Managing Stakeholders in Global Software Engineering: Lessons Learned

1. Stakeholders in Global Requirements Engineering: Lessons Learned from Practice Written by Daniela Damian Presented by Misako Kobayashi

2. Overview • Introduction • What Enables Global Software Engineering (GSE) • How GSE Changed Stakeholder Groups • Cultural Differences in Global RE • Challenges of the Processes in GSE • How to Manage These Challenges • Summary and Conclusion

3. Global Software Engineering (GSE) Enabled By • Advanced communication technologies • Growing business opportunities  • Proximity to clients • Outsourcing • Round-the-clock development These factors that are driving GSE (proximity to clients, outsourcing, round-the-clock development) create even more challenges 

4. Figure A: Business Models in GSE

5. How GSE Changed Stakeholder Groups • Remarkable diversification  • Increase the number of stakeholder groups at different sites • Additional stakeholder groups (field personnel or analyst) • Separation between: • those knowledgeable of the client's applications domain and users' needs • project execution team 

6. Figure 1: Stakeholder Groups in GSE

7. Cultural Differences • Ethnic or national • Language • Attitude toward hierarchy • Communication style  • Organizational

8. Processes Needed for Shared Understanding in RE • Knowledge-acquisition and knowledge-sharing processes • Iterative processes  • Effective communication and coordination processes These processes face unique challenges when performed in GSE

9. Challenges of RE in GSE • Knowledge acquisition and sharing processes • Designer (analyst) has less opportunity to seek out relevant knowledge  • Knowledge sharing across sites is difficult  • Iterative processes  • Aligning RE processes and tools is difficult • Effective communication and coordination processes • Informal communication for relationship buidling is hard • Only using formal channel and/or asynchronous channels can cause problems • When the requirements change, other stakeholder in different sites do not receive the information effectively 

10. How to Manage these Challenges • Supporting interorganizational structure • Define communication of responsibility for the project • Establish peer-to-peer links • Partially synchronize interorganizational processes and perform frequent iterations and deliveries • Establish cultural liaisons • Supporting communication practice  • Use synchronous Internet communication technology (such as net meeting) • Maintain open communication lines • Frequently inform and monitor progress

11. Summary • New global business models created new groups of geographically and culturally diverse stakeholders • Cultural differences can be • Ethnic • Organizational - More Important  • Identified 3 practices of shared understanding in RE: • knowledge acquisition/sharing • iterative processes • effective communcations • These practices face unique challenges in GSE; the author recognizes several strategies to overcome these challenges with interorganizational structuring and effective communication practices

12. References Damian, Daniela. "Stakeholders in Global Requirements Engineering: Lessons Learned from Practice". IEEE Software. March/April 2007. pp. 21-27.

13. Thank you very much for listening Any questions?