Adapting Extreme Programming For Global Software Development Project

Abstract

Growth of the global economy has led to remarkable changes in the way software is developed. Global Software Development (GSD) is becoming the norm for many technology companies. Even though organizations are enjoying the benefit brought by GSD, communication has been an issue impeding its further growth. Miscommunication and misunderstanding brought by the distance between development sites happen much more frequently in GSD projects than co-located projects, which eventually influence the software quality and customer satisfaction. Cultural distance also exacerbates these problems. Many studies have been conducted to either find a software process or develop a software application to facilitate the GSD. Because of its flexibility, Agile Methods are considered suitable processes for GSD. In our study, we examine the characteristics of Extreme Programming (XP), the most popular Agile process, and suggest changes to better support GSD. A prototype Eclipse-based plug-in is designed to facilitate the implementation of this process.