Global Software Engineering

The overall purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the fact that familiarization in distributed teams improve performance? The level of team familiarity for example the average number of times each member has worked with every other member of the team, has a significant positive effect on performance or not? Misunderstanding or a little communication can create hard feelings or ambiguities which ultimately undermine the success of the team. Team environment needs to be where each member communicate openly and effectively

Global companies that experimented extensive waterfall phased plans are trying to improve their existing processes to expedite team engagement. SCRUM has become an acceptable path to follow for those companies because it comprises project management as part of its practices. SCRUM has been used with the objective of simplifying project control through simple processes, easy to update documentation and higher team iteration over exhaustive documentation. Instead of investing team effort on producing static documentation, SCRUM proposes to focus on team continuous improvement aiming to add value to business processes. The purpose of this industry report is to describe two projects that experimented SCRUM practices within a globally distributed company. This company has development centers across North America, South America and Asia. This report covers challenges faced by the project teams, strengths and practical recommendations of using SCRUM in a globally distributed environment.

Software engineering involves people collaborating to develop better software. Collaboration is challenging, especially across time zones and without face-to-face meetings. We therefore use collaboration tools all along the product life cycle to let us work together, stay together, and achieve results together. This article summarizes experiences and trends chosen from recent IEEE International Conference on Global Software Engineering (IGSCE) conferences.

This research study was conducted to identify team-level coordination issues and to make strategies that help in overcoming these hurdles between Global Software Engineering (GSE) teams. In GSE projects, a steady flow of communication and coordination between the team members is required throughout the project. Communication and coordination make top in the list of challenges currently faced by GSE projects. Geographically dispersed teams members often face lack of coordination problems because of minimal communication. In GSE, teams coordinate on different level from requirement engineering (RE) phase to project deployment phase. Our main focus in this research was achieving coordination between dispersed GSE teams of requirements engineers, software designers and software developer.

Context: Global Software Development (GSD) presents significant challenges to share and understand knowledge required for developing software. Organizations are expected to implement appropriate practices to address knowledge-sharing challenges in GSD. With the growing literature on GSD and its widespread adoption, it is important to build a body of knowledge to support future research and effective knowledge sharing practices. Objective: We aimed at systematically identifying and synthesizing knowledge sharing challenges and practices. We also intended to classify the recurrent challenges and most frequently reported practices in different contextual settings. Method: We used Systematic Literature Review (SLR) for reviewing 61 primary studies that were selected after searching the GSD literature published over the last 14 years (2000 – September 2014). We applied thematic analysis method for analysing the data extracted from the reviewed primary studies. Results: Our findings revealed that knowledge sharing challenges and practices in GSD could be classified in 6 main themes: management, team structure, work processes/ practices, team cognition, social attributes and technology. In regard to contextual settings, we found empirical studies were mainly conducted in an offshore outsourcing collaboration model distributed between two sites. Most of the studied organizations were large enterprises. Many of the studies did not report any information for several contextual attributes that made it difficult to analyse the reported challenges and practices with respect to their respective contexts. Conclusion: We can conclude: a) there is a higher tendency among researchers to report practices than challenges of knowledge sharing in GSD. b) Given our analysis, most of the reported knowledge sharing challenges and practices fall under the theme of " work practices ". c) The technology related knowledge-sharing challenges are the least reported; we discussed the available technologies for supporting knowledge sharing needs in GSD. d) The organizational contextual information is missing from a large number of studies; hence, it was not possible to investigate the potential relations between knowledge sharing challenges/practices and the contextual attributes of GSD teams. We assert the need of exploring knowledge sharing in the context of small/ medium sized organizations to avoid the risk of findings being biased by specific empirical setting (e.g., large enterprises distributed between US and India).

