Distribution of SW project work H.Sten 2016
Content • Introduction • Dimensions of distribution • Reasoning • Centrifucal forces • Implications (benefits & disadvantages) • Processes & Methods • Research results 27.1.2016 2
Introduction • Distributed software development is an issue of increasing daily routine for software development organizations today. • Globalization, outsourcing, and offshoring are current and remaining features for software development projects. • Distribution is not a simple and well-managed task today. • International distribution gives us some benefits but some disadvantages as well . • Often, the company has several offices in different cities, different countries, or even different parts of the world , and software development projects are distributed among these units. • Software companies can also distribute software development to subcontractors, which are often located in different locations or even different countries. • Software companies have also often very different reasons for the distributed development. • Distributed software development is affected by a lot of forces that influence the success or failure. 27.1.2016 3
Dimensions of distribution • Dimensions of distance • Geographical • Temporal • Socio-Cultural • Organizational 27.1.2016 4
Geographical distance • Geographically distributed software development, developers can work with physically positions in several different places . • The physical distance between the developers may be small , eg. working on different floors of the building, but the software engineers often work in different locations, which may be located in different cities, countries or even continents . • In the geographical distribution a measure of the distance between the developers do not necessarily give a true picture of software development in distribution. • Better picture and insights being it’s what you get when you look at locations between the transport and ease the transition to work by point to another. • The distance between geographically distributed locations can be economically and timely valuable. 27.1.2016 5
Temporal distance • Temporal distance will inevitably become part of the different time zones distributed software projects . • Temporal distribution are also found in the different locations that are used for different work periods . • Temporal distribution dimension refers to the time difference between the interaction necessarily aspiring software developers experienced . • The temporal distribution is always combined with a lack of, or limited real-time communication. • If the different offices’ normal working hours are in partially or even completely different times of the day, the temporal distribution can be said to occur significantly. 27.1.2016 6
Socio-cultural distance • Socio-cultural distribution refers to a person's ability to understand another person's values and normative practices . • Factors affecting the socio-cultural distance includes e.g. national culture, language, politics, local organization and employee motivation 27.1.2016 7
Organizational distance • One dimension is the outsourcing of resources. • Outsourcing refers to the software development of any part of or the conclusion of the phase of the adoption of a partner or a subcontractor to carry. • Distribution can also be organizational, wherein a part of the product development organization can operate abroad and it can thus be determined to intensify their operations with the help of eg. time zones as shifts. • Organizational distribution is about different organizations are often the diversity of practices and organizational cultures . • The organizational dimension is usually found in the larger and medium-sized enterprises 27.1.2016 8
Reasoning • The reasons for the emergence of distribution are many and varied . • The reasons can be divided into previous studies and literature, for example active and passive causes . • Active reasons are relating to active effort to a state where software resources are distributed. Active reasons are various, they are e.g. cost, greater efficiency and availability of resources. • Passive, dependent on the circumstances or the environment, reasons include e.g. acquisitions, large company and the market. • Another way to share the reasons for distribution is a division of known and unknown causes. • Known causes include e.g. cost savings, broader resource for market, operational efficiency, and proximity to the customer and the market. • Unknown (or not so well-known) reasons include e.g. organizational benefits (e.g. the best practices), the team benefits (e.g. improved modularity of tasks) as well as the process and benefits at task-level (e.g. improved documentation). 27.1.2016 9
Main reasons to distribute • Labor, its availability and its skills. • When software development companies are looking for the resources available, they will have to distribute its activities extensively, either by setting up a new office or by outsourcing operations in question operating in the territory of partner or subcontracting firm. • Economic reasons. • Looking from Finland, the cost of software professionals during the last decades has always been cheaper the farther to the east or south the location is. Today can be seen that price erosion have been fast in price of software development labor. Asia is not anymore seen as cheap as it used to be from Finnish lead company point of view. • Proximity to the customer and / or end-user. • Software projects’ customers operate often nowadays globally or are located abroad. Software development project has been the more successful the closer customers are during development. Also, the end- user proximity and understanding is important for software product development • Expansionist designs • The only opportunity for the software company to expand functionally and to internationalize, may be the creation of a new office in another location, a new country, or even acquisition abroad. 27.1.2016 10
Centrifucal forces Carmel, E. & Tjia, P. 2005. Offshoring Information Technology: Sourcing and Outsourcing to a Global Workforce. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press • All the disadvantages associated with international distribution cannot be eliminated, but their effects can be reduced . • Striking a balance between the various types of benefits, disadvantages and successes in the conditions of distribution is one of the most important things for a successful international and distributed software development project. • Carmel and Tjia disclose the problems relating to spreading of the five "centrifugal forces" means. • Each of these five power alienates project staff from each other , making it even more difficult to work. • These forces are culture, communication, coordination, control and cohesion. 27.1.2016 11
Culture 1/2 • Cultural impact cannot be ignored in internationally distributed development projects. • Cultural effects are most visible in long and multi-national projects . • Cultural diversity is useful for the project, if it is understood and used properly. • Every culture has different principles, values, beliefs, communication, norms and behavior . Even small cultural mistakes lead to culture clashes, mistrust and later to conflict. • Culture should be seen as ( Hofstede & Hofstede, 2004) compatible with human nature, culture and the individual's personality as a whole , which is programmed in the human mind. • Human personality is partly inherited and learned. Human nature is the deepest level and inherited from the genes. • Personalit y is the superficial and highest level. It is based on genetic factors and individual experiences that make us all unique people. • Culture is the middle level. It builds on the experience we share between a certain group of people with whom we live in the same community. 27.1.2016 12
Culture 2/2 • Hofstede et al. (2010) the cultural dimensions can be used to simulate a variety of multi-cultural party behavior. The cultural differences appear in comparing them with each other and the differences between countries described various indices [13]. See: http://geert-hofstede.com/national- culture.html. • Lewis (2006) developed the LMR-model (linear, multi and reactive) to test the cultural profiles and the assessment and determination method of the cultural background of individuals. According to Lewis the world’s hundreds of national and regional cultures can be divided into three groups; function key and well-organized designers (Linear), people- oriented, speechful and linked to each other (Multi), as well as introverted and respectful focusing on listeners (Re). In cultural triangle adjacent to each other countries are close to each other, so there are often less conflicts. Similarly, if the countries are far from each other, in the determination of the cultural triangle, culture definition and understanding becomes important. • At the regional culture has a much greater impact than organizational culture. 27.1.2016 13
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