Global Software Development Research Articles

THE ALGORITHMIC AUTOREGULATION SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY

O artigo apresenta uma nova metodologia para a coordenação do trabalho de uma equipe dispersa fisicamente chamada Autorregulação algorítmica (AA). A metodologia se baseia em conceitos recentes de redes sociais e mérito individual. Os membros da equipe assumem papéis igualitários e se mantêm logados voluntariamente a sessões de AA por parte do seu tempo (por exemplo, duas horas por dia), criando logs periódicos — frases curtas — que desejam compartilhar com os demais envolvidos nas atividades da equipe. Estes logs são agregados publicamente em um website e são validados pelos pares após o fim da sessão, da mesma forma que se faz na revisão de código. Preferencialmente, um breve screencast é gravado ao final de casa sessão para tornar os logs de AA mais compreensíveis. Esta metodologia se demonstrou adequada para aumentar a eficiência de equipes dispersas fisicamente trabalhando em projetos de Desenvolvimento de Software Global (GSD), conforme observado em nossa experiência em situações de uso cotidiano. O aumento de eficiência é obtido principalmente por meio de: 1) comunicação assíncrona e sob demanda em conjunto com a documentação dos produtos do trabalho e processos, e 2) necessidade reduzida de gestão centralizada, reuniões ou relatórios que consomem tempo. Assim, a metodologia AA legitima e facilita as atividades de uma equipe de desenvolvimento de software distribuída. Ela possibilita que outras entidades disponham de meios para financiar essas atividades, possibilitando que novos e concretos modelos de negócio se tornem possíveis para desenvolvimentos de software muito distribuídos. A AA foi proposta, em sua essência, como uma forma de possibilitar a auto-replicação de iniciativas de atividade hacker. Estes argumentos são discutidos com base em um estudo de caso real de atuação de uma equipe hacker de software livre distribuído chamada Lab Macambira.

Agile Software Development in Global Software Engineering

software development is the emerging trend in today's industry. The software development industry is investigating the use of agile development methodologies in distributed environment due to its benefits of better communication and coordination, improved productivity and quality. However research has shown that implementing agile practices in global software development is beneficial and challenging too. Therefore it is necessary to carefully understand the benefits and challenges of combining agile methods in distributed projects. This paper presents the benefits and challenges of applying agile methods in global software development in order to understand it properly. KeywordsSoftware Development, Global Software Engineering (GSE), Agile in GSE, Benefits, Challenges.

Guest editorial: resolving the challenges of time and distance

Software and IT industries are today truly global and so is Software Engineering. High-tech companies are now located in more than 100 countries, making Global Software Engineering (GSE) a fact of life. The Internet has facilitated a massive dispersion of high-tech work and has completely changed how we humans deal with time and distance. However, the dispersion over time and space require novel techniques, tools, and practices from many disciplines to overcome challenges and to take advantage of all the opportunities that global software engineering offers. Developing software has become a global phenomenon with both successes and failures. At the same time, the software industry has been quick to take advantage of all the opportunities that global software engineering offers but it is still learning to overcome the challenges that distance brings in. This special section on Global Software Engineering consists of two papers that present innovative ideas on not only how to resolve the challenges of time and distance, but also on how to cope with the growing complexity of effectively managing GSE work. The first paper is “Agile vs. Structured Distributed Software Development: A Case Study” (DOI: 10.1007/s10664-013-9271-y). In their work, the authors explore a central question in global software development: does the choice of process affect the success of a distributed development project? Based on a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis of data related to 66 distributed development projects in three continents, the main finding is the lack of a Empir Software Eng DOI 10.1007/s10664-014-9330-z

Knowledge‐related challenges and solutions in GSD

AbstractA number knowledge‐related challenges may complicate the work in global software development (GSD) projects. In practice, even a small amount of missing knowledge may cause an activity to fail to create and transfer information which is critical to later functions, causing these later functions to fail. Thus, knowledge engineering holds a central role in order to succeed with globally distributed product development. Furthermore, examining the challenges faced in GSD from a cognitive perspective will help to find solutions that take into account the knowledge needs of different stakeholders in GSD and thus help to establish conditions for successful GSD projects. In this paper, we will discuss these challenges and solutions based on an extensive literature study and practical experience gained in several international projects over the last decade. Altogether, over 50 case studies were analysed. We analysed the challenges identified in the cases from a cognitive perspective for bridging and avoiding the knowledge gaps and, based on this analysis, we will present example solutions to address the challenges during the GSD projects. We will conclude that through understanding both the nature of GSD and the KE challenges in depth, it will be possible for organizations to make their distributed operations successful.

