Task Allocation in Global Software Development

Context: Global software development (GSD) promises high quality software at low cost. GSD enables around-the-clock development to achieve maximum production in a short period of time by utilizing expertise around the globe. GSD is only possible if tasks are effectively distributed among sites to ensure smooth development. Therefore, one of the key challenges of GSD is to design a Task Allocation (TA) strategy. Objective: The main objective of this research is to develop a framework that takes into account important factors while allocating tasks to the distributed sites involved in GSD. The framework facilitates decision makers in allocation of the tasks in a manner which controls delay and re-allocation. Method:We used an empirical research method to acquire data. A mixed qualitative as well as quantitative research methods were used to identify task allocation factors and their relative importance. The research process consisted of an industrial survey followed by an interview study. The task allocation framework is validated with help of an online focus group session. A web-based survey of 54 GSD practitioners from around the globe was conducted to identify the factors and their relative importance for TA decision. The selection of the sample was performed via the snowball sampling technique. To increase the sample size, the survey was also posted on social media, i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Non-parametric statistical tests were applied on the response data to identify correlations and significance. Interviews were conducted from 10 project managers having 10 to 30 years GSD experience to gain insight into the dynamics of task allocation process. Finally the developed TA framework is validated with help of an online focus group. A total of 7 project managers participated in the session. The feedback helped improve and refine the final TA framework. Results: The survey results highlight ''expertise'', ''site characteristics'' and ''task-site dependency'' as the most important factors for a TA decision. The interview study has highlighted the importance of situation specific decision making during task allocation. The significance of factors varies with the characteristics of task, characteristics of organization, type of GSD and objective of doing GSD. The culture and time differences between distributed sites have been assigned a low priority by the majority of the practitioners. The most common way of distributing task is functional area of expertise and phase based division, where detailed architecture is not considered. Interdependent modules are not allocated to distributed sites due to communication and coordination overhead. Our results also demonstrate a correlation between various factors and support Conway’s law. The focus group session helped in refining the framework. The participants approved of the framework and its role in aware and informed task allocation during GSD. The framework promises effective and informed task allocation by considering all the important factors and variations to TA decision. Conclusions: The proposed TA framework helps in work assignment based on critical factors and variant situation which depends on characteristics of task, organization and type of GSD etc. The ability of the framework to be applicable in real world scenarios is assessed with help of an online focus group of industry practitioners. The practitioners have highlighted the usefulness of the framework to both the practitioners involved in task allocation decision in GSD as well as researchers working in this area. We suggest the validation of the framework in real world GSD scenarios as part of future work to this research. Further research is required to automate the task allocation process based on the framework. Moreover the integration of TA framework with the existing software development methodologies can be detailed and customization for agile methodology can also be researched.