Motivators of adopting social computing in global software development: Initial results

context: Real-time collaboration is critical for developing high quality software systems at low cost in a geographically distributed Global Software Development (GSD) environment. It is anticipated that emerging Social Computing tools can play an important role in facilitating realtime effective collaboration among teams working in the GSD. Objective: The objective of this research paper is to identify motivators for adopting social computing in GSD organizations. Method: We adopted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach by applying customized search strings derived from our research questions. Results: We have identified factors such as real-time communication and coordination, information sharing, knowledge acquisition and expert feedback as key motivators for adoption of social computing in GSD. Conclusion: Based on the SLR results, we suggest that GSD organizations should embrace social computing as a tool for real-time collaboration between distributed GSD teams. The results of this initial study also suggest the need for developing the social computing strategies and policies to guide the effective social computing adoption by GSD teams

Uso de wiki en elicitación distribuida de requisitos de software: un experimento controlado

El éxito de un proyecto de software depende en gran medida de una correcta elicitación de requisitos de software, así mismo, la calidad de estos requisitos mejora en la medida que hay mayor participación de las personas involucradas. Esta participación se dificulta cuando la elicitación de requisitos de software se realiza en un entorno distribuido, es decir, cuando los actores están geográficamente dispersos. Por ello el proceso de elicitación en ambientes distribuidos necesita de una plataforma que promueva la colaboración efectiva y eficiente de los involucrados, pudiendo ser las herramientas wikis útiles para este propósito. Este artículo presenta un experimento controlado, realizado para evaluar el uso de una wiki como herramienta de elicitación de requisitos distribuidos. El estudio abordó una problemática real en la que participaron estudiantes universitarios, evidenciando que en un contexto distribuido y mediante el uso de una herramienta wiki se obtiene un Documento de Requisitos de Software con mayor precisión.XI Workshop de Ingeniería de SoftwareRed de Universidades con Carreras de Informática (RedUNCI

Uso de wiki en elicitación distribuida de requisitos de software: un experimento controlado

El éxito de un proyecto de software depende en gran medida de una correcta elicitación de requisitos de software, así mismo, la calidad de estos requisitos mejora en la medida que hay mayor participación de las personas involucradas. Esta participación se dificulta cuando la elicitación de requisitos de software se realiza en un entorno distribuido, es decir, cuando los actores están geográficamente dispersos. Por ello el proceso de elicitación en ambientes distribuidos necesita de una plataforma que promueva la colaboración efectiva y eficiente de los involucrados, pudiendo ser las herramientas wikis útiles para este propósito. Este artículo presenta un experimento controlado, realizado para evaluar el uso de una wiki como herramienta de elicitación de requisitos distribuidos. El estudio abordó una problemática real en la que participaron estudiantes universitarios, evidenciando que en un contexto distribuido y mediante el uso de una herramienta wiki se obtiene un Documento de Requisitos de Software con mayor precisión.XI Workshop de Ingeniería de SoftwareRed de Universidades con Carreras de Informática (RedUNCI