Knowledge engineering in global software development environments

Knowledge engineering in global software development environments

Mitigating Coordination Costs in Global Software Development Using Scrum

Global Software Development (GSD) is the most recent and major trend in software engineering domain. It provides many benefits but also faces various challenges in control, communication and coordination due to socio-cultural, geographical and temporal distance. Scrum is increasingly being applied in GSD as it supports teamwork between developers and customers. Scrum method offers a distinctive feature to mitigate the effects of socio-cultural and geographical but not temporal distance on coordination in GSD projects. This paper explains how Scrum helps to mitigate the effects of temporal distance which includes increased coordination costs in GSD projects. A web application called (Distributed Scrum Web Application) provides various advantages for Scrum teams. The main advantage of this application is to facilitate communication among distributed team members. Index Terms—Global software development, scrum, coordination costs, distributed applications, sprint.

Scrum and Temporal Distance-Based Global Software Development

Global software development (GSD) is one of modern trends in software engineering. The last years has witnessed a significant increase in the adoption of Agile in GSD .This paper considers the issue by examining whether Scrum practices used in mitigation of temporal distance-based GSD coordination challenges. We were used Cisco TelePresence tool in Synchronization communication for simulation of face to face meetings. We were designed a simple algorithm to help project managers in determining the appropriate strategies. This algorithm is based on the temporal difference between the sites. This is may be great or simple. Through temporal difference, we calculated number of working hours overlapping. Which are classified in the three cases and each case has number of strategies are sufficient to overcome this challenges.

A Proposed Framework for Communication Risks During RCM in GSD

Presently, software is an important module of business in the world. Most of software organizations are distributing their work all over the world in order to develop software through collaboration via electronic network and it is continually getting fast. Software development companies are trying to globalize their work throughout the world in order to get the various benefits. The phenomenon of this software globalization is called Global Software Development (GSD).However, globalization of software development is not a simple job and the software companies face numerous challenges. In GSD Communication is a main issue and it became more complicated during Requirements Change Management (RCM) process .This paper presents the various factors which causes different communication risks in GSD during RCM process. A proposed framework is developed that consolidates relevant factors, which have been categorized into geographical, socio-cultural and temporal distances. A quantitative research method has been used to collect data from GSD organizations.

The effect of governance on global software development: An empirical research in transactive memory systems

ContextThe way global software development (GSD) activities are managed impacts knowledge transactions between team members. The first is captured in governance decisions, and the latter in a transactive memory system (TMS), a shared cognitive system for encoding, storing and retrieving knowledge between members of a group. ObjectiveWe seek to identify how different governance decisions (such as business strategy, team configuration, task allocation) affect the structure of transactive memory systems as well as the processes developed within those systems. MethodWe use both a quantitative and a qualitative approach. We collect quantitative data through an online survey to identify transactive memory systems. We analyze transactive memory structures using social network analysis techniques and we build a latent variable model to measure transactive memory processes. We further support and triangulate our results by means of interviews, which also help us examine the GSD governance modes of the participating projects. We analyze governance modes, as set of decisions based on three aspects; business strategy, team structure and composition, and task allocation. ResultsOur results suggest that different governance decisions have a different impact on transactive memory systems. Offshore insourcing as a business strategy, for instance, creates tightly-connected clusters, which in turn leads to better developed transactive memory processes. We also find that within the composition and structure of GSD teams, there are boundary spanners (formal or informal) who have a better overview of the network’s activities and become central members within their network. An interesting mapping between task allocation and the composition of the network core suggests that the way tasks are allocated among distributed teams is an indicator of where expertise resides. ConclusionWe present an analytical method to examine GSD governance decisions and their effect on transactive memory systems. Our method can be used from both practitioners and researchers as a “cause and effect” tool for improving collaboration of global software teams.

