Work Dispersion, Process-Based Learning, and Offshore Software Development Performance

Abstract

In this paper we develop a learning-mediated model of offshore software project productivity and quality to examine whether widely adopted structured software processes are effective in mitigating the negative effects of work dispersion in offshore software development. We explicate how the key process areas of the capability maturity model (CMM) can be utilized as a platform to launch learning routines in offshore software development and thereby explain why some offshore software development process improvement initiatives are more effective than others. We validate our learningmediated model of offshore software project performance by utilizing data collected from 42 offshore software projects of a large firm that operates at the CMM level-5 process maturity. Our results indicate that investments in structured processes mitigate the negative effects of work dispersion in offshore software development. We also find that the effect of software process improvement initiatives is mediated through investments in process-based learning activities. These results imply that investments in structured processes and the corresponding process-based learning activities can be an economically viable way to counter the challenges of work dispersion and improve offshore project performance. We discuss the implication of these results for the adoption of normative process models by offshore software firms.

Project Managers' Practical Intelligence and Project Performance in Software Offshore Outsourcing: A Field Study

“…Unfortunately, these problems cannot be resolved easily with contractual mechanisms: writing a complete contract is not only difficult and costly, it does not accommodate addressing dynamic incidents, whereas writing incomplete contracts that may allow for amendments exposes the clients and the vendors to agency issues and renegotiation costs (Williamson 1979, Hart andHolmstrom 1987). Likewise, the project management literature has prescribed best practices such as processes, tools (Gopal et al 2002, Ramasubbu et al 2008, control mechanisms (Kirsch et al 2002), and risk management frameworks (Wallace et al 2004). Such best practices, however, are effectively leveraged in more predictable project environments (Morgan 2006).…”

Are Foreign IT Workers Cheaper? U.S. Visa Policies and Compensation of Information Technology Professionals

“…Whereas one aspect of globalization relates to outward mobility of work to foreign workers at remote locations as reflected in outsourcing or offshoring of business processes and services (Apte et al 2008, Carmel and Agarwal 2002, DiRomulado and Gurbaxani 1998, Han et al 2010, Lacity et al 2003, Mithas 2008, Mithas and Whitaker 2007, Ramasubbu et al 2008b, Rottman and Lacity 2004), yet another aspect of globalization relates to the inward mobility of foreign workers who are immigrants or on a work visa. The United States admits more than one million immigrants every year, and although a large percentage of these workers have significantly lower skills than native workers (Borjas 2001), some immigrant workers, particularly from Europe and Asia, are highly skilled.…”

“…Arguably, because many ITrelated jobs also involve high information intensity and often few requirements for physical presence, these jobs are amenable to global disaggregation and can be performed remotely or offshore (Apte and Mason 1995). At the same time, interdependence of activities, the need for customer contact, and the difficulties involved in transferring tacit knowledge of customers and developers across geographic locations make it necessary to deploy some IT resources onsite (Espinosa et al 2006(Espinosa et al , 2007Ramasubbu et al 2008b). Because of the presumed shortage of such highly skilled IT professionals in the United States (see Ferratt 1999, Lewin et al 2009, U.S. Department of Commerce 1997), many U.S. and global firms hire foreign IT professionals on work visas to perform boundary spanning and related roles to coordinate the development of IT artifacts in a distributed environment.…”

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“…There will continue to be a need for studies that enrich understanding by pointing to associations (Bharadwaj 2000;Mithas et al 2007Ramasubbu et al 2008;Ray et al 2004Ray et al , 2005Whitaker et al 2007) or the nested nature of relationships (Ang et al 2002, Mithas et al 2006) that can subsequently be tested using the counterfactual framework we discussed herein. Likewise, there is always a need for detailed case studies and historical accounts that help identify relevant variables to understand an unfolding phenomenon.…”