A case study of customer communication in globally distributed software product development

Authors:
Mikko Korkala;Minna Pikkarainen;Kieran Conboy
Affiliations:
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Oulu, Finland;VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Oulu, Finland;National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
Venue:
Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Product Focused Software
Year:
2010

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Abstract

Agile methodologies emphasize the importance of customer and highlight that communication with the customer is seen as a central tenet. Despite the prevalence and benefits associated with globally distributed software development, communication can be much more challenging in such environments due to temporal, geographical and cultural distances. This paper describes results from a case study of customer communication in a globally distributed product development program applying both traditional and agile approaches. Based on the study, the frequency of communication, the content of that communication and engagement with the customer along with a support for rapid decision making among the development teams and the customer groups are important success factors in distributed agile development.