KM and Global Software Engineering (GSE)

In the last decade, we have witnessed a dramatic transformation of software development processes. Outsourcing and offshore development has become the norm in current software development because of the many benefits organizations and people can have by adapting such strategy. Benefits include reduced cost, reduced time to market, availability of skilled people, proximity to market and customers in various locals, etc. Furthermore, the transformation from single-site, mostly English-based into a multi-site, multilingual, multicultural, and globally distributed endeavor has marked the birth of Global Software Engineering (GSE). This transformation increases the complexity of GSE when compared to traditional co-located Software development. GSE involves knowledge intensive activities, different people, different teams, and globally dispersed software organization. While there are many benefits in adapting GSE, the new strategy created several challenges/issues for the organization, practitioners, and researchers. Challenges include language and culture, communication, coordination and collaboration, team building, etc. Knowledge Management (KM) is considered fundamental and an essential asset of an organization because it enables organizations to efficiently create, store, and share knowledge, and it helps in resolving many of the current GSE issues. KM tools and techniques has been successfully used in effective management of who knows what, which helps in learning, problem solving, and innovation. This chapter discusses in general the challenges of culture in Global Software Engineering (GSE). However, the main focus of the discussion in this chapter is on the challenges of culture in global software application. For many years, KM literature has focused on the cultural issues of teams, processes, types of knowledge, etc. This chapter's goal is to stimulate and encourage more research on how KM tools and practices can help in overcoming these challenges. Furthermore, it emphasizes the issues of language, which are mostly marginalized.