An Empirical Investigation of Pull Requests in Partially Distributed BizDevOps Teams

In globally distributed projects, virtual teams are often partially dispersed. One common setup occurs when several members from one company work with a large outsourcing vendor based in another country. Further, the introduction of the popular BizDevOps concept has increased the necessity to cooperate across departments and reduce the age-old disconnection between the business strategy and technical development. Establishing a good collaboration in partially distributed BizDevOps teams requires extensive collaboration and communication techniques. Nowadays, a common approach is to rely on collaboration through pull requests and frequent communication on Slack. To investigate barriers for pull requests in distributed teams, we examined an organization located in Scandinavia where cross-functional BizDevOps teams collaborated with off-site team members in India. Data were collected by conducting 14 interviews, observing 23 entire days with the team, and observing 37 meetings. We found that the pull-request approach worked very well locally but not across sites. We found barriers such as domain complexity, different agile processes (timeboxed vs. flow-based development), and employee turnover. Using an intellectual capital lens on our findings, we discuss barriers and positive and negative effects on the success of the pull-request approach

Success Factors as Critical That Shape Agile Software Development Project Success

This study has implications for positive social change because organizations that understand the critical factors may be able to improve project management strategies and cost benefits leading to higher efficiency, profitability, and productivity thus benefiting management, employees, and customers. Information technology (IT) project success depends on having a project manager with effective decision-making, leadership, and project management skills. Project success also depends on completing the project in a given budget, time, and scope. However, there is a limited understanding of the lived experiences of agile managers and the following success factors: engineering, management, organization, and stakeholders. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand these lived experiences of 10 agile software development team project managers or leaders at global workplaces based in the United States. The research questions were focused on the effect of these success factors on agile software development project success. In accordance with nonrandom purposeful sampling strategies, a snowball technique was used to find more participants. An open-ended, e-mail questionnaire was created and sent to participants to collect data. The data were coded to discern themes or patterns. According to study results, agile software development team employs automate builds, continuous integration, and design patterns help reduce technical debt; good collaboration and communication skills are core to project success; product owner helps maximize business value delivered by team and priority and engage stakeholders; and sponsors help fund the project and other resources

From Offshore Outsourcing to Offshore Insourcing: Three Stories

Most large software companies are involved in offshore development of some sort, and now the trend is that small and medium sized companies are also going global. While empirical research suggests that offshoring are not always successful, evidence explaining the reasons for terminated collaborations is scarce, especially for small and medium sized companies. In this paper we explore the stories of three Scandinavian medium-sized software companies that have terminated their offshore outsourcing relationships and changed to offshore insourcing arrangements. The main reason for termination was disappointing low quality of the software delivered, being caused by insufficient domain knowledge, high turnover and a lack of motivation among the remote and external developers. We apply the theory of single-loop and double-loop learning in order to explain why the companies failed to correct the experienced problems, and the theory of escalating commitment to explain why the companies did not correct the failing course of action earlier. Finally we describe the change in the choice of the principle sourcing strategy from outsourcing to insourcing

Overview of Global Software Development

Este artículo presenta una panorámica general del estado del arte y de la práctica del Desarrollo Global de Software (DGS), analizando las principales revisiones sistemáticas de la litera- tura e identificando un conjunto de áreas de gran interés en la actualidad. El cual muestra que el DGS es un campo que empieza a alcanzar cierta madurez: cuya evolución ya no se encuentra limitada por factores críticos como las diferencias lingüísticas y culturales, sino que ésta depende más de factores como la motivación personal y las habilidades de los recursos huma- nos, y de la disponibilidad de funciones y responsabilidades bien definidas; y, al mismo tiempo, pre- senta nuevos desafíos centrados en importantes líneas de interés como: los Procesos para desarrollo y gestión, la Gestión de Proyectos DGS y los Equipos de TrabajoThis paper presents an overview of the state of the art and the practical of Global Software Development (DGS), analyzing the main systematic reviews of the literature and identifying a set of areas of great interest today. Which shows that the DGS is a field that begins to reach a certain maturity: whose evolution is no longer limited by critical factors such as language and cultural differences, but it depends more on factors such as personal motivation and skills of resources human, and the availability of clearly defi- ned roles and responsibilities; and at the same time, presents new challenges focused on important areas of interest include: Processes for development and management, DGS Project Management and Task Force

Using communication to mitigate the challenges of outsourced projects

Abstract: The multi-organisational mode of outsourcing projects increases the significance and complexity of project communication. Communication is essential for any organisation, offering the necessary structures within which people may successfully work together, make decisions and act to accomplish organisational goals. If project necessities are not communicated accurately, negative outcomes are frequently the result, proving detrimental to the organisation and the outsourced project. Literature review revealed ten common challenges to the outsourcing of projects, with mitigation strategies identified to minimise the impacts of such challenges. This study makes use of the case study research method and semi-structured interviews as the primary means of data collection. The method of analysis chosen for the study was the qualitative approach of thematic analysis. A cross-case analysis was done, similarities and variations were grouped together, and themes were identified based on participants’ responses. These were compared to the literature findings. It was found that six of the ten challenges were experienced in all three case studies. Four were unique to particular projects. The findings indicate that challenges affected project teams’ ability to communicate effectively, and that the identified mitigation strategies all included the component of communication, whether synchronous or asynchronous. With the achievement of the research objective, this study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge within the project management fraternity and within academia. Knowledge gained may be used by project management professionals and will, it is hoped, enhance the way projects are outsourced and managed in the engineering sector.M.Phil. (Engineering Management

Role of Outsourcing in Stress and Job Satisfaction of Information Technology Professionals

Information technology (IT) outsourcing poses a potential job loss threat to IT professionals, which can decrease job security, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. The problem that this study addressed was the perceived role of IT outsourcing in the job stress, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intention of IT professionals. The purpose of this study was to explore how job-related stress, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intention within the IT profession are influenced by outsourcing as perceived by IT workers themselves. Phenomenology was the methodology used, and the person-environment fit theory formed the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions addressed outsourcing and its impact on IT employees, based on the perceptions of the participants. Data were collected from 20 IT professionals at 4 medium-sized firms within Central Florida using open-ended interview questions. Significant themes emerged as the interview data were analyzed and coded using words that best described the data. Synthesis of the data collected indicated that job stress and job dissatisfaction were continuing concerns among the participants, as indicated in current general literature. However, turnover intention had a less consequential impact on the IT workers\u27 reactions to the effects of outsourcing. Contrary to the expectation that IT outsourcing plays a negative role in the job satisfaction of the participants, the study results indicated that the majority of the participants were still satisfied in their positions following IT outsourcing activities. Managers could impact social change by understanding the levels of stress and job satisfaction IT professionals experience during outsourcing. Insights from this study may help improve employees\u27 productivity, commitment, and contributions to their local economies