GDD desde dentro: mitos e realidades

While GDD (Global Development and Delivery) is becoming a way of life, this thesis represents a wide range of conclusions. However, GDD is technologically and organizationally complex and presents a variety of challenges to be managed by the software development team. In particular, temporal, geographical and socio-cultural distances impose problems not experienced in traditional systems development. In this paper, I present findings from an intership on GlobalSoftware company as a QA and two month lately as a PM in which I explore the particular challenges associated with managing GDD. This Master thesis is exploring a lot of aspects of the global development and delivery regarding the software development. It is the coordination of development activities in places to produce software applications and management through distributed repositories of the assets that contribute to these applications (Lanubile 2009). The purpose of this report is to go through the GDD, to understand the methodology, the research techniques used and the impact that this has within the organization in which I applied for. All the observations come from the experiences of working in a real background.This guides the development and delivery of software and also serves to study the patterns of myths and their interpretation in a GDD environment. It has been revealed that the geographically distributed enterprise is not easy to be managed and needs more resources allocated. The purpose is the same, what changes is the way how we reach those goals. To understand the "intense" why, a physical presence was needed to observe the organization's characteristics and analyze the scenario of globalization. This thesis is a step to a better, more productive and with a higher quality GDD. It helps companies to take into account and address potential challenges at the beginning by the overall structure. The presented work also helps companies to find the solutions validated to meet the challenges in their practice. At the same time, I have accumulated a considerable knowledge and experience, which is beginning to have a say in the future.Enquanto GDD (Global Development and Delivery) torna-se um modo de vida, esse trabalho apresenta uma ampla gama de conclusões. No entanto, o GDD é tecnológicamente e organizacionalmente complexo e apresenta uma variedade de desafios a serem geridos pela equipa de desenvolvimento de software. Em particular, as distâncias temporais, geográficas e socioculturais impõem problemas não experimentados no desenvolvimento de sistemas tradicionais. Neste relatório, apresento as conclusões deduzidas durante o estágio na empresa GlobalSoftware, onde comecei por assumir funções de QA mas passado 2 meses comecei a exercer a função de PM explorando os desafios particulares associados á gestão de GDD. Esta tese explora vários aspetos do desenvolvimento global e entrega no que se refere ao desenvolvimento de software. É a coordenação de atividades de desenvolvimento em locais para produzir aplicativos de software, bem como a gestão através de repositórios distribuídos dos ativos que contribuem para essas aplicações (Lanubile 2009). O objetivo deste relatório de estágio passa por refletir sobre o processo global e de perceber através da metodologia e técnicas de investigação utilizadas, o impacto que este meio representa dentro da organização em que me inseri. As observações são provenientes da experiência de trabalhar num espaço real. Este trabalho direciona o desenvolvimento e entrega de software e também serve para estudar os padrões dos mitos e a interpretação dos mesmos num ambiente GDD. Tem-se revelado que a empresa geograficamente distribuída não é fácil de ser gerida e necessita de mais recursos atribuídos. Ou seja, a finalidade é a mesma, o que muda é a forma como se atingem esses objetivos. Para compreender o porquê “intenso”, foi necessária uma presença física para perceber as características da organização e analisar o cenário de globalização. Esta tese é um passo para uma GDD melhor, mais produtivo e com mais qualidade uma vez que ajuda as empresas a ter em conta e abordar desafios potenciais no início por meio da estrutura global. O trabalho apresentado também ajuda as empresas a encontrar soluções validadas para enfrentar os desafios em sua prática. Ao mesmo tempo, tenho acumulado um conhecimento considerável e uma experiência que está começando de uma forma abrangente

Comuni 2.0. Una ricerca esplorativa sull’impiego dei social media negli Enti Locali

