Global Software Development: Managing Virtual Teams and Environments (Practitioners)

Over the last several decades, improvements in software development tools and methods have allowed geographically and culturally diverse groups to come together in global software development teams. Team members bring diverse expectations and goals that make the task of virtual product development considerably more complex than the most complex in-house projects.

Global Software Development covers the delicate tasks of managing diverse cultural expectations, establishing responsibility, implementing accountability, and defining process and product ownership. Subtle changes in the cost, schedule, and quality issues involved in normal product delivery are also examined. Although focused on global development projects, the book discusses issues that apply to most distributed software development environments.

Following the life cycle of a typical software development project, the text examines the growing need for global software development and the foundations of its strategy. From setting up the initial environment and project team, the book progresses through every development stage emphasizing the differences between traditional and virtual management. The final chapter presents three case studies illustrating the principles and activities described in the preceding chapters.

Dale Karolak's goal is to make it easier for managers to understand what to consider when managing a virtual project and offers a broad spectrum of information that enhances the reader's understanding of global software development.

Dr. Dale Walter Karolak is an engineering director at TRW Automotive Electronics, where he is responsible for product development for domestic and international customers. His previous positions include software and systems engineering manager at ITT Aerospace/Communications, and software engineer at GTE Communications Systems R&D Laboratories. He is the creator of the Just-in-Time software developing methodology, holds a patent on the Communications Management System Architecture, and has three patents pending in software architecture and communication.
Dr. Karolak has headed virtual software development ventures worldwide, including the US, Europe, and the Middle East. His projects typically involve domestic and international companies and project teams of from 10 to 70 members. At present, he is assessing a joint US-European project to produce an automotive safety-critical product, and is currently conducting a series of joint design reviews.
Dr. Karolak received a PhD in software engineering from Union Institute, and MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a BS in computer science from Central Michigan University. He is the author of the IEEE Computer Society's bestseller Software Engineering Risk Management and developer of SERIM, the product that evolved from the book. Dr. Karolak is a frequent speaker at international conferences and has published widely in software management, metrics, reliability, quality, testing, and architecture. He is a member of the IEEE, IEEE Computer Society, ACM, and Society of Automotive Engineers.
Dr. Karolak can be contacted at dkarolak@ieee.org