Resolving the challenges of time and distance

Software and IT industries are today truly global and so is Software Engineering. High-tech companies are now located in more than 100 countries, making Global Software Engineering (GSE) a fact of life. The Internet has facilitated a massive dispersion of high-tech work and has completely changed how we humans deal with time and distance. However, the dispersion over time and space require novel techniques, tools, and practices from many disciplines to overcome challenges and to take advantage of all the opportunities that global software engineering offers. Developing software has become a global phenomenon with both successes and failures. At the same time, the software industry has been quick to take advantage of all the opportunities that global software engineering offers but it is still learning to overcome the challenges that distance brings in. This special section on Global Software Engineering consists of two papers that present innovative ideas on not only how to resolve the challenges of time and distance, but also on how to cope with the growing complexity of effectively managing GSE work. The first paper is “Agile vs. Structured Distributed Software Development: A Case Study” (DOI: 10.1007/s10664-013-9271-y). In their work, the authors explore a central question in global software development: does the choice of process affect the success of a distributed development project? Based on a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis of data related to 66 distributed development projects in three continents, the main finding is the lack of a significant difference between project outcomes and the type of development process, agile or structured. Empir Software Eng (2014) 19:1195–1196 DOI 10.1007/s10664-014-9309-9

Intercultural Communication and Management Factors and Their Impact to the Process of Global Software Development for Virtual and Non-Virtual Teams

Abstract This position paper presents the factors involved in the successful software development and what is the impact of some methodologies like Agile in this process. Global software development projects may be a total success or an anticipated disaster for simple reasons that usually have nothing to do with the technology involved, with the time differences, or the product being built, but because of subtle intercultural factors. How do the language, the race, the gender, the religion, and the location affects the software development process from analysis and design to implementation, testing and maintenance? Do all these factors impact in the same way if we are working with a local team, and offshore development team or even a global virtual team? Is any specific software development methodology better suited for your particular case? How could you decide what’s the better approach? What will be the results and what our goals? The issues at stake are not superficial matters of the ways how people dress, or how clear do they speak in our local language, or what they like to eat, or their small daily behaviors, but are based in the fundamental differences in the systems of values that govern our lives. So institutions, corporations and global companies have to raise the level of awareness of their employees worldwide on the cultural differences, through various programs for intercultural or diversity training. But this poor model of cultural awareness is not enough to overcome some of the obstacles that intercultural differences bring to the table. So this paper will list and describe this important intercultural factors that directly impact in the software development process and how certain software development methodologies could be used in order to have a more systematic look or set of guidelines that would allow the team managers to evaluate and to decide how theuse of each one of these software development methodologies for local teams, non local teams and virtual teams will affect positively or negatively the outcomes of software development practices.

A Survey Based Study on Factors Effecting Communication in GSD

Presently, most of software development companies are trying to globalize their work throughout the world in order to get the various benefits. The phenomenon of this software globalization is called Global Software Development (GSD). However, GSD is not a simple job and the software companies face various challenges. In GSD Communication is a main issue and it became more complicated during Requirements Change Management (RCM). This research will result to explore different factors that can negatively affect communication during the RCM process by conducting a survey in GSD industry. A framework is proposed for the factors effecting communication and total nine hypotheses are developed. A quantitative research method has been used to collect and analyse the data. The results show that total seven out of nine hypotheses are supported and two hypotheses are rejected.

Outsourcing as an Economic Development Tool in Transition Economies: Scattered Global Software Development

In transition economies, information and communication technology (ICT) is vital for successful companies and may compensate for an underdeveloped infrastructure and lack of resources. The development of complex ICT systems requires skilled ICT professionals who are often difficult to acquire. In this paper, we address this specific issue of transition economies and propose a novel global software development approach that aims to compensate for the lack of skilled ICT professionals by outsourcing independent development tasks globally to remote developers. The proposed approach was empirically tested in a pilot study at three different locations at University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. The test demonstrated the feasibility of the approach and indicated that task specification quality and developer skills are important success factors. The findings of the pilot study are primarily relevant for software development companies in transition economies even though the approach may also be applicable in other settings where lack of locally accessible skilled ICT professionals is present.

Using agents to manage Socio-Technical Congruence in a Global Software Engineering project

In Global Software Engineering (GSE) there are a number of communication and coordination challenges which are brought about by the factor of distance. Measuring Socio-Technical Congruence (STC) is, however, presented as a suitable technique for helping to resolve those issues. This leads us to believe that applying STC measurements to GSE might be beneficial, improving communication and coordination. However, after studying existing tools that use STC measurements, we detected some gaps, both in the way they measure STC and in the features offered by the tools for the GSE environment. That is why we have designed an Agent Architecture for coordination and communication that aims to fill the gaps found in the current tools and includes features adapted to GSE characteristics. This is achieved by taking advantage of the special features that agents offer. Moreover, this proposal has been validated in a case study performed at Indra Software Labs, a global software development company. Results show that, by using our proposal, it is possible to improve coordination and communication in a distributed environment.

