The Impacts of Local Decision Making on Customisation Process Speed across Distributed Boundaries: A Case Study
Communicating and managing customers’
requirements in software development projects play a vital role in the
software development process. While it is difficult to do so locally, it
is even more difficult to communicate these requirements over
distributed boundaries and to convey them to multiple distribution
customers. This paper discusses the communication of multiple
distribution customers’ requirements in the context of customised
software products. The main purpose is to understand the challenges
of communicating and managing customisation requirements across
distributed boundaries. We propose a model for Communicating
Customisation Requirements of Multi-Clients in a Distributed
Domain (CCRD). Thereafter, we evaluate that model by presenting
the findings of a case study conducted with a company with
customisation projects for 18 distributed customers. Then, we
compare the outputs of the real case process and the outputs of the
CCRD model using simulation methods. Our conjecture is that the
CCRD model can reduce the challenge of communication
requirements over distributed organisational boundaries, and the
delay in decision making and in the entire customisation process
time.
[1] D. Damian and D. Zowghi, “Requirements Engineering challenges in
multi-site software development organizations,” Requir. Eng. J., vol. 8,
pp. 149–160, 2003.
[2] D. Damian, “Stakeholders in Global Requirements Engineering : from
Practice,” IEEE Softw., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 21–27, 2007.
[3] D. E. Damian, “The study of requirements engineering in global
software development: as challenging as important,” in International
Workshop on Global Software Development, 2002.
[4] J. R. Jiao and C. Chen, “Customer Requirement Management in Product
Development: A Review of Research Issues,” Concurr. Eng. Res. adn
Appl., vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 1–25, 2006.
[5] A. M. Qahtani, G. B. Wills, and A. M. Gravell, “Customising software
products in distributed software development A model for allocating
customisation requirements across organisational boundaries,” in
International Conference on Information Society, i-Society 2013, 2013,
pp. 92–98.
[6] F. Q. B. da Silva, C. Costa, a. C. C. Franca, and R. Prikladinicki,
“Challenges and Solutions in Distributed Software Development Project
Management: A Systematic Literature Review,” 2010 5th IEEE Int.
Conf. Glob. Softw. Eng., pp. 87–96, Aug. 2010.
[7] M. Jiménez, M. Piattini, and A. Vizcaíno, “Challenges and
Improvements in Distributed Software Development: A Systematic
Review,” Adv. Softw. Eng., vol. 2009, pp. 1–14, 2009.
[8] D. Damian, S. Marczak, and I. Kwan, “Practice: Requirements
Engineering in Global Teams,” in Global Software and IT A Guide to
Distributed Development, projects, and OUtsourcing, First Edit., John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012, pp. 257–267.
[9] F. Hayat, N. Ehsan, A. Ishaque, S. Ahmed, and E. Mirza, “A
methodology to manage the changing requirements of a software
project,” 2010 Int. Conf. Comput. Inf. Syst. Ind. Manag. Appl., pp. 319–
322, Oct. 2010.
[10] A. A. Khan, S. Basri, and P. D. D. Dominic, “A propose framework for
requirement Change Management in Global Software Development,”
2012 Int. Conf. Comput. Inf. Sci., pp. 944–947, Jun. 2012.
[11] J. D. Herbsleb, A. Mockus, T. A. Finholt, and R. E. Grinter, “An
Empirical Study of Global Software Development: Distance and Speed,”
pp. 81–90, 2001.
[12] A. Gopal, J. A. Espinosa, S. Gosain, and D. P. Darcy, “Coordination and
Performance in Global Software Service Delivery: The Vendor’s
Perspective,” vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 772–785, 2011.
[13] J. Espinosa, S. Slaughter, R. Kraut, and J. Herbsleb, “Team Knowledge
and Coordination in Geographically Distributed Software
Development,” Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 24.
pp. 135–169, 2007.
[14] I. Sommerville, Software Engineering, 6th ed. Essex: Pearson Education
Limited, 2001.
