Collaboration in the Absence of Communication

On a software development project many people collaborate to build a product contributing different pieces of the final product. Often people on a development team will work in parallel, either on different parts or on the same parts of the product, and follow processes to co-ordinate their work with other people on the team. When teams are distributed this co-ordination becomes more difficult since there are obstacles to direct and immediate communication caused by the distribution of people in distance or time. This often gives rise to changes and contributions that are conflicting or do not work properly right away. In this case study, we investigate problems in different co-ordination processes and analyse how little and what type of communication is needed for good co-ordination in different situations. We suggest configuration management tool supported processes that can make it easier to co-ordinate contributions in the absence of easy communication.