A Framework to Support Self-Governing Software Design Groups

Decentralized projects, where several organizations come together to work on a joint project, are quickly becoming the norm, due to increased networking and distribution. Subcontracting and consulting lead to the creation of more flexible, less hierarchical structures. In these networked structures, partners are often considered as peers and the group has the flexibility to restructure itself according to its needs. In this paper, we present a study of a decentralized software research, design and development group, and discuss its needs. A large amount of time is spent with articulation and maintaining partners up-to-date, which suggests that appropriate awareness support might facilitate the group´s activities