A Study on Mitigating the Communication and Coordination Challenges During Requirements Change Management in Global Software Development

Abstract

Global Software Development (GSD) is widely used by software development organizations to ensure the development of a cost-effective software product. GSD has now become a common engineering practice adopted by a significant number of multinational software development organizations, and even individuals (freelancers) are seeking numerous benefits including low development cost, highly skilled workers, and access to better development ideas. However, communication and coordination challenges remain a prominent research issue in the GSD context, while performing different project-related activities especially for Requirements Change Management (RCM). As a result, improper communication and coordination during RCM require additional time, cost, and development resources. Thus, it is of vital importance to ensure proper communication and coordination before initiating a software project. Inspired by this, current work aims at exploring and mitigating the communication and coordination challenges during RCM in the GSD context. To accomplish the targeted research objective, we performed a tertiary study to provide a landscape of the challenges that occurred during RCM in the context of GSD. Based on the performed study, we found 62 communication and 14 coordination challenges. In total, 107 mitigation strategies are explored and reported that effectively address the categorized sub-challenges of communication and coordination. Moreover, we proposed a conceptual model useful to address the communication and coordination challenges for the RCM process in GSD. Furthermore, we consulted the domain experts for the validation of the proposed conceptual model. Based on the promising results, we believe that this work supports the project managers in managing the cost and time-related issues in the GSD context. Consequently, the proposed conceptual model would help in optimally utilizing the scared software development resources. INDEX TERMSGlobal software development; Requirements change management; Communication and coordination challenges; Mitigation strategy; Tertiary study. I.

A cost effective communication model for requirements elicitation in global software development

“…The first phase addressed cultural, language, and time zone difficulties. In the second step, the requirement elicitation approach was used, and requirements were acquired from stakeholders 8 . Good specification debate and negotiation is a significant hurdle to overcome in GSD, but it is impossible to hold good requirements discussions due to the aforementioned issues, such as time gaps, language limits, and cultural differences 9 .…”

A Cost-effective Communication Model for Requirements Elictation in Global Software Development

“…In rst phase, solution for cultural, language and time zone difference were proposed. In second phase, requirement elicitation method was selected and requirements are gathered from stakeholders [9]. Proper debate and negotiation of speci cations in GSD is a vital obstacle to resolve, but it is impossible to have proper discussions on requirements due to the above di culties such as time gaps, language limitations, and cultural differences [10].…”

Temporal Distance Issues and their Mitigation Strategies in GSD: An Empirical Study

“…Temporal, geographical, and cultural distance are the sub-factors of communication. Temporal distance risk has been identified as a significant risk [10]. According to studies [1], [15], and [30], time zone differences [12], delayed responses [13], incorrect technology selection, improper communication, synchronous communication, and minimal time discussion [1] create temporal distance risks among team members.…”

“…In Figure 1, the benefits of GSD are shown. On the other side, there are numerous challenges and risks that global software development must overcome [1][9] [10]. This study's contribution is an SLR conducted in the past [11] to recognize entirely temporal issues in GSD and its mitigation strategies.…”