Comparing Offshore Outsourcing and the Internal Offshoring of Software Development: A Qualitative Study

Distributed Software Development involves a number of different business models. Most of the companies, when searching for external solutions in other countries (offshoring), usually have two main options: offshore outsourcing (contracting services with an external organization) and internal offshoring (contracting with a wholly owned subsidiary). Both models have been studied for a long time, and indicate the need for a great collaboration among the stakeholders to succeed in distributed development. For this reason, in this paper we compare offshore outsourcing and internal offshoring from the viewpoint of three management levels: strategic, tactical and operational. We present findings from a case study conducted in five multinational companies. The findings are presented in terms of aspects identified to improve the performance in offshore software development, and were analyzed based on two dimensions – challenges and patterns of evolution

Challenges in the Follow-the-Sun strategy: How to alleviate them.

Nowadays, the globalization process is emerging and creating huge challenges for the software engineering area, making thedevelopment more distributed and global. Seeking for competitive advantages, as cost reduction and productivity gain,companies spread their development operations to low coasts countries. However, challenges related to the distributedsoftware development are important. Among these challenges is the time zone difference, which can also be faced as anadvantage, using the follow-the-sun strategy. Thus, this paper’s objective is to identify the challenges related to the followthe-sun strategy, and show how to alleviate them. This study concludes that the FTS’s main challenges are during the workhandoffs. Yet, this paper presents a feature to lighten these difficulties during the development phase from the softwaredevelopment life cycle

Interdisciplinaridade na Engenharia de Software

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in the filed of software engineering. We present the concepts involved and illustrate them with two practical examples related to distributed software development and software process improvement programs.Keywords: Software Engineering, multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity.O objetivo deste artigo é discutir a importância de pesquisas multidisciplinar, interdisciplinar e transdisciplinar na Engenharia de Software. São apresentados os diversos conceitos envolvidos, ilustrados com dois exemplos práticos relacionados ao desenvolvimento distribuído de software e programas de melhoria de processo de software.Palavras-chave: Engenharia de Software, multidisciplinaridade, interdisciplinaridade, transdisciplinaridade

Towards a model of software development process for a physically distributed environment

The goal of this article is to present the first results of a study looking forward to propose a model of software development for a physically distributed environment (United States and Brazil). Thus, the objective is to combine empirical and theoretical knowledge in the software development area, aiming to minimize communication problems found in this specific environment. As result, the article proposes the addition of two new phases in the software development process, planning and evaluation, based on Unified Process and the UML language. The purpose is to demonstrate through illustrations and discussions, how these two phases are engaged in the process as a whole and what they represent. Some points open to discussion, which are themes for future researches, are identified, aiming to propose a model of software development for a physically distributed environment. The empirical basis of the study involves the EBusiness Research Center, a partnership of Dell Computers with PUCRS.Eje: Ingeniería de softwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Avaliação e qualidade na pesquisa e na pós-graduação: a visão da PUCRS = Evaluation and quality in Research and at the Graduate Level: the vision of PUCRS

Este artigo aborda a questão dos impactos da Sociedade do Conhecimento na área da Educação Superior, buscando identificar as principais implicações na área de qualidade na educação, em especial na Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação. O objetivo do artigo é apresentrar uma visão relativa ao processo de avaliação da qualidade na Pesquisa e no Pós-Graduação na PUCRS, estabelecendo os vínculos com o modelo de gestão da Universidade (missão, visão e eixos estratégicos). O artigo aponta os elementos básicos da avaliação(fundamento, foco e principios) na pesquisa e na pós-graduação e, em suas conclusões, aponta para os principais desafios e perspectivas na busca de uma educação superior de qualidade com sustentabilidad

PPG em letras: uma trajetória inovadora na PUCRS = PPG in letters: an innovative trajectory in PUCRS

O artigo trata da trajetória histórica do Programa de Pós-Graduação Stricto Sensu em Letras, da Faculdade de Letras da PUCRS, desde a sua criação em 1969 até os dias atuais, contemplando alguns aspectos acadêmico-administrativos e ações, realizados em prol da sua consolidação e da excelência no ensino, na pesquisa e na extensão, que o tornaram referência nacional e internacional na áre