Differing Impact Levels from Risk Factors on Virtual and Co-Located Software Development Projects

Although software development projects increasingly incorporate virtual team members they still fall prey to risks which produce challenges as do co-located projects. Most research performed on project risk was conducted on projects using traditional co-located team members. This paper reports on the results of a survey of over 150 Information Technology (IT) practitioners. One goal of the survey was to identify differences in the degree of impact between risk factors on virtual software projects and those on co-located software projects. Out of fifty-five surveyed risk factors, seven risk factors showed significant differences in impact on the successful completion of projects in these two types of project environments. Additionally, the results showed a greater impact for each of the seven risk factors on virtual rather than co-located software projects. These results can be useful to practitioners who are managing in a virtual environment and need to correctly identify potential risks

The relationship between task, culture and communication technology in virtual collaboration

Virtual collaboration is a growing trend and characterized by computer mediated communication and high cultural diversity (Clear & MacDonell, 2011). Because of its composition, virtual collaboration is exposed to several challenges which prejudice the performance (Hollingshead, McGrath, & O’Connor, 1993). Team effectiveness and performance can be improved by a good fit between task and communication technologies (Beise, Carte, Vician, & Chidambaram, 2010). This study is aimed to learn more about how the choice of technology is related to the different tasks in virtual collaboration. An additional aim is to better understand the influence of culture on this relationship. A qualitative research method was implemented by conducting interviews, via communication technologies, with participants from various cultural backgrounds who are involved in virtual collaboration. The interviews were transcribed prior to the data analysis phase, where the data were coded based on content using a semi-inductive interpretation method. Based on the results a clear relationship between the task and technology choice was confirmed. Routine or support tasks, are mainly executed through asynchronous communication tools that offer information richness. For non-routine tasks, which require synchronous communication technologies, the media richness and social presence that the technologies offer is more important. For building and maintaining relationships a variation in use between the various technologies is essential, since all technologies contribute in their own way to building and maintaining relationships. Cultural dimensions limited impact the task-technology relationship, which can be explained by a low awareness of cultural diversity among the participants. When considerable time differences or a gap in infrastructure exist, this can have a big impact on the choice of technology, because technologies get useless. The language barrier affects the task in the sense that more accuracy or interactivity can be required, leading to increased use of complementary technologies.A colaboração virtual é uma tendência crescente, caracterizada pela comunicação mediada por computador e diversidade cultural (Clear & MacDonell, 2011). Devido à sua composição, a colaboração virtual é uma forma de trabalhar exposta a vários desafios, prejudicando o desempenho (Hollingshead, McGrath, & O'Connor, 1993). A eficácia e o desempenho das equipas podem ser melhorados através do ajuste entre as tecnologias de comunicação e a tarefa (Beise, Carte, Vician, & Chidambaram, 2010). Este estudo tem como objetivo saber mais sobre a escolha de tecnologia em relação com as diferentes tarefas na colaboração virtual. Um objetivo adicional é entender melhor a influência da cultura nesta relação. Um método de investigação qualitativa foi implementado através da realização de entrevistas, via tecnologias de comunicação, com participantes de várias culturas estando ativamente envolvidos em colaboração virtual. As entrevistas foram transcritas antes da fase de análise de dados, onde os dados foram codificados com base no conteúdo usando um método de interpretação semi-indutivo. Os resultados deste estudo mostram que a tarefa e a escolha da tecnologia estão claramente relacionados. Tarefas rotineiras ou de apoio são executadas principalmente por ferramentas de comunicação assíncrona que oferecem uma riqueza de informações. Para tarefas não rotineiras síncrona, a riqueza dos media e presença social são importante. Para construir e manter relacionamentos, uma conjugação entre as diversas tecnologias é essencial, dado que as tecnologias contribuem na sua própria maneira para isso. As dimensões culturais não afetam drasticamente a relação tarefa-tecnologia, podendo isto ser explicado por uma baixa consciência da diversidade cultural entre os participantes. Quando existem grandes diferenças temporais ou lacunas na infraestrutura pode haver um grande impacto nesta escolha, porque as tecnologias tornam-se inúteis. A barreira da língua afeta a tarefa de tal forma que pode ser necessária mais precisão ou interatividade, levando ao aumento do uso de tecnologias complementares

Die Betrachtung der Earned Value Methodik im agilen Projektumfeld hinsichtlich des Projekterfolgs

The Earned Value analysis has proven to be beneficial in waterfall and located software projects for monitoring the project management triangle. Nowadays, more and more virtual and agile project teams are used to manage the software requirements process. However, it remains unclear whether using the Earned Value metrics’ general positive effect generates project success in such an area too as additional challenges arise like communication or coordination difficulties. This thesis examines the assumption of a positive influence of the Earned Value technique on the project success during the software requirements process within a virtual, global project team in an agile software project environment. In addition, it should be clarified whether coordination and communication elements moderate this effect. The research is achieved with a sample size of 190,051 international people, mainly extracted from the consulting company Capgemini. Therefore, a mixed methods approach is used which consists of a partially-standardized and structured online survey as well as non-standardized and semi-structured guided interviews. The analyses of the latter ones are based on Mayring’s content analysis. This dissertation has not revealed any evidence of a positive influence on the project success by the Earned Value analysis during the requirements process in virtual project teams of an agile software project. This outcome is based on an inconsistent view of how to successfully apply this project controlling approach, whereby the subjective perception of project success played an important role. In this particular context, the Earned Value metrics reached their practical limits due to certain challenges named within this research. Although, the moderation analysis showed no significant effects of communication or coordination on the relation between the Earned Value method and the project success during the requirements process in a virtual agile software project team, a positive tendency emerged from both dimensions. The thesis presents some prerequisites that must be fulfilled in order to weaken or even reduce the problems in the application of the Earned Value analysis in this research context. Lastly, consistent definitions as well as standardized utilization understandings are required for a successful implementation of the Earned Value controlling instrument in this particular field

A Study of Requirements Negotiations in Virtual Project Teams

Recent advancements in communication systems enable the collaboration of virtual software design teams, breaking the barriers of time and distance. In this paper we address a critical aspect of the collaborative work of virtual project teams, the negotiation of requirements in software development. We present an exploratory study of the effects of multimedia communication systems on group negotiation performance and behavior. An emphasis is placed on the development of a research methodology that uses multiple methods in investigating a complex phenomenon. Contrary to the belief that face-to-face interaction increases performance, our laboratory findings suggest that groups in face-to-face meetings perform no better than video-conferenced groups; moreover, we identified a particular distributed virtual team configuration that was qualitatively more conducive to requirements negotiation than face-to-face meetings