Cloud computing is a growing computing paradigm that provides Internet-based computer services on-demand basis. Adoption of cloud infrastructure promises enterprises numerous benefits. In particular, hybrid cloud, a combination of both public and private clouds, offers benefits of both the public and private clouds. The objective of this study is to identify the critical challenges, faced by client organisations in the adoption of hybrid cloud computing. The authors have reviewed the literature through systematic literature review (SLR) process. We have followed all the SLR steps by developing SLR protocol first which was then validated and implemented. We have identified a list of ten challenges, by extracting data from a sample of 120 papers, in the adoption of hybrid cloud. The identified challenges include three critical challenges such as: 'public cloud security concern', 'efficient management issue', and 'integration complexity'. We have further analysed the identified challenges with respect to time and study strategy. Clients should address all the identified challenges in general and the critical challenges in particular. Our next phase of the study is validation of the identified challenges through industry practitioners and to find solutions/practices for addressing these challenges, which will be published in future.

Context: Offshore software development outsourcing is a modern business strategy for developing high quality software at low cost. Objective: The objective of this research paper is to identify and analyse factors that are important in terms of the competitiveness of vendor organisations in attracting outsourcing projects. Method: We performed a systematic literature review (SLR) by applying our customised search strings which were derived from our research questions. We performed all the SLR steps, such as the protocol development, initial selection, final selection, quality assessment, data extraction and data synthesis. Results: We have identified factors such as cost-saving, skilled human resource, appropriate infrastructure , quality of product and services, efficient outsourcing relationships management, and an organisation's track record of successful projects which are generally considered important by the out-sourcing clients. Our results indicate that appropriate infrastructure, cost-saving, and skilled human resource are common in three continents, namely Asia, North America and Europe. We identified appropriate infrastructure, cost-saving, and quality of products and services as being common in three types of organisations (small, medium and large). We have also identified four factors-appropriate infrastructure, cost-saving, quality of products and services, and skilled human resource as being common in the two decades (1990–1999 and 2000–mid 2008). Conclusions: Cost-saving should not be considered as the driving factor in the selection process of software development outsourcing vendors. Vendors should rather address other factors in order to compete in the OSDO business, such as skilled human resource, appropriate infrastructure and quality of products and services.

"The analysis of the combined results from three independent industry focused case studies, undertaken in the area of distributed software development over a period of
eight years, has resulted in the identification of ten key factors. These ten factors have been utilised as the basis for the development of the GSD Implementation Model. The
objective of the creation and presentation of this model is to provide a practical and systematic approach to address the key activities, infrastructure and support which are required to facilitate effective distributed software development. This approach is inspired by the IDEAL model and divided into five specific phases which are classified as Initiating, Provisioning, Establishing, Managing and Leveraging. The goal of the
Initiating phase is to clearly determine why, if and how the distributed development strategy is to be selected and undertaken. The implementation of the Provisioning phase is to ensure that the required infrastructure, processes and support to facilitate successful distributed software development are identified and put in place. The focus
of the Establishing phase is to ensure that the development teams are effectively established. The managing phase addresses the day to day requirements of operating efficiently
in a distributed environment. The Leveraging phase concentrates on the need to ensure that the structures and procedures are in place so that lessons learned can be
documented and leveraged in existing and future projects."

Globally distributed information systems development has become a key strategy for large sections of the software industry. This involves outsourcing projects to third parties or offshoring development to divisions in remote locations. A popular approach when implementing these strategies is the establishment of virtual teams. The justification for embarking on this approach is to endeavor to leverage the potential benefits of labor arbitrage available between geographical locations. When implementing such a strategy organizations must recognize that virtual teams operate differently to collocated teams, therefore, they must be managed differently. These differences arise due to the complex and collaborative nature of information systems development and the impact distance introduces. Geographical, temporal, cultural, and linguistic distance all negatively impact on coordination, cooperation, communication, and visibility in the virtual team setting. In these circumstances, it needs to be recognized that the project management of a virtual team must be carried out in a different manner to that of a collocated team. Results from this research highlight six specific project management areas, which need to be addressed to facilitate successful virtual team operation. They are: Organizational Virtual Team Strategy, Risk Management, Infrastructure, Implementation of a Virtual Team Process, Team Structure and Organization, and Conflict Management.

