J. Alberto Espinosa

Learning from Experience in Software Development: A Multilevel Analysis

This study examines whether individuals, groups, and organizational units learn from experience in software development and whether this learning improves productivity. Although prior research has found the existence of learning curves in manufacturing and service industries, it is not clear whether learning curves also apply to knowledge work like software development. We evaluate the relative productivity impacts from accumulating specialized experience in a system, diversified experience in related and unrelated systems, and experience from working with others on modification requests (MRs) in a telecommunications firm, which uses an incremental software development methodology. Using multilevel modeling, we analyze extensive data archives covering more than 14 years of systems development work on a major telecommunications product dating from the beginning of its development process. Our findings reveal that the relative importance of the different types of experience differs across levels of analysis. Specialized experience has the greatest impact on productivity for MRs completed by individual developers, whereas diverse experience in related systems plays a larger role in improving productivity for MRs and system releases completed by groups and organizational units. Diverse experience in unrelated systems has the least influence on productivity at all three levels of analysis. Our findings support the existence of learning curves in software development and provide insights into when specialized or diverse experience may be more valuable.

Team Boundary Issues Across Multiple Global Firms

Numerous methodological issues arise when studying teams that span multiple boundaries. The main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about the challenges of conducting field research on teams in global firms. Based on field research across multiple firms (software development, product development, financial services, and high technology), we outline five types of boundaries that we encountered in our field research (geographical, functional, temporal, identity, and organizational)and discuss methodological issues in distinguishing the effects of one boundary where multiple boundaries exist. We suggest that it is important to: (1) appropriately measure the boundary of interest to the study, (2) assess and control for other influential boundaries within and across teams, and (3)distinguish the effects of each boundary on each team outcome of interest. Only through careful attention to methodology can we properly assess the effects of team boundaries and appreciate their research and practical implications for designing and using information systems to support collaborative work.Numerous methodological issues arise when studying teams that span multiple boundaries. The main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about the challenges of conducting field research on teams in global firms. Based on field research across multiple firms (software development, product development, financial services, and high technology), we outline five types of boundaries that we encountered in our field research (geographical, functional, temporal, identity, and organizational)and discuss methodological issues in distinguishing the effects of one boundary where multiple boundaries exist. We suggest that it is important to: (1) appropriately measure the boundary of interest to the study, (2) assess and control for other influential boundaries within and across teams, and (3)distinguish the effects of each boundary on each team outcome of interest. Only through careful attention to methodology can we properly assess the effects of team boundaries and appreciate their research and practical implications for designing and using information systems to support collaborative work.

Crossing Spatial and Temporal Boundaries in Globally Distributed Projects: A Relational Model of Coordination Delay

In globally distributed projects, members have to deal with spatial boundaries (different cities) and temporal boundaries (different work hours) because other members are often in cities within and across time zones. For pairs of members with spatial boundaries and no temporal boundaries (those in different cities with overlapping work hours), synchronous communication technologies such as the telephone, instant messaging (IM), and Web conferencing provide a means for real-time interaction. However, for pairs of members with spatial and temporal boundaries (those in different cities with nonoverlapping work hours), asynchronous communication technologies, such as e-mail, provide a way to interact intermittently. Using survey data from 675 project members (representing 5,674 pairs of members) across 108 projects in a multinational semiconductor firm, we develop and empirically test a relational model of coordination delay. In our model, the likelihood of delay for pairs of members is a function of the spatial and temporal boundaries that separate them, as well as the communication technologies they use to coordinate their work. As expected, greater use of synchronous web conferencing reduces coordination delay for pairs of members in different cities with overlapping work hours relative to pairs of members with nonoverlapping work hours. Unexpectedly, greater use of asynchronous e-mail does not reduce coordination delay for pairs of members in different cities with nonoverlapping work hours, but rather reduces coordination delay for those with overlapping work hours. We discuss the implications of our findings that temporal boundaries are more difficult to cross with communication technologies than spatial boundaries.