[15] K. Sureshchandra and J. Shrinivasavadhani, “Adopting Agile in
Distributed Development,” 2008 IEEE Int. Conf. Glob. Softw. Eng., pp.
217–221, Aug. 2008.
[16] K. V. P. Y. S. Gopalakrishnan S., “Offshore model for software
development: the infosys experience,” in Proceedings of the ACM
SIGCPR Conference, 1996, pp. 392–393.
[17] P. Runeson and M. Höst, “Guidelines for conducting and reporting case
study research in software engineering,” Empir. Softw. Eng., vol. 14, no.
2, pp. 131–164, Dec. 2008.
[18] A. M. Law, Simulation Modeling and Analysis, Fourth Edi. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2007.
[19] M. I. Kellner, R. J. Madachy, and D. M. Ra, “Software process
simulation modeling: Why? What? How?,” J. Syst. Softw., vol. 46, pp.
91–105, 1999.
[20] T. K. Abdel-Hamid, “The Economics of Software Quality Assurance: A
Simulation-Based Case Study,” MIS Q., vol. 12, pp. 395–411, 1988.
[21] S. Setamanit, W. Wakeland, and D. Raffo, “Using Simulation to
Evaluate Global Software Development Task Allocation Strategies,”
Softw. Process Improv. Pract., vol. 12, no. May, pp. 491–503, 2007.
[22] R. L. Glass, “Modern Programming practices: A Report from industry,”
Englewood Cliffs, 1982.
[23] R. Martin and D. Ra, “Application of a hybrid process simulation model
to a software development project,” vol. 59, 2001.
[24] K. H. Concannon, K. I. Hunter, and J. M. Tremble, “SIMUL8-Planner
simulation-based planning and scheduling,” Proc. 2003 Int. Conf. Mach.
Learn. Cybern. (IEEE Cat. No.03EX693), pp. 1488–1493, 2003.
[1] D. Damian and D. Zowghi, “Requirements Engineering challenges in
multi-site software development organizations,” Requir. Eng. J., vol. 8,
pp. 149–160, 2003.
[2] D. Damian, “Stakeholders in Global Requirements Engineering : from
Practice,” IEEE Softw., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 21–27, 2007.
[3] D. E. Damian, “The study of requirements engineering in global
software development: as challenging as important,” in International
Workshop on Global Software Development, 2002.
[4] J. R. Jiao and C. Chen, “Customer Requirement Management in Product
Development: A Review of Research Issues,” Concurr. Eng. Res. adn
Appl., vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 1–25, 2006.
[5] A. M. Qahtani, G. B. Wills, and A. M. Gravell, “Customising software
products in distributed software development A model for allocating
customisation requirements across organisational boundaries,” in
International Conference on Information Society, i-Society 2013, 2013,
pp. 92–98.
[6] F. Q. B. da Silva, C. Costa, a. C. C. Franca, and R. Prikladinicki,
“Challenges and Solutions in Distributed Software Development Project
Management: A Systematic Literature Review,” 2010 5th IEEE Int.
Conf. Glob. Softw. Eng., pp. 87–96, Aug. 2010.
[7] M. Jiménez, M. Piattini, and A. Vizcaíno, “Challenges and
Improvements in Distributed Software Development: A Systematic
Review,” Adv. Softw. Eng., vol. 2009, pp. 1–14, 2009.
[8] D. Damian, S. Marczak, and I. Kwan, “Practice: Requirements
Engineering in Global Teams,” in Global Software and IT A Guide to
Distributed Development, projects, and OUtsourcing, First Edit., John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012, pp. 257–267.
[9] F. Hayat, N. Ehsan, A. Ishaque, S. Ahmed, and E. Mirza, “A
methodology to manage the changing requirements of a software
project,” 2010 Int. Conf. Comput. Inf. Syst. Ind. Manag. Appl., pp. 319–
322, Oct. 2010.