2014 - 2015The current technological advances have made possible the availability of information and communication technologies more and more powerful and allowed to public and private organizations to be profoundly transformed. Web 2.0 and social media are increasingly taking on a major role in the socio-economic contemporary context, helping to change not only the processes and procedures for communication of individuals, citizens and businesses, but also the same organization and business management. With the development of the Web social networks it has become primarily a place where conversations take place, we dialogue, creating new opportunities for connecting people. Millions of users around the world log on every day to different social sites, through which the information arise, circulate and spread with a speed and following completely new paths. The evolution that characterizes the current information and interaction via the Web scenario is profoundly changing the public sector approach to the network, even in our country. Many Public Administrations (PA), in their path of renewal and improvement, have recently begun to manage profiles and pages of different social media to seek more room for dialogue and cooperation with citizens and all other stakeholders. This paper aims to investigate aspects related to the use of web 2.0 tools by the Public Administration in the particular area consists of the Italian municipalities.Exploratory research on which the theory is based is intended to provide an overview on the adoption and diffusion of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube) among the Italian municipalities. Given the strong link with the citizens and the territory, the municipalities are therefore a particularly suitable context to investigate how social mediawereused in the public sector. In the first part, purely theoretical mold, it will focus on the public administration reform process by reviewing the main contributions of the literature, and especially from the paradigm of the new public management to public governance, in order to understand the logic and purpose that inspired the Italian administration's change process. In this context, the purpose of a fair assessment of the perspective, then we will focus on the analysis of e-government tool, that is, the use of digital technologies in carrying out their functions of government institutions, and in relation to specific functions the government of the territorial systems, focusing on the state of computerization of public administrations. The third chapter of the thesis is dedicated to reviewing the web 2.0 phenomena and social media, with particular attention to the spread of the Internet and new technologies for communication. The themes examined relate in particular to social media in government, the use of internet in the Italian population as well as the growth and structure of social networks. 5 In the fourth chapter, we present the main results of the conduct exploratory research on Italian municipalities The research was conducted by administering an online questionnaire divided into the following sections: - Level of diffusion of social media and intensity of investments made in this area by the municipalities in the last three years, - Purpose and characteristics of the use of social media by municipalities; - Forecasting of investments in social media over the next three years. Research conducted on Italian municipalities has shown that, in general, these organizations recognize social media in an innovative tool that can edit some important government processes traditionally managed by the municipalities, for example, the offering of services, strategic business planning the definition and evaluation of policies. In most cases, however, the actions of the municipalities concerned almost exclusively processes of unidirectional communication type, namely the mere exchange of information to citizens by the city or conversely. The experiences of Italian municipalities that fully exploit the features of web 2.0 social media are, in fact, still few and embryonic, namely their ability to start and manage discussions and debates (not only exchanges of information but also of opinions, judgments, etc.) of multilateral (including citizens). It is not possible to assess with certainty the actual stage of maturity reached by the e-Government and made implementation type (soft or hard) in the various municipalities that were subject of this research. Nonetheless, confirming the lack of uniformity in the spread and the limited "maturity" of the e- Government development stage in Italy, investment in these instruments covers a percentage of municipalities still contained. The Italian context was characterized by being misaligned in some way than the average trend of the UE countries, with particular reference to the objectives and digitization of PA performance. In addition, the presence of many regulatory constraints, as well as constraints on organizational, technological, cultural, and financial, in fact, admits a number of critical issues related to the absence of a centralized coordination of initiatives undertaken. States, therefore, the implicit need for a central coordinating structure, centralized governance that addresses and monitors the entire spectrum of projects for the digitization of the PA. The relationship between Government and citizens is experiencing a period of profound change: institutional sites are no longer the main point of access to information. More and more people are looking for on the Web solution to their problems, inform through their networks of relationships, and seek direct dialogue with your partner. The Italian public administration must build new modes of interaction and participation, enhancing the perception of transparency and efficiency. [edited by Author]XIV n.s

Examining SCRM approach and its role in facilitating tacit knowledge sharing & creation, and exploring its integration effects

Tacit knowledge resides in a person's mind, which is highly personal and very difficult to interpret & transfer. It can be transferred if individuals reside in the same environment for an extended period of time i.e. through shared experiences. Therefore, finding the right method to acquire tacit knowledge has always been difficult for organizations, as face-to-face interactions or sharing experiences in the same environment is not achievable all the time (due to geographic constraints, lack of mobility, etc.). Over and above that, tacit knowledge sharing through Information Technology (IT) and IT tools is extremely limited or totally impossible. But with the rise of the social web (online collaboration tools, social media, discussion forums, interactive blogs, etc.), tacit knowledge can be created and shared frequently. The main objective of this research is to investigate Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM) approach and its role in facilitating tacit knowledge sharing & creation and the modification it brings about, due to the integration of social media activities. Based on literature review, in-depth interviews (qualitative approach) and data analysis, this research revisits and explains the concept of SCRM approach, and examines the key enablers required for SCRM approach to exist. Following the above starting point, this research explores if SCRM approach facilitates tacit knowledge creation and if yes, how. To do so, this research adopts Nonaka's 'Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Conversion & Creation' and investigates if SCRM approach facilitates all the four modes – Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization – in the SECI model (Micro-Level Analysis) and if yes, how. This study also examines online collaborative platforms or 'online spaces' implemented under SCRM approach that facilitate tacit knowledge sharing and creation. Simultaneously, this study explores the relationship of online spaces with BA', the shared context for knowledge creation (Micro-Level Analysis). This research adopts 'Mechanism of Co-ordination' to examine the effects of social media on R&D department's structure. It also describes new processes that are integrated within the New Product Development (NPD) process (Meso-Level Analysis). The integration of SECI model of knowledge creation and BA' in an SCRM setting is useful both to academia and practitioners. This research adds to the existing literature, which believes social media can facilitate tacit knowledge sharing and creation, and also helps practitioners understand the importance of generating customer knowledge through social media rather than relying on historical and transactional data