Detecting Coordination Problems in Collaborative Software Development Environments

A major challenge in Information Systems and Information Technology is to improve the ability to conceptualize, design, develop and deliver information systems that meet customer requirements. Project management is often adopted to create solutions that work and meet customer needs. The principles of project management as defined by the Project Management Institute, can improve project success rates. Researchers in the project management need to help practitioners understanding the impact of different principles on the success of IS development. This study undertakes a survey of project management experts on the state of practice and research to examine the need for improving project management, and suggest areas that can be improved. Research may be the most effective means of defining opportunities for enhancing project success rates by tapping the wealth of literature and complementing it with the expertise of project management practitioners. INTRODUCTION Software development applications require frequent changes and updates in order to support enterprise systems. These frequent changes to IS/IT comprise a large volume of software development efforts. These efforts, undertaken as projects, are generally complex and take place in a dynamic environment where business conditions and technologies change frequently during the life of the project (Chen, et. al., 2004). The factors of project success include user involvement and project size, management and planning (Schmidt, et al., 2001). A fully operational project management system in enterprise offers the best opportunity for project success through the implementation of methods and tools for planning, organizing, and managing team-based activities to accomplish specific directives (Jurison, 1999). Project management is widely adopted in Corporate America embraces project management to implement system changes (Muriithi & Crawford, 2003; Park & Pena-Mora, 2003; Yilmaz & Phillips, 2007), which are even considered as too significant to outsource (Fish & Seydel, 2006) or having high risk of leading to undesirable consequences (Wei & Peach, 2006). However, many projects fail, even when performed using project management techniques. Such project failure reduces the capability of technology components. The 2004 Chaos report by the Standish Group found that only 28% of IT projects were successful, down from 34% in earlier report; The proportion of IT projects canceled before completion increased to 18% (from 15%), and a further 51% of IT projects were considered challenged as they are seriously late, over budget and missing expected features (The Standish Group, 2004; The Standish Group, 2007). Possible causes for these findings are the size and expense of large projects, a return to traditional development practices on large projects (Boddy, 1993), the absence of user involvement (Turner & Cochrane, 1993; Akbulut & Motwani, 2005), and lack of executive support (Munns & Bjeirmi, 1996). Thus, scope management is regarded as a key area of successful project management in practice (Hayes, 2004). Although some project failures are because of technical reasons, most are directly related to the failure of stakeholders to embrace the principles of good project management (Jurison, 1999). As part of the project management process, project teams must understand the standards to which their projects are being held in order to ensure that project performance is emphasized appropriately (Crawford, 2005). The Field Guide to Project Management (Cleland, 2004) suggests that project management should be an easy sell to organizations because it enhances business performance and increases revenue. An organization can manage project effectively by identifying its goals in applying project management principles (Aladwani, 2002). For most organizations, these goals are to apply a proven practice, optimize resources, serve customer needs and save time and money (Turner & Cochrane, 1993). …

Project organization and management software development project management model is the best form of software development enterprises in China's understanding of software development project management has been greatly improved. Traditional software development projects have different characteristics, therefore how flexible application for software project management theory and strategies of the main research objectives of domestic software development project management. Our software in enterprise application software development project management, general shortcomings in implementation, this article on software research and development analysis and project management of implementation strategies.

