e.g., experiences, opinions and perceptions) impact the effectiveness of SPI programs. Aim: this paper aims to improve our current understanding on how human aspects can influence SPI programs from the point of view of the professionals involved in such efforts. We compare our findings with the results of previous studies in order to analyze the different contexts in which human aspects influence SPI. Method: We conducted a qualitative study in the context of small companies involved in SPI programs in Amazonas State in Brazil based on the Brazilian Maturity Model-MPS.BR. We used semi-structural interviews with software engineers. Results: We identified findings about eleven of the fourteen investigated human aspects. We identified new characteristics that motivate actors to get involved in SPI programs. Finally, while previous research indicated that the process of individual decision making as a negative aspect, we identified this as a positive aspect. Conclusions: Despite the differences in companies' size and maturity models, our findings corroborate many of the important results of previous case studies. The consistency of the presented results with previous research in different organizations, teams, and countries suggest that these results are true for software engineering in general. However, there were differences related to the motivating factors and the perception of the individual decision making. In our study, we observed that the personality, perception and employee selection aspects were also significant to the SPI program's success. This has not been reported before in the literature. In fact, we need to stress that studies like the one presented are important because they help to create a body of evidence regarding SPI.

Several studies about knowledge transfer in multinational corporations have found that the process is influenced by factors such as absorptive capacity, tacit knowledge and power relations, all of which impact knowledge sharing strategies between corporate headquarters and foreign subsidiaries. A multiple case study of Brazilian subsidiaries of three multinational corporations using in-depth interviews, based on a conceptual model consisting of four propositions, was conducted to identify factors linked to the knowledge transfer process and to assess their influence on that transfer. The first proposition tries to assess explicit knowledge, primarily through the use of IT tools; the second analyzes the role of the subsidiary within the corporate network and how it influences the degree of knowledge sharing. The third assesses the influence of subsidiary absorptive capacity and the fourth analyzes the impact of worker exchange programs on knowledge sharing between headquarters and foreign subsidiaries. Study results confirm the four propositions and enable the identification of relationships between factors, especially explicit knowledge and worker expatriation as complementary factors in knowledge transfer strategies.

RESUMOScrum é um framework ágil de gestão cujo papel do Scrum Master é o objeto de estudo desta pesquisa. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar a influência do papel do Scrum Master no desenvolvimento de projetos Scrum. A pesquisa caracteriza-se como qualitativa, com estratégia de estudo de caso por meio da observação da aplicação de projetos Scrum em três organizações de desenvolvimento de tecnologia e inovação no Amazonas. A coleta dos dados foi composta por uma etapa qualitativa, por meio de entrevistas, com apoio de formulário eletrônico. Os mesmos foram analisados por meio de uma comparação entre papeis gerenciais e as características do Scrum Master previstas na literatura especializada. Os resultados evidenciam a combinação do perfil do Scrum Master com o do gerente de projetos, conforme as boas práticas previstas na literatura, que geram inúmeros benefícios para as diferentes realidades estudadas.Palavras-chave: Scrum; Scrum Master; Time; Papel Gerencial. SCRUM MASTER'S ROLE INFLUENCE ON SCRUM PROJECTS DEVELOPMENT ABSTRACTScrum is an agile management framework whose role of the Scrum Master is the object of study of this research. This article aims to analyze the influence of the role of the Scrum Master in the development of Scrum projects. The research is characterized as qualitative, with a character of explanatory study and strategy of case study through the observation of the application of Scrum projects in three organizations of information technology development and innovation in Amazonas. Data collection consisted of a qualitative step, through semi-structured interviews, and a quantitative one, via an electronic form. These were analyzed by means of a comparison between managerial roles and the Scrum Master characteristics foreseen in the specialized literature. Results show the combination of profiles with the use of aspects of project management according to the PMBOK, which generate numerous benefits for the different realities studied.

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