Communication Medium Sequence for Resolution of Conflicts Related to Requirement Engineering in Global Software Development

Abstract

Software development is largely improved by global software development (GSD) environment. In this environment majority of the software products are developed by the team members who are geographically distinct from each other. Although existing studies have significantly acknowledged the importance of communication medium in global software development, however there is need to focus our attention towards communication medium sequences for conflicts resolutions in requirement engineering. This research deals with the identification of various conflicts that can occur while conducting requirement engineering in global software development environment. Besides, the most appropriate communication medium sequence is investigated to resolve the conflicts. For this purpose, Systematic literature review (SLR), is conducted for conflict identification. Expert’s evaluation is performed to review the identified conflicts. Experiment is conducted to suggest the more appropriate communication medium sequence to resolve the evaluated conflicts. As a result, nine conflicts are identified that can occur during requirement engineering in global software development environment. The results of the experiment showed that among the six sequences of communication mediums, “sequence 3” (Phone, Email and Video conferencing) is the most appropriate to resolve the conflicts. It is notified that the participants using ‘sequence 3’ required less extra information and were more satisfied and clear about the conflict resolution. The results lead to the conclusion that there is a positive impact on conflict resolution by changing the communication medium sequence. This study can act as a guideline for academicians and practitioners to select the appropriate communication medium for conflict resolution, resulting in advancement in existing requirement engineering body of knowledge (REBOK).