The high demand for innovative products has been treated as a challenge for the adoption of traditional project management (PM) practices and methods, specially those ones developed in turbulent and complex business environments. Recently, an alternative approach to deal with these challenges emerged. This approach, entitled Agile Project Management (APM), firstly applied in the software development area, is based on a set of principles which has the purpose to keep the management process as simple as possible, becoming more flexible and self-manageable. By focusing on continuous learning using constant iterations and rapid value deliverable driven, APM aims to improve the results for clients in face of turbulent business environment. However, there is lack on the literature regarding APM principles application in new product development (NPD) projects. The aim of this research is to investigate this issue and the practical application of those principles to NPD projects, developed under turbulent and innovative business environments. To achieve this goal the following strategy was adopted: develop, implement and evaluate a method for planning and controlling scope and time. It was based on a set of principles extracted from the APM literature. The method developed was entitled IVPM2 (Iterative and Visual Project Management Method) and its creation comprised an extensive literature review combined with a pure action-research methodology carried out in two small technology-based companies from the So Carlos Technological Pole. The companies were called "Company A" and "Company B", and the IVPM2 development, implementation and evaluation activities occurred simultaneously in both companies, considering two distinct scenarios. In the "company A" the IVPM2 was implemented in a single long term project, with a high level of complexity and innovation. In the "company B" the IVPM2 was implemented in more than one project (a total of 7 projects) with less complexity and innovation aspects. In order to evaluate the IVPM2 adherence and contribution to project management a statistic descriptive approach was applied using qualitative and quantitative data. The data was collected by questionnaire, interviews and document analysis. The main purpose of this evaluation was to respond the central research problem and the specific research questions. The central research problem was described as: Is it possible to apply APM principles for planning and controlling innovative product projects? Consequently, the specific research questions considered after the method implementation were: RQ1) Did IVPM2 adhere to APM principles? RQ2) Did IVPM2 contribute to enhance project management process in the companies under study? The results showed many evidences of the presence of APM principles in the IVPM2 as stated in the literature. Moreover, the IVPM2 was capable to enhance many aspects of project management process of new product development in both companies studied. It also contributed to improve other aspects not directly addressed in the current research. Finally, the evidences collected during the research have indicated many benefits by combining principles from APM approach with traditional PM techniques and a PM software to support project management. This result is important to consider the applicability and viability of APM principles application to NPD projects in turbulent, innovative and complex business environments. Finally, this study has presented many indications of the need to explore this theme and improve the analysis and the IVPM2 components in order to implement them in different companies and project contexts.

Over the years, software development has evolved from being a simple coding activity into a highly organized and structured process that requires the use of a wide variety of tools and techniques. These tools are essential for improving productivity, ensuring accuracy, managing time efficiently, and delivering quality software within deadlines. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of different tools and techniques used in software projects and how they contribute to the overall success of a project. Software development is no longer limited to just writing code; it involves several critical phases such as requirement gathering, planning, designing, coding, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Each of these phases benefits from specialized tools that simplify tasks, enhance collaboration, reduce errors, and increase overall efficiency. With the growing popularity of agile methodologies and the widespread adoption of DevOps culture, the use of automated tools, project management platforms, testing frameworks, and version control systems has become essential for modern software teams. Selecting the right tools and integrating them effectively into the development process plays a major role in determining whether a project will meet its objectives. This study aims to analyze the significance of these tools in real-world software projects, highlighting their advantages, practical applications, and limitations. The findings of this study will provide valuable insights for developers, project managers, and organizations looking to optimize their software development practices using modern tools and techniques. This research focuses on key areas such as project planning, development life cycle, team collaboration, agile and DevOps practices, version control, and testing tools—all of which contribute to successful and high-quality software delivery. Keywords: software project, software development, tools and techniques, project success, agile methodology, DevOps, software development life cycle, project planning, version control, testing tools, automation, productivity, collaboration, deployment.

Besides authors of classic management who devoted ample works to comprehend coordination, comparatively hardly any other scholar has given a meticulous consideration to the coordination problem in organizations. Coordination is a necessity when two or more entities are interdependent and have to interact to achieve objectives, and essentially, it is the integration of independent endeavors to achieve collective objectives. Individuals and teams need to share their resources, skills, and knowledge to carry out complex tasks and achieve shared goals. In other words, individuals and teams are interdependent. A number of the mechanisms of coordination are profoundly entrenched on social routines and rituals, which complicates the effort to understand its nature. This article conceptualizes mechanism of coordination using the Viable System Model (VSM) as an organizational framework. The Viable System Model also provides a platform that allows to show the coordination mechanisms in the organizational context. While VSM includes coordination processes, it is not very specific, and coordination issues involve the whole organization and cannot be addressed only with feedback and control mechanisms. Consequently, an application that allows extending the usual context of the VSM is discussed. The amalgamation of these concepts is applied to the specific subject, the problem of coordination, having project management as an illustration. Although information and communication technologies (ICTs) have contributed in the praxis to reduce coordination problems, little effort has been undertaken to understand this phenomena. To bridge this knowledge gap, the present article addressed partially this necessity, using project management as an example.