The impact of time separation on coordination in global software teams: a conceptual foundation

While there has been much research on the study of global virtual teams and global software teams, there has been practically no research on the nuances of time separation. We present three converging perspectives on this topic: (a) a view from practices and tactics of global teams; (b) a theoretical view from coordination theories; and (c) a view from our prior research in which we modeled coordination costs for time-separated dyads. Practice suggests that time separation arises not only from time-zone differences but also from factors such as nonoverlapping weekend days and holidays, shifts, and different working schedules. It also suggests that teams employ various coping tactics when faced with time separation—synchronous, asynchronous, and education. Theory suggests that communication is necessary to coordinate and that effectiveness of communication is hampered, both in quality and timeliness, when teams are separated by time. Our model, based on coordination theory, suggests that coordination costs contain four main components—communication, clarification, delay, and rework—and that the various aspects of time-separated work have different effects on each of these components. Our convergent view from these three perspectives shows that distance separation is symmetric—i.e. distance (A, B) = distance (B,A)—while time separation is asymmetric, which affects the planning of team interactions; that the timing of activities matters in time-separated contexts but not in contexts with only distance separation; and that vulnerability costs (i.e. resolving misunderstandings and rework) increase with time separation. Copyright

Global boundaries, task processes and IS project success: a field study

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to better understand how global boundaries affect global information system (IS) project success and which mediating process variables increase the chance of success.Design/methodology/approach – Based on the literature on IS success and global teams, an input‐process‐output framework is adopted to develop the research model for the study. This research is based on semi‐structured interviews with 22 global IS project managers. An attribution analysis is used to identify common themes and patterns of the interview results.Findings – Global IS project managers identified time separation and cultural differences as the most significant barriers to project success. Our findings suggest that effective teams were able to overcome these barriers to achieve success, but this success was achieved through the implementation of special coordination, communication and cognitive processes tailored to help teams overcome global barriers and through considerable additional cost and ...

Ambidextrous coping strategies in globally distributed software development projects

Strategies for enhancing flexibility and rigor.

Coming to the wrong decision quickly: why awareness tools must be matched with appropriate tasks

This paper presents an awareness tool designed to help distributed, asynchronous groups solve problems quickly. Using a lab study, it was found that groups that used the awareness tool tended to converge and agree upon a solution more quickly. However, it was also found that individuals who did not use the awareness tool got closer to the correct solution. Implications for the design of awareness tools are discussed, with particular attention paid to the importance of matching the features of an awareness tool with a workgroups tasks and goals.

Follow The Sun Software Development: New Perspectives, Conceptual Foundation, and Exploratory Field Study

Follow The Sun (FTS) is a special case of global software development. FTS means that software work is handed off every day from one development site to the next -- many time zones away. The main benefit is reduction in development duration. Surprisingly, unlike the broader trend of offshore outsourcing, FTS is practiced rarely and misunderstood often. In this article we present a foundation for understanding FTS including a definition, a description of its place in the life cycle, and choice of methodologies. We also present the outcomes of a first quasi-experiment designed to test FTS and measure the speed of software work. This quasi-experiment is part of our comprehensive research to explore FTS and its implications.

Team Knowledge Representation A Network Perspective

Objective: We propose a network perspective of team knowledge that offers both conceptual and methodological advantages, expanding explanatory value through representation and measurement of component structure and content. Background: Team knowledge has typically been conceptualized and measured with relatively simple aggregates, without fully accounting for differing knowledge configurations among team members. Teams with similar aggregate values of team knowledge may have very different team dynamics depending on how knowledge isolates, cliques, and densities are distributed across the team; which members are the most knowledgeable; who shares knowledge with whom; and how knowledge clusters are distributed. Method: We illustrate our proposed network approach through a sample of 57 teams, including how to compute, analyze, and visually represent team knowledge. Results: Team knowledge network structures (isolation, centrality) are associated with outcomes of, respectively, task coordination, strategy coordination, and the proportion of team knowledge cliques, all after controlling for shared team knowledge. Conclusion: Network analysis helps to represent, measure, and understand the relationship of team knowledge to outcomes of interest to team researchers, members, and managers. Our approach complements existing team knowledge measures. Application: Researchers and managers can apply network concepts and measures to help understand where team knowledge is held within a team and how this relational structure may influence team coordination, cohesion, and performance.

Advanced Analytics -- Issues and Challenges in a Global Environment

Modern businesses require a suite of appropriate analytical tools - both quantitative and qualitative - that go beyond data mining, because of issues with scalability, parallelizability, and numeric vs. symbolic representation that may well affect analytic utility and the results of an analytic. However, there is limited formal or structured guidance for new and complex problem spaces providing criteria for what analytics to use and how they are to be cascaded or integrated to obtain useful results and generate a range of alternate explanations of what is happening now, what is likely to happen soon, and what could happen in the long term. In this paper, we describe sixteen classes of analytics in which we extend previous work by Kaisler and Cioffi-Revilla [7]. We examine some issues and implementation challenges for analytics in the global business environment. We suggest several applications of these analytics to modern business problems and draw several conclusions that lead to further research.