Global Software Development.ppt

SE, Global Software Development, Hans van Vliet, ?2008 ? SE, Global Software Development, Hans van Vliet Global Software Development Main issue: distance matters Collocated versus global/multisite Collocated: housed within walking distance People reinvent the wheel if they have to walk more than 30 meters, or climb the stairs Main question: how to overcome distance in global projects: Communication Coordination Control Arguments for global software development Cost savings Faster delivery (“follow the sun”) Larger pool of developers Better modularization Little proof that these advantages materialize Challenges Temporal distance challenges Communication: Being effective (asynchronous is less effective, misunderstandings, …) Coordination: Cost is larger (travels, infrastructure cost, …) Control: Delays (wait for next teleconference meeting, send email and wait, search for contact, …) Geographical distance challenges Communication: Effective information exchange (less informal exchange, different languages, different domain knowledge, …) Build a team (cohesiveness, “them and us” feelings, trust, …) Coordination: Task awareness (shared mental model, …) Sense of urgency (perception, …) Control: Accurate status information (tracking, blaming, …) Uniform process (different tools and techniques, …) Geographical distance: awareness Activity awareness: What are the others doing? Availability awareness: When can I reach them? Process awareness: What are they doing? Perspective awareness: What are the others thinking, and why? Improving awareness and familiarity with other members helps! Sociocultural distance challenges Communication: Cultural misunderstandings (corporate, technical, national, …) Coordination: Effectiveness (vocabulary, communication style, …) Control: Quality and expertise (CMM level 5 does not guarantee quality) National culture American managers have a hamburger style of management. They start with sweet talk – the top of the bun. Then the criti