In this paper we introduce Ariadne, an Eclipse-based system for tracking the originality of source code in collaborative software development environments in which software reuse is a common practice. We describe its architecture within the Eclipse framework, the originality metadata of which it keeps track, and the history clue—the data structure used to implement the tracking mechanism. We also discuss the implementation of the Ariadne client, the main component of the system, and show how digital signatures are used to validate the integrity of the metadata-handling process. We demonstrate the functions of Ariadne in two typical scenarios: tracking of software bugs and generating originality claims for Certificate of Originality reports. Although our Eclipse-based prototype is designed to handle Java source code, our approach can be extended to other kinds of artifacts.

PurposeThis paper addresses the strategic orientations (entrepreneurial orientation, learning orientation, and market orientation) of rapidly internationalizing small software companies.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis is based on an intensive investigation of ten small Finnish software companies that have exhibited rapid and proactive internationalization behavior.FindingsIt is argued that the manifestations of the orientations evolve as the small company develops, and these concepts are thus strongly related to the internationalization process. Further, an entrepreneurial orientation, especially a strong desire to seek growth in international markets, must be embedded in the mindset of the rapidly internationalizing small company. However, It is argued that it does not have an effect on the success of the international venture if it is not combined with strong learning and market orientations.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper brings an evolutionary viewpoint to the existing academic debate of strategic orientations of companies. It is suggested that the current conceptualization of entrepreneurial orientation should be developed to include also measures of market orientation.Practical implicationsIt is suggested that the members of the management team of a small and global software company should not only possess a highly entrepreneurial mindset and previous experience of international operations, they should also show strong commitment to considering the customers the most important stakeholders of the company, and a willingness and ability to learn rapidly from all available information about global markets.Originality/valueThis is the first qualitative investigation of the strategic orientations during the internationalization process of small companies.

Small software companies make for the majority of software companies around the world, but their software development processes are often not as clearly defined and structured as in their larger counterparts. Especially the test process is often the most neglected part of the software process. This contribution analyses the software testing process in a small South African IT company, here called X, to determine the problems that currently cause it to deliver software fraught with too many defects. The findings of a survey conducted with all software developers in company X are discussed, and several typical problems are identified. We also discuss two prevalent test process improvement models that can be used to reason about the possibilities of process improvement. Solutions to those (or similar) problems often already exist, but a major part of the problem addressed in this contribution is the unawareness, or unfamiliarity, of many small industrial software developers and IT managers as far as the scientific literature on software science and engineering, and especially in our case: software testing, is concerned.

My research explores the adoption of InnerSource, a practice that integrates open source methodologies within organizations to foster collaboration and overcome the traditional silo mentality. InnerSource and Agile implementations share many values such as transparency, employee empowerment, and a flexible response to change. InnerSource adoption can come before, after, or in parallel with Agile transformations. Despite the increasing recognition of InnerSource as a pivotal driver for developer productivity and its growing presence in industry discussions, academic research on the subject remains in its infancy. Leveraging my involvement with the InnerSource Commons community and drawing from Activity Theory, my research aims to fill critical gaps in our understanding of InnerSource adoption. Specifically, it investigates the activities organizations engage in to enable InnerSource, identifies blockers hindering its implementation, and proposes effective strategies to counteract these challenges. At the XP 2024 PhD Symposium, I intend to share some preliminary findings of my research, derived from a Systematic Literature Review and a pilot study with an InnerSource practitioner working group. My research not only seeks to advance theoretical knowledge in the field but also offers practical insights for organizations striving to change software development practices, contributing to a more collaborative and efficient software development environment.

As the demand for more flexible, adaptable, extensible, and robust Web based enterprise application systems accelerates, adopting new software engineering methodologies and development strategies becomes critical. These strategies must support the construction of enterprise software systems that assemble highly flexible software components written at different times by various developers. Traditional software development strategies and engineering methodologies, which require development of software systems from scratch, fall short in this regard. Component based software engineering offers an attractive alternative for building Web based enterprise application systems. CBSE works by developing and evolving software from selected reusable software components, then assembling them within appropriate software architectures. By promoting the use of software components that commercial vendors or in-house developers build, the component based software development approach promises large scale software reuse.

