Knowledge Sharing In Global Software Development: Impact On Trust, Collaboration And Shared Understanding Of Requirements

With the tremendous growth of IT especially internet technology, software has become a part of life and individuals as well as organizations use it to collaborate effectively across geographical borders. These developments increase need for software to satisfy its ever increasing demand. To do this, Software engineering discipline covers a structured approach of developing software systems; it is “the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to development, operation, and maintenance of software; that is, the application of engineering to software”. Traditionally software was developed in collocated fashion in which all team members working on a project correspond to same location and work in collaboration. More recently, organizations seeking lower costs and access to skilled resources began to experiment with globally distributed software development facilities. As a result, global software development is becoming a common operational phenomenon. This tremendous growth of global software developmenthas lifted the social phenomena again closer to the mainstream research of software engineering. Initially researchers focus on more traditional areas, like for example requirement elicitation, architecture&design, quality assurance and development tools, recent research on global software development have lifted themes like trust, shared understanding of requirements, intercultural relations as important topics in software engineering research, elaborating the importance of social side of software engineering.Though global software development is emerging as an effective technique, it suffers from many challenges like poor communication, lack of trust and coordination, and lack of shared understanding of requirements etc. These challenges pose serious risk in the success of global software development projects. In such situation, role of knowledge and knowledge management is crucial in software developments. Global software development teams can use knowledge to coordinate, make decisions, and achieve consensus. However, knowledge in isolated form has lesser value; knowledge management and sharing is necessary to leverage its full potential. Lack of knowledge sharing inhibits formation of shared understanding of requirements, trusting working relationship, and effective collaboration which are considered as key determinants of global software development success.In this thesis, we have combined two recent developments (knowledge management and global software development) and tried to address some core issues of global software development using knowledge management. We have focused on social side of software engineering and made three main contributions in research on global software development. Firstly, we have empirically evaluated the role of leadership support in promoting knowledge sharing among globally distributed team members. To do this, a survey in global software development setting was conducted to collect data; based on detail statistical analysis of obtained data we have developed our own model. A simulation study was performed to test this model. The results obtained from simulation were positive and supportive. Secondly, we have proposed a model to investigate the role of knowledge management in promoting trust among globally distributed team members. Data was collected through a survey in global software development setting. Results obtained from detail statistical analysis of data supported our research model and hypothesis. We further conducted a controlled experiment to validate and generalize our findings. Thirdly, we proposed a conceptual model and hypothesized relationship between knowledge sharing, trust, collaboration, and shared understanding of requirements using ontology and rule based retrieval structure and empirically investigated the interrelationship existing between these constructs. Empirical testing of this model provides an in-depth insight to researchers and practitioners about the importance of knowledge sharing, trust, collaboration and shared understanding of requirements in global software development settings and interrelationship existing between these constructs.