A Comparison of Industrial Process Descriptions for Global Custom Software Development

Global Software Development (GSD) is associated with many potential pitfalls. Some of these pitfalls, such as the lack of a structured and agreed upon process and unclear tasks, roles and responsibilities can be alleviated by using a process description. While GSD takes up a large percentage of industrial software development, it remains unclear whether organizations tailor their process descriptions for GSD-specific issues. This paper reports results of a comparative study of GSD process descriptions used for custom software development of three industrial organizations. The two methods applied in this research are in-depth analysis of process descriptions and interviews with process designers. We conclude that the level of detail of the process descriptions varies strongly and that the intended use of the prescribed process does not necessarily correspond with the provided level of detail. Also, the design of the process descriptions seems to be partly dependent on the expertise and professional background of the process designers. Other important factors in the design and intended use of the process descriptions are the size of an organization and organizational maturity.