Abstract
Allocating tasks to distributed sites in Global Software Development (GSD) projects is often done unsystematically and based on the personal experience of project managers. Wrong allocation decisions increase the project’s risks as tasks have dependencies that are inherited by the distributed sites. Decision support can help make the task allocation a more informed and systematic process. The challenges in allocating tasks to distributed sites exist because of three distance dimensions between sites (geographical, temporal and cultural). An informed task allocation decision needs to consider these distances. Therefore, in this paper, we propose to integrate and semi-automate the calculation of an existing Global Distance Metric (GDM) into an architecture that supports executing cloud-based software processes. We analyze the potential of integrating the GDM into this architecture and identify the needed extensions to the architecture.
Highlights
Global Software Development (GSD) 11 has moved software firms from monolithic development to multiple geographicallydistributed teams collaborating on a development project
Noll and Beecham 17 have developed the global distance metric (GDM) to measure global distance between distributed sites collaborating on GSD projects
Since knowing the distance between distributed sites is crucial for making the right allocation decision, we propose to integrate the measurement of the Global Distance Metric (GDM) 17 within the Software Development as a Service (SDaaS) architecture
Summary
Global Software Development (GSD) 11 has moved software firms from monolithic development (one team at one location) to multiple geographicallydistributed teams collaborating on a development project. The distances between distributed sites introduce management challenges that can increase the risks for GSD projects. Nearshoring 7 (allocating tasks to sites with low differences) reduces the risks associated with GSD projects management 14. In this paper, we explore how we can make informed decisions about task allocation in GSD projects based on the distances between the distributed sites. The SDaaS architecture facilitates by default: global project awareness, enhancing communication and understanding amongst distributed teams and supporting global monitoring and synchronization of tasks. In this paper, we propose to extend the SDaaS architecture to support semi-automatic calculation of the Global Distance Metric in order to provide task allocation decision support for project managers.
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