Understanding interaction design practices in distributed software development

Abstract

Interaction design has been consolidated as a practice with the potential to support the improvement of software quality in relation to various aspects of human-computer interaction. On the other hand, more and more organizations are developing software with teams distributed geographically. Despite this, little is known about how interaction design has been implemented in distributed software development (DSD). In this paper, we present the results of an interview study conducted to understand how interaction design has been implemented in DSD projects. For this, semi-structured interviews were carried out with profissionais with experience in DSD projects. The data were analyzed based on the thematic analysis method. The results of this study provide a detailed view of how interaction design is implemented in DSD projects. This paper presents an analysis of the main characteristics of interaction design in DSD projects, such as the activities and practices of interaction design in DSD projects. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge of interaction design at the frontier of research between HCI and DSD by (i) providing an in-depth view of the practice of interaction design in DSD projects, and (ii) identifying interaction design practices in DSD emerging from the study.