Software security is an important aspect that needs to be considered during the entire software development life cycle (SDLC). Integrating software security at each phase of SDLC has become an urgent need. To address software security, various approaches, techniques, methods, practices, and models have been proposed and developed. However, recent research shows that many software development methodologies do not explicitly include methods for incorporating software security during the development of software as it evolves from requirements engineering to its final disposal. The primary objective of this research is to study the state-of-the-art of security in the context of SDLC by following systematic mapping study (SMS). In the second phase, we will identify, through systematic literature review (SLR) and empirical study in the industry, the software security contributions, security challenges and their practices for global software development (GSD) vendors. The ultimate aim is to develop a Software Security Assurance Model (SSAM) to assist GSD vendor organisations in measuring their readiness towards the development of secure software.

To support software development globalisation, organisations are increasingly implementing virtual team strategies. However, these teams have to work within the confines of the factors which distance introduces, thus not always allowing effective coordination, visibility, communication and cooperation to take place. The successful implementation and management of such teams must be done differently to those at single-site locations. To establish what factors significantly affect the implementation of virtual teams, the authors carried out qualitative research in two organisations in Ireland. Results from this research demonstrate that many factors are reality for those involved in global software development. In this paper we present five of these factors and discuss the impact these had on the virtual teams. These five are: use of communication tools, project management, process engineering, technical ability and motivational issues. knowledge transfer and motivational issues. If These are not explicitly addressed by management it can lead to serious problems

When implementing software development in a global environment, a popular strategy is the establishment of virtual teams. The objective of this paper is to examine the effective project management of this type of team. In the virtual team environment problems arise due to the collaborative nature of software development and the impact distance introduces. Distance specifically impacts coordination, visibility, communication

Context: Software development outsourcing is a contract-based relationship between client and vendor organisations in which a client contracts out all or part of its software development activities to a vendor, who provides agreed services for remuneration. Objective: The objective is to identify various barriers that have a negative impact on software outsourc-ing clients in the selection process of offshore software development outsourcing vendors. Method: We have performed a systematic literature review (SLR) process for the identification of barriers. We have performed all the SLR steps such as the protocol development, initial selection, final selection, quality assessment, data extraction and data synthesis. Results: We have identified barriers such as 'language and cultural barriers', 'country instability', 'lack of project management', 'lack of protection for intellectual property rights' and 'lack of technical capability' that generally have a negative impact on outsourcing clients. We have identified only one common frequently cited barrier in three types of organisations (i.e. small, medium and large) which is 'language and cultural barriers'. We did not identify any common frequently cited barrier in three continents (Asia, North America and Europe) and in two decades (1990–1999 and 2000–mid 2008). The results also reveal the similarities and differences in the barriers identified through different study strategies. Conclusions: Vendors should address frequently cited barriers such as 'language and cultural barriers', 'country instability', 'lack of project management', 'lack of protection for intellectual property rights' and 'lack of technical capability' in order to compete in the offshore outsourcing business.

Testing global software differs from conventional software testing in that the test design approach must consider the defined and implied issues of specific culture, language, date format, currency format, etc. In bi-directional software testing (software targeting Arabic, Hebrew, etc.) has many unique issues. Target users of Arabic software demand the same high quality standards as other users. Developers and localizers

—Growing popularity of Global Software Development (GSD) has resulted in an increasing number of cross-organizational teams that are formed according to Extended Team Model (ETM). There is little known about the structures (work, social, and communication) that may exist in ETM and what affordances those structures provide to support collaboration and coordination. This paper reports a case study that has studied the structures of an ETM in GSD and how those structures provide affordances for dealing with known GSD challenges. This study has revealed that whilst the current structures in the studied team help deal with different GSD challenges, these structures appear to have certain challenges inherent in them and the affordances they provide. We make a few recommendations for improving the current structures to deal with the observed challenges. Our findings are expected to provide insights into the types of structures and associated challenges for implementing ETM in GSD.