Scientific missions in the Earth sciences frequently require cost-effective, highly reliable, and easy-to-use software, which can be a challenge for software developers to provide. The NASA Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) spends a significant amount of resources developing software components and other software development artifacts that may also be of value if reused in other projects requiring similar functionality. In general, software reuse is often defined as utilizing existing software artifacts. Software reuse can improve productivity and quality while decreasing the cost of software development, as documented by case studies in the literature. Since large software systems are often the results of the integration of many smaller and sometimes reusable components, ensuring reusability of such software components becomes a necessity. Indeed, designing software components with reusability as a requirement can increase the software reuse potential within a community such as the NASA ESE community. The NASA Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) Software Reuse Working Group is chartered to oversee the development of a process that will maximize the reuse potential of existing software components while recommending strategies for maximizing the reusability potential of yet-to-be-designed components. As part of this work, two surveys of the Earth science community were conducted. The first was performed in 2004 and distributed among government employees and contractors. A follow-up survey was performed in 2005 and distributed among a wider community, to include members of industry and academia. The surveys were designed to collect information on subjects such as the current software reuse practices of Earth science software developers, why they choose to reuse software, and what perceived barriers prevent them from reusing software. In this paper, we compare the results of these surveys, summarize the observed trends, and discuss the findings. The results are very similar, with the second, larger survey confirming the basic results of the first, smaller survey. The results suggest that reuse of ESE software can drive down the cost and time of system development, increase flexibility and responsiveness of these systems to new technologies and requirements, and increase effective and accountable community participation.

One of the reasons why large-scale software development is difficult is the number of dependencies that software engineers need to face; e.g., dependencies among the software components and among the development tasks. These dependencies create a need for communication and coordination that requires continuous effort by software developers. Empirical studies, including our own, suggest that technical dependencies among software components create social dependencies among the software developers implementing these components. Based on this observation, we developed Ariadne, a Java plug-in for Eclipse. Ariadne analyzes a Java project to identify program dependencies and collects authorship information about the project by connecting to a configuration management repository. Through this process, Ariadne can "translate" technical dependencies among software components into social dependencies among software developers. This paper describes the design of Ariadne, how it identifies technical dependencies among software components, how it extracts information from configuration management systems and, finally, how it translates this into social dependencies. Ariadne's purpose is to create a bridge between technical and social dependencies.

agile information systems, flexible information systems development, distributed information systems development, global software development, software development, special issue

While it is widely recognized that communication plays a critical role in software development, it has been observed that problems of coordination may be generated when teammates in the field are working at a distance from one another. This paper presents an ongoing empirical study on ad hoc collaborative activities which occur in an industrial software engineering environment. We believe that a better understanding of these types of activities and their content will pave the way to further solutions designed to enhance communication, and thus improve both collaboration and coordination in virtual software development settings. We include details of our motivations for the study, followed by some methodological considerations, and, finally, some preliminary results which demonstrate not only the significance of our data, but also the relevance of our approach.

This paper describes the development of a framework that integrates engineering software and agile tools based on ontologies and business rules. The aim of this integration is to help project managers specify their own rules of integration between development software and agile tools. This integration circumvents the limitations of on-the-shelf plugins that perform a very basic integration that not only fails to satisfy the complex needs of project managers but also provides insufficient customization possibilities. A formalization of the domain knowledge ontology and its extension are presented. A generic integration algorithm is presented, and some of its performance properties are detailed. To examine the application and validation of the framework, it is deployed for the integration of spacecraft data definition software with issue management systems. This deployment shows how project managers can specify the integration rules that give them the appropriate feedback information at project level after spacecraft data updates. The evaluation of the framework is conducted at two stages. At the time of design, the usability of the framework is evaluated, and it is shown that the general usability criterion is 4.15 on a Likert-type five-point response scale. Additionally, a comparison with on-the-shelf integration plugins shows that less cognitive effort is required from project managers to customize the presented framework integration rules. At run time, the execution time of the presented framework integration algorithm is evaluated. This evaluation shows that even for updates of large data files on the development software, the agile tools are updated following project managers’ integration rules in a reasonable time.