[10] A. A. Khan, S. Basri, and P. D. D. Dominic, “A propose framework for
requirement Change Management in Global Software Development,”
2012 Int. Conf. Comput. Inf. Sci., pp. 944–947, Jun. 2012.
[11] J. D. Herbsleb, A. Mockus, T. A. Finholt, and R. E. Grinter, “An
Empirical Study of Global Software Development: Distance and Speed,”
pp. 81–90, 2001.
[12] A. Gopal, J. A. Espinosa, S. Gosain, and D. P. Darcy, “Coordination and
Performance in Global Software Service Delivery: The Vendor’s
Perspective,” vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 772–785, 2011.
[13] J. Espinosa, S. Slaughter, R. Kraut, and J. Herbsleb, “Team Knowledge
and Coordination in Geographically Distributed Software
Development,” Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 24.
pp. 135–169, 2007.
[14] I. Sommerville, Software Engineering, 6th ed. Essex: Pearson Education
Limited, 2001.
[15] K. Sureshchandra and J. Shrinivasavadhani, “Adopting Agile in
Distributed Development,” 2008 IEEE Int. Conf. Glob. Softw. Eng., pp.
217–221, Aug. 2008.
[16] K. V. P. Y. S. Gopalakrishnan S., “Offshore model for software
development: the infosys experience,” in Proceedings of the ACM
SIGCPR Conference, 1996, pp. 392–393.
[17] P. Runeson and M. Höst, “Guidelines for conducting and reporting case
study research in software engineering,” Empir. Softw. Eng., vol. 14, no.
2, pp. 131–164, Dec. 2008.
[18] A. M. Law, Simulation Modeling and Analysis, Fourth Edi. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2007.
[19] M. I. Kellner, R. J. Madachy, and D. M. Ra, “Software process
simulation modeling: Why? What? How?,” J. Syst. Softw., vol. 46, pp.
91–105, 1999.
[20] T. K. Abdel-Hamid, “The Economics of Software Quality Assurance: A
Simulation-Based Case Study,” MIS Q., vol. 12, pp. 395–411, 1988.
[21] S. Setamanit, W. Wakeland, and D. Raffo, “Using Simulation to
Evaluate Global Software Development Task Allocation Strategies,”
Softw. Process Improv. Pract., vol. 12, no. May, pp. 491–503, 2007.
[22] R. L. Glass, “Modern Programming practices: A Report from industry,”
Englewood Cliffs, 1982.
[23] R. Martin and D. Ra, “Application of a hybrid process simulation model
to a software development project,” vol. 59, 2001.
[24] K. H. Concannon, K. I. Hunter, and J. M. Tremble, “SIMUL8-Planner
simulation-based planning and scheduling,” Proc. 2003 Int. Conf. Mach.
Learn. Cybern. (IEEE Cat. No.03EX693), pp. 1488–1493, 2003.
@article{"International Journal of Information, Control and Computer Sciences:68691", author = "A. M. Qahtani and G. B. Wills and A. M. Gravell", title = "The Impacts of Local Decision Making on Customisation Process Speed across Distributed Boundaries: A Case Study", abstract = "Communicating and managing customers’
requirements in software development projects play a vital role in the
software development process. While it is difficult to do so locally, it
is even more difficult to communicate these requirements over
distributed boundaries and to convey them to multiple distribution
customers. This paper discusses the communication of multiple
distribution customers’ requirements in the context of customised
software products. The main purpose is to understand the challenges
of communicating and managing customisation requirements across
distributed boundaries. We propose a model for Communicating
Customisation Requirements of Multi-Clients in a Distributed
Domain (CCRD). Thereafter, we evaluate that model by presenting
the findings of a case study conducted with a company with
customisation projects for 18 distributed customers. Then, we
compare the outputs of the real case process and the outputs of the
CCRD model using simulation methods. Our conjecture is that the
CCRD model can reduce the challenge of communication
requirements over distributed organisational boundaries, and the
delay in decision making and in the entire customisation process
time.
", keywords = "Customisation Software Products, Global Software
Engineering, Local Decision Making, Requirement Engineering,
Simulation Model.", volume = "9", number = "1", pages = "63-6", }
