Erik Wende

Instant Messenger in Offshore Outsourced Software Development Projects: Experiences from a Case Study

IT offshoring has become an accepted strategy for many companies, although the inherent risks-such as language and cultural differences-make the communication, coordination, and collaboration processes between clients and vendors more challenging. In this exploratory work, we analyze the usage of instant messenger (IM) to bridge culturally based power distance in offshore-outsourced software development (OOSD) projects. We employed the case study method with a German-Indian partnership in order to collect qualitative data so as to analyze the prevalent usage of IM in OOSD projects. The empirical data was further analyzed through the lens of theoretical concepts in IS, which provided a sound explanation regarding the usage of IM in OOSD projects. These concepts include virtual teams, communication and media selection, cultural distance, and early warning signs. Even though the project itself was considered a failure, we were able to obtain valuable research data.

Exploring Failures at the Team Level in Offshore-Outsourced Software Development Projects

Offshore-outsourced software development (OOSD) projects involve multifaceted risks throughout the project execution, as they are handed over to third-party organizations and thus are exposed to more risks than in domestic outsourcing or captive offshoring. We concentrate on failed OOSD projects in this paper and analyze the unique aspects of such projects at the team level that lead to failures. Using the grounded theory approach, we conducted semistructured interviews with 19 project managers involved in OOSD project failures from the vendor and client sides, who are based in India or Switzerland. We developed a set of propositions regarding multiple teams in the OOSD project context to explain failures. Integration of inter-organizational offshore and onshore teams from the vendor and client sides was found to be indispensable in avoiding project failures. Six categories of unique aspects that lead to OOSD project failures were identified and discussed in this exploratory work.

Exploring the Media Mix during IT-Offshore Project

Offshore outsourced IT projects continue to gain relevance in the globalized world scenario. The temporal, geographical and cultural distances involved during the development of software between distributed team members result in communication challenges. As software development involves the coding of knowledge, the management of knowledge and its transfer remain critical for the success of the project. For effective knowledge transfer between geographically dispersed teams the ongoing selection of communication medium or the media channel mix becomes highly significant. Although there is an abundance of theory dealing with knowledge transfer and media channel selection during offshore outsourcing projects, the specific role of cultural differences in the media mix is often overlooked. As a first step to rectify this, this paper presents an explorative outsourcing case study with emphasis on the chosen media channels and the problems that arose from differences in culture. The case study is analyzed in light of several theoretical models. Finally the paper presents the idea of extending the Media Synchonicity theory with cultural factors.

Towards Genuine Virtual Collaboration: Designing the Use of Mobile Remote Presence in Offshore-Outsourced Projects

Informal communication between work team members is critical for collaborative tasks, building relationships and coordinating group activities. Achieving informal communication and collaboration is particularly challenging in in offshore outsourced projects. Supporting informal communication is difficult for most collaboration technologies. One approach is the adoption of mobile remote presence technologies (MRP). Such systems comprise a video conferencing system mounted on a user-controlled, mobile robotic base. This paper seeks to design the deployment of an MRP system in an offshore-outsourced software development team (located between Germany and India). The design process involved observing the use a MRP system in a distributed team in Germany. We observed the influence of the mobile remote presence system on types and frequency of team interaction over a 12-month period. It supported a wide range of collaborative interaction, including planned and unplanned meetings and social interactions. After an adjustment period of several weeks, local and remote users worked almost as if they were co-located. The paper concludes with plans for deploying the mobile remote presence system in an offshore outsourced team, which include an extended adjustment period and daily scheduled meetings to ensure usage and enable a range of interaction types.

Exploring Storytelling for Relationship Building in Offshore Outsourced Projects: An Action Research Investigation

Over recent years, more and more companies have come to recognise the utility of storytelling in the workplace. Stories are thought to be an effective means of sharing information and can fulfil a range of knowledge management functions. Furthermore, storytelling can contribute to social bonds between co-workers because stories allow the audience to create impressions about the attitudes and beliefs of the storyteller. The potential of storytelling in global virtual teams has received minimal research focus to date. In this paper we adopt an action research approach to investigate storytelling used as a knowledge transfer technique in offshore outsourced projects and observe the influence on team relationship development. Findings suggest that storytelling by recorded video can be an effective form of communication in the early stages of projects and helps overcome the challenge of relationship development in offshore outsourced projects.

KAIWA: Towards a Method for Knowledge Transfer in the Transition Phase of Offshore Outsourced Projects

The challenge of knowledge transfer in distributed team settings, such as offshore outsourced software development, is often underestimated. Unsuccessful knowledge transfer is a major cause of project delay or failure. Such teams can face difficulties overcoming the challenges of physical and cultural distance and can struggle to develop systems that support the effective identification and transfer of knowledge essential for project delivery. Despite being recognized simultaneously as critical and problematic, there is no established method for knowledge transfer in distributed team settings. This paper builds on existing research into the problem of unsuccessful knowledge transfer in the transition phase of offshore outsourced software development projects. Following a Design Science Research approach, we undertake preliminary design and development of a knowledge transfer method, including proposing an instantiation of a method structure.