Stakeholders in Global Requirements Engineering: Lessons Learned from Practice

Written by Daniela Damian Presented by Misako Kobayashi

Overview • Introduction • What Enables Global Software Engineering (GSE) • How GSE Changed Stakeholder Groups • Cultural Differences in Global RE • Challenges of the Processes in GSE • How to Manage These Challenges • Summary and Conclusion

Global Software Engineering (GSE) Enabled By • Advanced communication technologies • Growing business opportunities o Proximity to clients o o Outsourcing Round-the-clock development These factors that are driving GSE (proximity to clients, outsourcing, round-the-clock development) create even more challenges

Figure A: Business Models in GSE

How GSE Changed Stakeholder Groups • Remarkable diversification • Increase the number of stakeholder groups at different sites • Additional stakeholder groups (field personnel or analyst) • Separation between: o those knowledgeable of the client's applications domain and users' needs o project execution team

Figure 1: Stakeholder Groups in GSE

Cultural Differences • Ethnic or national o Language o o Attitude toward hierarchy Communication style • Organizational

Processes Needed for Shared Understanding in RE • Knowledge-acquisition and knowledge-sharing processes • Iterative processes • Effective communication and coordination processes These processes face unique challenges when performed in GSE

Challenges of RE in GSE • Knowledge acquisition and sharing processes o o Designer (analyst) has less opportunity to seek out relevant knowledge Knowledge sharing across sites is difficult • Iterative processes o Aligning RE processes and tools is difficult • Effective communication and coordination processes o Informal communication for relationship buidling is hard o o Only using formal channel and/or asynchronous channels can cause problems When the requirements change, other stakeholder in different sites do not receive the information effectively

How to Manage these Challenges • Supporting interorganizational structure o Define communication of responsibility for the project o o Establish peer-to-peer links Partially synchronize interorganizational processes and perform frequent iterations and deliveries o Establish cultural liaisons • Supporting communication practice o Use synchronous Internet communication technology o (such as net meeting) Maintain open communication lines o Frequently inform and monitor progress

Summary • New global business models created new groups of geographically and culturally diverse stakeholders • Cultural differences can be o Ethnic o Organizational - More Important • Identified 3 practices of shared understanding in RE: o knowledge acquisition/sharing o iterative processes o effective communcations • These practices face unique challenges in GSE; the author recognizes several strategies to overcome these challenges with interorganizational structuring and effective communication practices

References Damian, Daniela. "Stakeholders in Global Requirements Engineering: Lessons Learned from Practice". IEEE Software. March/April 2007. pp. 21-27.

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