Today, software-intensive systems are increasingly being developed in a globally distributed way. However, besides its benefit, global development also bears a set of risks and problems. One critical factor for successful project management of distributed software development is the allocation of tasks to sites, as this is assumed to have a major influence on the benefits and risks. We introduce a model that aims at improving management processes in globally distributed projects by giving decision support for task allocation that systematically regards multiple criteria. The criteria and causal relationships were identified in a literature study and refined in a qualitative interview study. The model uses existing approaches from distributed systems and statistical modeling. The article gives an overview of the problem and related work, introduces the empirical and theoretical foundations of the model, and shows the use of the model in an example scenario.

Professional software development is normally team based and is recognised as a socio-technical activity. In recent years this has been coupled with the increasing popularity of outsourcing and offshoring software development. These are two significant issues, which need to be considered and recognized. As educators it is important that we prepare our students, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level to make informed and meaningful contributions to the industry they plan to enter. To facilitate this we need to consider providing modules which outline the benefits and problems associated with globally distributed software development. As research has identified, a key element of any such module is the importance and impact that cultural diversity plays. To facilitate understanding in this area, students can benefit from knowledge of the literature on culture. This can provide essential information which allows them to understand the broader aspects of this important topic. In this paper global software development and culture are placed in context. A summary of relevant literature with respect to culture is presented and discussed. Details of modules on the topic of global software development for both undergraduates and postgraduates, which utilised this literature, are outlined. The results from an inductive study carried out with some of the students who undertook these modules are also presented and discussed.

Context: Face-to-Face (F2F) interaction is a strong means to foster social relationships and effective knowledge sharing within a team. However, communication in Global Software Development (GSD) teams is usually restricted to computer-mediated conversation that is perceived to be less effective and interpersonal. Temporary collocation of dispersed members of a software development team is a well-known practice in GSD. Despite broad realization of the benefits of visits, there is lack of empirical evidence that explores how temporary F2F interactions are organized in practice and how they can impact knowledge sharing between sites. Objective: This study aimed at empirically investigating activities that take place during temporary collocation of dispersed members and analyzing the outcomes of the visit for supporting and improving knowledge sharing. Method: We report a longitudinal case study of a GSD team distributed between Denmark and Pakistan. We have explored a particular visit organized for a group of offshore team members visiting onshore site for two weeks. Our findings are based on a systematic and rigorous analysis of the calendar entries of the visitors during the studied visit, several observations of a selected set of the team members' activities during the visit and 13 semi-structured interviews. Results: Looking through the lens of knowledge-based theory of the firm, we have found that social and professional activities organized during the visit, facilitated knowledge sharing between team members from both sites. The findings are expected to contribute to building a common knowledge and understanding about the role and usefulness of the site visits for supporting and improving knowledge sharing in GSD teams by establishing and sustaining social and professional ties.

Distributed software development has become the norm for the software industry today. As a result many organizations are leveraging the expertise of their existing staff by establishing virtual teams. Here we outline the results from three independent case studies undertaken over a period of eight years. The first study considered the operation of virtual teams whose members were situated in

This paper presents a novel European Master programme on Software Engineering (SE), being put forward by four leading institutions from Sweden, UK, Netherlands and Italy. The Global SE European Master (GSEEM) programme aims to provide students with an excellence in SE based on sound theoretical foundations and practical experience, as well as to prepare them to participate in global development of complex and large software systems. GSEEM has been designed with two noteworthy aspects: 1) Three specialization ...

In this report, we present a summary and a few reflections of a one day workshop on Software Engineering Education held on February 22, 2012 at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India collocated with the 5th India Software Engineering Conference. We identify a gap and believe there is a need for creating an annual discussion forum that serves the need of having a regular workshop for software engineering education in India and also benefit the global software engineering education community by sharing the workshop insights and results by a publication process. The workshop consists of two keynotes, one from academia and one from industry, two subgroups discussions and presentations by the subgroups on their discussions. Three systematic techniques, invitation of position statements, set up of a Google group and an online survey, were employed before the workshop to estimate number of participants, subgroups and size of each subgroup for effective discussions. Twenty participan...