An Improved Framework for Requirement Change Management in Global Software Development

In this research, an improved framework for requirement change management in global software development (RCM_GSD) has been presented. The objective is to manage the change in requirement specifically in global software development in an appropriate manner. The proposed frame-work RCM_GSD follows the required processes of RCM and reduces the concerns of GSD. Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted for exploration of relevant research. During literature study, it is analyzed that the existing techniques of change management were not suitable for global software development (GSD). The change in requirements becomes more complicated in distributed environment due to the lack of communication and collaboration among globally dispersed stakeholders. The proposed model is compared with other models proposed in recent literature and analysis is made between them; feedback was obtained from the domain experts as well. The feedback and comparison results show that the proposed model provides an appropriate solution for requirement change management in GSD.

REVIEW OF SUPPORT TO SITUATIONAL REQUIREMENT ENGINEERING FROM STANDARDS AND MODELS

Requirement engineering (RE) process clear description can be an important factor for guiding the team members involved in the RE process, which may help organizations not exceeding the estimated schedule and budget for the software project. There can be many reasons of not having efficient RE process such as changing situations among the organizations involved in the RE process. It is certainly one of the various other reasons of having non-efficient RE process. Due to these changing situations the RE process customization accordingly should be performed. As part of our current research project, where we are investigating situational RE in Global Software Development (GSD), first we need to identify the factors which may results in changing situations. This paper we have critically reviewed the domain of “standards and models”, and identified the initial list of situational factors from them. These standards and models are related to software engineering, which directly or indirectly discusses RE process. We have adopted the constant comparison and memoing techniques of the Grounded theory for identification of unique initial list of the situational factors. This initial list is a significant consideration for a comprehensive list of situational factors affecting RE process in GSD.

FACTORS GENERATING RISKS DURING REQUIREMENT ENGINEERING PROCESS IN GLOBAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT

Challenges of Requirements Engineering become adequate when it is performed in global software development paradigm. There can be many reasons behind this challenging nature. “Risks” can be one of them, as there is more risk exposure in global development paradigm. So it is may be one of the main reasons of making Requirement Engineering more challenging. For this first there is a need to identify the factors which actually generate these risks. This paper therefore not only identifies the factors, but also the risks which these factors may generate. A systematic literature review is done for the identification of these factors and the risks which may occur during requirement engineering process in global software development paradigm. The list leads to progressive enhancement for assisting in requirement engineering activities in global software development paradigm. This work is especially useful for the, less experience people working in global software development. .

Managing Knowledge in Global Software Development Projects

Software is increasingly developed in global projects, and such projects are challenged by distance, different time zones, and cultural differences. Knowledge management is central to ensuring effective development of a product with the right features and the right level of quality. A central question then is what knowledge management approach to apply in global software development. This article draws on established research in software engineering, combined with three focus groups in two global companies, to discuss what knowledge management schools are appropriate on a global level and what approaches are relevant for new global projects.

A Case-based Reasoning System to Support the Global Software Development

In addition to the benefits brought by the use of Distributed Software Development, new challenges linked to its use also emerged. Due to lack of information companies and organizations around the globe, independently, solve these challenges in many different ways, each with their practices, some more some less efficient, where best practices are hardly widespread among DDS community. In this context, this paper aims to present a web system based on Case Based Reasoning and Natural Language Processing to extract information in text form of problems and solutions adopted by distributed software projects and to recommend similar past experiences in order to support the decisions and resolutions of problems arising from new situations in distributed projects. The feasibility proof of the method was made from experimental tests conducted to identify the success of the recommendations of previous valid cases, with a success rate of 90% for the sample used.

High-Value Outsourcing: Impact of Team Structure on Complex and Uncertain Offshoring Projects

Organizing for innovation is an important determinant of competitive success, and firms are increasingly turning to external sources as an alternative to internal means, including of late offshore outsourcing. Extant research on offshore outsourcing has largely studied non-core, fairly routinized tasks, such as IT services and BPO. However, companies have recently begun outsourcing higher-end work entailing greater complexity and uncertainty, including knowledge-based services like new product development. We hence investigate to what extent the offshore outsourcing approach can effectively transfer to such projects, by developing a simulation model based on field research of a sample of global software development projects conducted by a leading Indian outsourcing vendor with its customers. We contrast the more virtual global delivery model with a more traditional so-called consulting model and find that an offshore outsourcing approach based on distinct strategic complementarities can handle sophisticated higher-end work, by adopting a suitable team structure and capability composition. The results bear implications for traditional notions of firm boundaries and organizational forms.