Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

RE challenges in multi-site software development organisations

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Requirements Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The increasing globalisation of the software industry demands an investigation of requirements engineering (RE) in multi-site software development organisations. Requirements engineering is a task difficult enough when done locally—but it is even more difficult when cross-functional stakeholder groups specify requirements across cultural, language and time zone boundaries. This paper reports on a field study that investigated RE challenges introduced by the stakeholders' geographical distribution in a multi-site organisation. The goal was to examine RE practices in global software development, and to formulate recommendations for improvement as well as to provide directions for future research on methods and tools. Based on the empirical evidence, we have constructed a model of how remote communication and knowledge management, cultural diversity and time differences negatively impact requirements gathering, negotiations and specifications. Findings reveal that aspects such as a lack of a common understanding of requirements, together with a reduced awareness of a working local context, a trust level and an ability to share work artefacts significantly challenge the effective collaboration of remote stakeholders in negotiating a set of requirements that satisfies geographically distributed customers. The paper concludes with recommendations for improving RE practices in this setting.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Anecdotal data is presented in quotations.

References

  1. Adler NJ. International dimensions of organizational behavior. South-Western College Publishing, Mason, OH, 1997

  2. Al-Rawas A, Easterbrook S. Communication problems in requirements engineering: a field study. In: Proceedings of the Conference on Professional Awareness in Software Engineering, London, 1–2 February, 1996

  3. Carrmel E. Global software teams, Prentice- Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1999

  4. Checkland P. Systems thinking, systems practice: Wiley, New York, 1981

  5. Damian D. Empirical studies of computer support for requirements negotiations. Dissertation, University of Calgary, 2001

  6. Damian DE, Eberlein A, Shaw MLG and Gaines BR. Using different communication media in requirements negotiation. IEEE Software 5(6):28–36, 2002

    Google Scholar 

  7. Herbsleb J, Mockus A, Finholt TA and Grinter RE. An empirical study of global software development: distance and speed. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering, Toronto, Canada, 12–19 May, 2001

  8. Herbsleb J, Moitra D. Global software development. IEEE Software 3(4):16–20, 2001

    Google Scholar 

  9. Macaulay L. Requirements engineering. Springer, New York, 1996

  10. Nuseibeh B, Easterbrook S. Requirements engineering: a roadmap. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering, Limerick, Ireland, 4–11 June 2000

  11. Ramesh V, Dennis AR. The object-oriented team: lessons for virtual teams from global software development. In: Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS35), Hawaii, 7–10 January, 2002

  12. Regnell B, Host M, Och Dag JN, Beremark P and Hjelm T. An industrial case study of distributed prioritization in market-driven requirements engineering for packaged software. Req Engin J, 6(1):51–62, 2001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Sommerville I, Sawyer P. Requirements engineering: a good practice. Wiley, New York, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  14. Strauss A, Corbin J. Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage, London, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  15. Tuckman B. Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychol Bullet, 63:384–389, 1965

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Yin RK (1994) Case study research. Sage, London, 1994

Download references

Acknowledgements

Many thanks go to the participants at GDS. This research was funded by NSERC and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. We are also grateful to Vincenzo Gervasi for useful comments on the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Victoria, P. O. Box 3055, BC, V8W 3P6, Canada

    Daniela E. Damian

  2. Department of Software Engineering, University of Technology, Broadway, P. O. Box 123, NSW 2007, Sydney, Australia

    Didar Zowghi

Authors
  1. Daniela E. Damian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Didar Zowghi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniela E. Damian.

Additional information

The paper is a revised version of the paper entitled "The impact of stakeholders' geographical distribution on managing requirements in a multi-site organisation" published in the proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering, Essen, Germany, 9–13 September, 2002

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

E. Damian, D., Zowghi, D. RE challenges in multi-site software development organisations. Requirements Eng 8, 149–160 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00766-003-0173-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00766-003-0173-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation