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InfoQ Homepage Articles A Process for Managing Risks in Distributed Teams

A Process for Managing Risks in Distributed Teams

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This article first appeared in IEEE Software magazine and is brought to you by InfoQ & IEEE Computer Society.

 

Today, many software projects are geographically distributed, so software man­agers must know how to manage distributed teams.[1],[2] For example, they need to know how to build teams across sites, how to break down and distribute tasks, how to share knowledge across time, space, and cultural differences, and how to coordinate work to produce coherent outcomes.

The current literature offers rich insights into these challenges,[3] ,[4] ,[5] ,[6] but it offers no process for managing risks that apply to distributed team structures. We’ve developed a comprehensive pro­cess that’s compliant with CMMI, the Software Engineering Institute’s maturity model for as­sessing and improving organizational processes. CMMI offers a comprehensive set of generic pro­cesses to support development of products and services[7]. One of its processes focuses on risk management to help identify and analyze poten­tial problems before they occur so that managers can plan risk-handling activities and invoke them across the project life cycle. We adapt this approach to avoid redundancies and focus on managing risk in distributed teams. We describe a series of steps that are easy to understand and follow. However, practicing risk management requires nontrivial skills and insights[8], so it’s important to remember that a rigorous recipe for action must always be adapted to become useful in practice:

A recipe tells you the ingredients, how to mix the ingredients, what temperature to use, and how long to cook those ingredients. How­ever, it does not teach you the techniques of slicing and dicing, mixing, beating, whipping, blanching, grilling, poaching, etc. And recipes also leave room for some experimentation and modification[9].

Process Foundation

To create a solid foundation for the process, we syn­thesized state-of-the-art research on managing dis­tributed teams[10]. Analyzing 72 scientific articles, we identified inherent risks in distributed teams, tech­niques to solve them, and guidelines for applying the techniques. We then integrated these findings into a framework to support risk management in distributed teams; a Web-based tool implementa­tion of the framework is freely available at www.distributedprojects.net.

We synthesized the risks into a two-level taxon­omy. First, we identified eight risk areas[11]:

  • task distribution,
  • knowledge management,
  • geographical distribution,
  • collaboration structure,
  • cultural distribution,
  • stakeholder relations,
  • communication infrastructure, and
  • technology setup.

Then, we identified specific risk factors to further characterize each risk area[12]. Table 1 defines risk areas and factors that are characteristic for distrib­uted teams. Some of these might seem typical for any project, but the table focuses on risks related to distributed teams. Distributed environments can significantly intensify risks, to an extent that tradi­tional project management approaches might not apply.

Table 1: Identifying and analyzing distributed-team risks

Risk area

Risk factor and risk question

Low risk

Medium risk

High risk

Task distribution

Task uncertainty. Do team members posses the knowledge and capabilities needed?

Team members know the task, and it fits well with their capabilities.

Team members have reasonable task knowledge, and their capa­bilities cover most challenges.

There are serious gaps in team members’ task knowl­edge and required capabili­ties.

 

Task equivocality. Do team members understand the specification of the task?

The task is well specified and understood by team members.

Most aspects of the specifica­tion are clear, and key team members understand the task.

The specification lacks clari­ty on major points, and many team members have limited task understanding.

 

Task coupling. Is the task divided into distinct subtasks across sites?

There is minor need to coor­dinate development work across sites.

There is some need to coordi­nate development work across sites.

There is major need to coor­dinate development work across sites.

Knowledge management

Knowledge creation. How is task knowledge created across sites?

All sites contribute well to the creation of required task knowledge.

Most sites contribute reason­ably well to the creation of required task knowledge.

There are major problems related to the creation of required task knowledge.

 

Knowledge capture. How is task knowledge captured across sites?

Task knowledge is captured effectively across sites.

Task knowledge is, with some exceptions, captured effectively across sites.

There are major problems related to capturing task knowledge across sites.

 

Knowledge integration. How is task knowledge integrated and shared across sites?

Task knowledge is integrated and shared well across sites.

Task knowledge is, with some exceptions, well integrated and shared across sites.

There is limited task knowl­edge integration and sharing across sites.

Geographical distribution

Spatial distribution. How many sites are involved, and what’s the distance between them?

There are few sites collabo­rating over limited distance.

There are several sites collabo­rating over some distance.

There are many sites col­laborating over considerable distance.

 

Temporal distribution. How do time zone differences impact development work?

Time zone differences cause no or only minor problems.

Time zone differences require some ad hoc coordination across sites.

Time zone differences cause major problems and require constant attention across sites.

 

Goal distribution. How diverse are goals across sites?

Team members share major goals across sites.

There is some variation in goals across sites.

There are major goal con­flicts across sites.

Collabora­tion struc­ture

Collaboration capability. Can team members collaborate across sites?

Team members collaborate across sites as needed.

In most cases, team members collaborate across sites as needed.

Breakdowns in collaboration across sites are common.

 

Coordination mechanisms. Are coordination mechanisms appropriate across sites?

Coordination mechanisms are shared across sites and well adapted to the distrib­uted context.

Coordination mechanisms are shared by most team members and reasonably well adapted to the distributed context.

Coordination mechanisms are not shared across sites and poorly adapted to the distributed context.

 

Process alignment. Are processes aligned across sites?

Processes (including meth­ods, templates, and guide­lines) are shared across sites.

Processes (including methods, templates, and guidelines) vary but are reasonably well aligned across sites.

Processes (including meth­ods, templates, and guide­lines) are different across sites.

Cultural distribution

Language barriers. Do language and communication norms vary across sites?

Team members share lan­guage and communication norms across sites.

Team members use a common language with minor differences in communication norms.

Team members don’t share a common language and have different communication norms.

 

Work culture. Does work culture differ between sites?

Team members share work culture (including authority and team behavior) across sites.

Team members understand vari­ations in work culture (including authority and team behavior) across sites.

Team members don’t under­stand variations in work cul­ture (including authority and team behavior) across sites.

 

Cultural bias. Does cultural bias impact communication and cooperation across sites?

There are no major varia­tions in cultural values across sites.

Team members communicate and collaborate based on appre­ciation of cultural variations across sites.

Team members lack knowl­edge of variations in cultural values across sites.

Stakeholder relations

Stakeholder commitment. Are stakeholders committed to the project?

Key stakeholders are com­mitted and share a common project identity across sites.

Most stakeholders are com­mitted to the project and know about its distributed organiza­tion.

Stakeholder commitment varies, and there is no shared project identity.

 

Mutual trust. Is there trust between stakeholders across sites?

There is appropriate mutual trust across sites.

There are instances of insuf­ficient trust across sites.

Stakeholders don’t trust each other across sites.

 

Relationship building. Can the project integrate stakeholders across sites?

Existing and new stake­holders are well integrated across sites.

Existing and new stakehold­ers are mostly integrated well across sites.

There are several cases of stakeholders not being well integrated.

Communica­tion infrastructure

Personal communication. What’s the level of personal commu­nication and social interaction across sites?

The level of personal com­munication and social interaction across sites is appropriate.

There is some personal commu­nication and social interaction across sites.

There is limited personal communication and social interaction across sites.

 

Interaction media. How well is communication across sites supported by media?

Communication needs across sites are well sup­ported by media.

Communication across sites is for many purposes well sup­ported by media.

There are severe shortcom­ings in media support of communication across sites.

 

Teleconference management. How well is teleconferencing managed across sites?

Teleconferencing is used appropriately and managed effectively across sites.

Teleconferencing is used to some extent across sites and reasonably well managed.

There is limited use of tele­conferencing across sites and they aren’t managed well.

Technology setup

Network capability. Are commu­nication networks reliable?

Networks aren’t causing delays in development work and communication.

Networks are causing some delays in development work and communication.

Networks are causing seri­ous delays in development work and communication.

 

Tool compatibility. Are tools compatible across sites?

There are no compatibility issues between tools across sites.

Compatibility issues between tools create some collaboration barriers across sites.

Compatibility issues between tools create serious collabo­ration barriers across sites.

 

Configuration management. How are configurations managed across sites?

There’s appropriate configu­ration management across sites.

Configuration management is, with some exceptions, appropri­ate across sites.

There is limited configuration management across sites.

For example, the collaboration structure risk area includes a risk factor for collaboration capabil­ity (see Table 1)[13],[14],[15]. This factor describes team members’ understanding and appreciation of com­petency differences and how effectively they use technology to gather and share information over geographical and functional distances[16],[17]. It’s prob­lematic if distributed team members have limited understanding of each other’s competencies - for example, when a distributed team needs to manage software requirements across sites[18],[19],[20].

Language barriers are another risk factor[21],[22],[23].They arise when distributed team members don’t share the same language or communication norms. Such situations can easily lead to misinterpretations and unconveyed information[24], which are well-known problems in distributed teams[25],[26],[27],[28].

We also synthesized four different types of reso­lution techniques: planning, control, social integra­tion, and technical integration[29]:

  • planning techniques help design and organize projects so that they can be effectively executed in distributed contexts;
  • control techniques facilitate tracking progress across sites and help manage discrepancies in relation to plans;
  • social integration techniques integrate team members and help manage cultural differences across sites; and
  • technical integration techniques increase con­nectivity and technical compatibility across sites.

Finally, we identified a portfolio of specific tech­niques for each type and guidelines for how to ap­ply them to distributed-team risks (see Table 2). So, the eight areas of risks, the four types of resolution techniques, and the guidelines for combining them are syntheses of state-of-the-art research on distrib­uted teams and form the conceptual foundation for our risk management process.

Process Architecture

We structured the risk management process into the three steps shown in Figure 1: identify and analyze risks, develop risk mitigation plans, and implement risk mitigation plans. We adopted a risk-action list approach in the risk management processes that offers directions for how to apply the four types of resolution techniques to the eight areas of distributed-team risks[30]. Managers of dis­tributed teams can adopt our process when prepar­ing for risk management, which is CMMI’s first specific goal for risk management. Because the fo­cus is on risks related to or exacerbated by project distribution, managers must adopt other processes for complete risk management when addressing CMMI’s first specific goal.

Figure 1. Steps and outcomes in the risk management process. Circles are process steps and rectangles are outcomes. The first step addresses CMMI’s second specific goal for risk management. The second and third steps address CMMI’s third specific goal for risk management.

The first process step in Figure 1 helps distrib­uted team managers identify and analyze risks - CMMI’s second specific goal for risk manage­ment[31]. We have identified and categorized the risks (see Table 1), so risk management participants can focus on analyzing risk probabilities and impacts and prioritize how to address them. It’s particu­larly important to involve team members during this step because the project manager might have limited knowledge about different sites. For a given project, the first level of analysis therefore focuses on developing risk assessments at each site. The sec­ond level focuses on developing risk assessments for the entire project based on the local estimates. This requires a collocated or mediated project meeting where participants uncover differences in perspec­tives and experiences across sites and negotiate how to prioritize overall distributed-team risks. Manag­ers can distribute the resulting risk assessment data to the rest of the organization, allowing for risk management across subprojects and comparisons and learning among independent projects.

The process also helps distributed-team manag­ers mitigate risks - CMMI’s last specific goal for risk management[32]. Following the CMMI process, mitigating risks includes two specific practices: de­veloping and implementing risk mitigation plans, steps 2 and 3 in Figure 1, respectively. Developing a risk mitigation plan is supported by the list of resolution techniques and guidelines for how to ap­ply them to address specific risk areas (see Table 2). During this step, participants can adopt resolution techniques from the list or develop novel resolu­tion techniques to address distributed-team risks in their project. In the final process step, implement­ing risk mitigation plans, participants study proj­ect objectives and decide on practical approaches. To do so, they consider responsibilities, resources, deliverables, and milestones as key elements in implementation[33].

Table 2: Developing risk mitigation plans

Risk areas/

resolution techniques

Task distribution

Knowledge management

Geographi­cal distribution

Collaboration structure

Cultural distribution

Stakeholder relations

Communica­tion infrastructure

Technology setup

Planning

               

Acquire complementary skills

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Adjust meetings to distributed context

X

X

X

 

 

 

X

X

Divide tasks systematically between sites

X

X

 

X

 

 

 

 

Reduce coupling between sites

X

 

X

X

 

 

 

 

Create shared collaboration platform

 

X

X

X

X

X

 

X

Establish shared goals

X

X

X

X

 

X

 

 

Establish communication norms

 

X

X

 

X

X

X

X

Define roles and responsibilities

 

 

X

X

X

X

 

 

Reduce time-zone differences

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

Control

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focus on deliverables

 

X

X

 

 

 

 

X

Establish task coordination between sites

X

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

Maintain site autonomy

X

 

X

X

 

X

X

 

Establish shared control mechanisms

X

X

X

X

 

X

 

 

Establish temporal coordination mechanisms

X

X

X

X

 

 

 

X

Maintain project organization overview

X

X

X

X

 

 

X

X

Maintain task overview within and across sites

X

X

X

 

 

 

X

X

Monitor and improve communication

 

X

X

 

 

X

 

X

Maintain a supportive environment

X

 

X

 

X

X

 

X

Analyze and manage errors

X

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social integration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improve capability to manage cultural differences

 

X

X

 

X

 

 

 

Improve distributed collaboration skills

 

 

X

X

 

X

X

 

Improve language skills

 

 

 

 

X

 

 

X

Emphasize early teambuilding activities

 

 

X

 

 

X

X

X

Promote humor and openness

 

 

X

 

X

X

 

 

Use mentors to integrate new members

X

X

 

 

 

X

X

 

Use face-to-face meetings appropriately

X

X

X

X

 

X

X

 

Develop liaisons between sites

X

X

X

 

X

X

X

 

Adopt shared reward systems

 

 

 

X

X

X

 

 

Technical integration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Increase technical compatibility between sites

 

X

X

 

 

 

X

X

Standardize and train in methods across sites

X

X

 

X

X

 

 

X

Adopt appropriate communication technologies

X

X

X

 

X

X

X

X

Improve collaboration and com­munication technology skills

 

X

X

X

 

X

X

X

Improve development technology skills

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

X

Handle differences in methods between sites

 

X

 

X

 

 

 

 

Combine waterfall model and prototyping

X

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

Process Illustration

We illustrate the risk management process with a software project from ScandicBank, a large finan­cial company based in northern Europe. (Scandic­Bank is a pseudonym, but our discussion is based on data from a real-world distributed software project.)

ScandicBank has a long history of national mergers and is now expanding by acquiring companies in neighboring countries. Each ac­quisition requires a significant effort from Scan­dicBank’s IT division. The strategy is to achieve economies of scale by implementing the bank’s standard IT platform as quickly as possible in all new branches. The responsibility for the IT platform resides at ScandicBank’s headquarters. However, some acquired companies have their own IT departments. After an acquisition, these are typically engaged in making the IT platform adhere to specific financial software system re­quirements in their respective countries.

ScandicBank’s most recent acquisition is a com­pany that’s different from previous acquisitions. It’s significantly larger, has a sophisticated IT plat­form, and is located in a country with a different language tradition from the dominant language within ScandicBank. Previous acquisitions were smaller, had an inferior IT platform, and involved a language tradition similar to ScandicBank.

The implementation of ScandicBank’s standard IT platform is organized as an integration project (IP), as shown in Figure 2. The project consists of 20 subprojects, has more than 500 participants over its life cycle, and has a strict one-year dead­line.

Figure 2. ScandicBank’s integration project. Rectangles are organizations, ovals are different types of subprojects spanning the organizations, and the large dotted oval indicates the entire integration project.

The project participants are located in the acquired company’s IT department and at four different sites of ScandicBank’s IT division. Fur­thermore, the IP requires an unusually large num­ber of IT professionals, so ScandicBank has en­gaged an Indian software outsourcing provider. Seven of the 20 subprojects have team members distributed across all three organizations, as illus­trated in Figure 2; 11 subprojects are distributed across ScandicBank’s IT department and one of the two external entities; and only two subprojects aren’t distributed.

Identifying and Analyzing Risks

Identifying and analyzing risks is a nontrivial task in distributed teams. There are many types of risks and the knowledge to uncover them is typically dis­tributed across team members and sites. Table 1 supports this task. The eight risk areas and related risks factors are defined by analytical questions and evaluation criteria related to the qualitative indica­tors of low, medium, and high.

Our approach takes into account the difficulties of communicating and sharing knowledge across distributed teams. First participants from each site individually use Table 1 to identify and analyze risks. Next the risk management participants dis­cuss the local assessments at joint meetings across sites to arrive at an overall risk assessment and pri­oritization of risks. In large projects consisting of multiple subprojects, each subproject assessment would become the basis for a risk management meeting between subproject representatives.

Risk management participants apply Table 1 as follows to identify and analyze distributed-team risks. For each risk factor, the participants assess the probability of an unsatisfactory outcome P(UO) and the loss to the parties affected if the outcome is unsatisfactory L(UO). These assessments can be made on a scale with numeric values from 0 to 8, categorized into low (0–2), medium (3–5), and high (6–8). The qualitative indicators of low, medium, and high risk in Table 1 support the probability assessment.

Next, for each risk factor, the Web-based tool calculates the risk exposure (RE) based on the equation RE = P(UO) × L(UO)[34]. The average RE for the three risk factors constitutes the risk area’s RE value. On the basis of these values, the partici­pants derive a prioritized list of the eight significant risk areas.

In ScandicBank’s IT division, management gives high attention to the challenges related to the geo­graphical distribution of software teams. Limited experience with distributed teams and the strate­gic importance of the company’s most recent ac­quisition prompt management to adopt the risk management process. Development support makes the Web-based tool[35] available in the company’s software methodology portfolio and includes the process in the IT division’s process library. The IP manager initiates the process early during the re­quirements phase. Each subproject manager en­gages team members from the involved sites to complete a local risk assessment according to Table 1 in preparation for a joint risk management meet­ing. At this point, the IP manager decides to repeat the risk management process at frequent intervals throughout the project’s life cycle.

Several subprojects are in the fortunate posi­tion of having their first risk management meetings face-to-face, because collocated collaboration is em­phasized for a few weeks during the requirements phase. So the IP participants predominantly carry out multinational requirements engineering in a collocated setting. This early stage collocation is fea­sible because the team has only a few members dur­ing the requirements phase (100), compared to later in the project (up to 500). Team members present and discuss local assessments of each risk factor us­ing the Web-based tool and a projector.

Some subprojects can’t meet face-to-face. They conduct risk management meetings using telecon­ferencing and desktop sharing of the results from the Web-based tool. In the beginning, participants are reluctant to comment on each others’ risk as­sessments. In an effort to kick-start the discus­sion, one project manager points out the details of her risk assessment and volunteers to explain the grounds on which they were developed. To cre­ate an open and safe communication climate[36], she then asks one of her more experienced and outgoing colleagues, who is not afraid to disagree with her, to elaborate on his assessment. Managers of dis­tributed teams can undertake similar initiatives to overcome differences between high-context culture (India) and low-context culture (northern Europe) team members[37].

With all subproject risk assessments in hand, the IP manager calls for a risk management meet­ing with all subproject managers. The procedure for this meeting is similar to that of the subproj­ects. However, participants compare and contrast the assessments of each subproject instead of the local assessments from each site. During the re­quirements phase in the first meeting, the project managers identify cultural distribution as the most significant risk area across subprojects. Also, it be­comes clear that some subprojects have low assess­ments of all risk areas. These subprojects are pri­marily located at a single site within the IT division of ScandicBank with only a few team members at the IT department of the acquired company. As a consequence, the IP manager decides to in­clude only six of the 20 subprojects in future risk management.

At later IP stages, the project managers evalu­ate task distribution as the most significant risk area. Over the project’s life cycle, task distribution and cultural distribution frequently have high-risk-exposure assessments whereas communication infrastructure and geographical distribution fre­quently have low-risk-exposure assessments.

Developing Risk Mitigation Plans

Awareness of high-priority risk areas is an impor­tant first step in addressing them. However, it isn’t sufficient. Effective risk management is based on comprehensive risk mitigation plans.

A variety of resolution techniques is available for developing risk mitigation plans. Table 2 as­sociates techniques to different risk areas. In some situations, the proposed techniques oppose each other—for example, “Standardize and train in methods across sites,” on one hand, and “Handle differences in methods between sites,” on the other hand. The challenge is therefore to select a portfo­lio of coherent techniques that effectively address the risks at hand.

Instead of adopting the generic resolution tech­niques we suggest, users of the process can develop novel or company-specific techniques. The partici­pants should develop risk mitigation plans at the joint risk management meetings and base them on the overall risk assessments for the project.

The IP adopts resolution techniques at both the overall project and subproject levels. For example, in a subproject with cultural distribution as a pri­oritized risk area, the participants choose the reso­lution technique “improve capability to manage cultural differences.” The Web-based tool provides detailed resolution suggestions as follows[38]:

  • Establish courses in cultural diversity during the startup phase of the project. If team mem­bers are stationed at remote sites, the cultural training should take place before departure.
  • Focus on creating understanding and accep­tance of differences - for example, by letting each team member make a presentation on their individual culture, values, and expectations.
  • Promote understanding and acceptance rather than seeking to streamline the project organization.
  • Focus on the strengths that diversity offers rather than weaknesses.
  • Acknowledge and discuss cultural differ­ences in a respectful and civilized manner, and keep in mind that there are limits to cultural adaptation.
  • Adjust management style according to cul­ture - for example, team members’ preferences for well-defined tasks versus preferences for loosely defined tasks and self-management.

Not all resolution suggestions are practically or financially feasible for the subproject. However, specific resolution suggestions spur debate and more specific ideas about how to address cultural distribution. The second resolution suggestion in­spires a lunch meeting where one team member from each of the three countries makes a short pre­sentation of their corporate and national culture. The participants discuss the strengths their cultural diversity offers and personal preferences regarding well-defined versus loosely defined tasks.

The subproject managers also discuss resolu­tion techniques for cultural distribution at a risk management meeting for the IP at large. They dis­cuss which resolution techniques to initiate across subprojects. They agree to mitigate risks primarily at this level by “developing liaisons between sites” (see Table 2). Each subproject with more than 10 team members will have liaisons at least at one ScandicBank IT division site, while subprojects with more than 25 team members will have liai­sons at multiple sites. The subproject managers also discuss task dis­tribution at a later risk management meeting. They agree to mitigate risks primarily through the “stan­dardize and train in methods across sites” technique (see Table 2). Several subproject managers argue that team members outside the ScandicBank IT di­vision lack knowledge of the development method, hindering effective task distribution among sites. The managers agree to organize training at the In­dian site and the acquisition’s IT department.

Implementing Risk Mitigation Plans

In risk management, it’s essential to reach conclu­sions that lead to actions. The final step of our pro­cess is therefore to develop implementation plans for each prioritized risk area (see Figure 3). These plans lay out activities to bring each risk area under control. The plans address five basic elements of risk mitigation[39]: the objectives (why) are identified through the risk assessment; the deliverables and milestones (what and when) suggest when the team should take action; the responsibilities (who and where) describe which individuals are respon­sible for a given action and where they are to carry it out within the distributed organization; the ap­proach (how) consists of the identified resolution techniques; and the resources (how much) esti­mate the costs associated with addressing the risk area. The project manager should then integrate the mitigation plans into the project’s overall risk management plan.

Figure 3. Implementing risk mitigation plans by addressing the five elements of risk mitigation. The rightmost rectangles elaborate the question to consider for each element along with an explanation of how it relates to the process.

In accordance with Figure 1, distributed proj­ects should repeat the risk management process throughout the project life cycle as risk profiles change[40],[41],[42]. Distributed teams should therefore decide how often to revisit the risk management process and make sure that each activation is properly documented and reviewed in subsequent activations.

In the IP, the risk management participants de­tail the five elements of risk mitigation by the end of the joint risk management meetings. For ex­ample, in the subproject improving capabilities for managing cultural differences, the team imple­ments the plan. The objective is to address cultural distribution because several team members ex­pressed insecurity regarding how to contribute to the new distributed organization. The deliverables and milestones in relation to cultural distribution risks are the cultural presentation meetings sched­uled at specific dates. Concerning responsibilities, the participants make notes on who should make cultural background presentations in each case. Adding to the approach, the participants make notes on what specific topics interest them. Finally, the participants estimate that the initiative repre­sents a monthly two-hour resource load for each team member.

Two months later, when the risk management participants revisit the cultural distribution risk area, risk exposures have dropped from high to medium. Hence, the initiatives have reduced cul­turally related misunderstandings and eased col­laborations among team members.

The risk management meeting for the overall IP also addresses the five elements to implement more off-site training in ScandicBank’s develop­ment method. The objective is to address task distribution because participants complain about task equivocality, particularly in regard to unclear testing and documentation responsibilities across sites. The deliverable is an extension of Scandic­Bank’s method training program to be designed in three days and delivered in two weeks. A partici­pant from development support and a subproject manager agree to take responsibility for the train­ing initiative. In discussing the approach, several subproject managers request extended testing and documentation training. The participating manag­ers estimate that these activities represent sizable resources, primarily covered by company-wide hu­man resource efforts and thus not part of the IP budget. The participants estimate that the time in­vested by team members will give significant pro­ductivity payoffs for the remainder of the project.

When the risk management participants revisit the task distribution risk area two months later, risk exposure assessments are lower. The partici­pants still perceive task equivocality as challeng­ing. Therefore, in addition to the training initiative, the IP manager increases collocation of team mem­bers. While expensive, this additional initiative, which can be seen as an extreme adaptation of “develop liaisons between sites,” proves successful in alleviating not only task distribution risks but also cultural distribution risks.

Generic processes leave room for experi­mentation and suggestions for modifica­tions[43]. In tailoring the process for manag­ing distributed-team risks to match the preferences of your project or organization, you should there­fore consider these guidelines:

  • Keep it simple. Managing distributed teams has many challenges. It’s important to estab­lish a frequency of risk management that’s appropriate for the organization and project. Participants shouldn’t see the process as an unrewarding administrative burden. In some cases, the increased awareness resulting from risk management is more valuable than the re­sulting plans and initiatives.
  • Balance participation. Distributed teams vary in size and complexity. In some cases, you only want to involve a few participants from each site. In other cases, you might find it useful to involve all team members. Regardless of the number of participants, establishing an open and safe communication climate is vital for ef­ficient risk management.
  • Adapt taxonomies. We’ve designed our pro­cess for a variety of preferences. Some elements of the architecture might not fit your project or organization. For example, you might want to include additional resolution techniques - a specific consultant, a particular course, or available technologies - when developing risk mitigation plans.
  • Integrate plans. Managing distributed-team risks is only one aspect of risk management. Moreover, risk management is only one of many key disciplines in project management. For each project, you need to integrate the process into project management at large. Ap­propriate software systems can be a significant help in such integrations.
  • Attract capabilities. Practicing the process will clarify the specific capabilities needed to effectively manage distributed teams. As you move forward through the project life cycle, or as you engage in new distributed teams, you should attract complementary capabilities to proactively reduce the probability and impact of distributed-team risks.

Talented managers make projects work re­gardless of collocation or distribution. Our risk management process can help managers to sys­tematically assess and control the risks they face in specific distributed projects. By utilizing the extensive literature on distributed teams[44] and es­tablished practices for developing software[45], we hope the process can help managers avoid the failures and repeat the successes of past distrib­uted teams.

About the Authors 

John Stouby Persson is a postdoctoral student in Aalborg University’s Department of Computer Science. His research interests include information systems development, IT project management, and virtual organizations. Persson received his master’s degree in informatics from Aalborg University. He’s a member of the Association for Information Systems. Contact him at john@cs.aau.dk.

 

Lars Mathiassen is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and professor in Georgia State University’s Department of Computer Information Systems and cofounder of its Center for Process Innovation. His research interests include information systems and software engineering, with an emphasis on process innovation. Mathiassen has a PhD in informatics from Oslo University and a Dr. Techn. in software engineering from Aalborg University. He coauthored Computers in Context (Blackwell, 1993), Object Oriented Analysis & Design (Marko Publishing, 2000), and Improving Software Organizations (Addison-Wesley, 2002). He’s a member of the IEEE, the ACM, and the Association for Information Systems. Contact him at lmathiassen@ceprin.edu.

This article first appeared in IEEE Software magazine. IEEE Software's mission is to build the community of leading and future software practitioners. The magazine delivers reliable, useful, leading-edge software development information to keep engineers and managers abreast of rapid technology change.

 


[1] J.D. Herbsleb and D. Moitra, “Global Software De­velopment,” IEEE Software, vol. 18, no. 2, 2001, pp. 16–20.

[2] S. Sakthivel, “Managing Risks in Offshore Systems Development,” Comm. ACM, vol. 50, no. 4, 2007, pp. 69–75.

[3] S. Sakthivel, “Managing Risks in Offshore Systems Development,” Comm. ACM, vol. 50, no. 4, 2007, pp. 69–75.

[4] C.B. Gibson and J.L. Gibbs, “Unpacking the Concept of Virtuality: The Effects of Geographic Dispersion, Electronic Dependence, Dynamic Structure, and Na­tional Diversity on Team Innovation,” Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 3, 2006, pp. 451–495.

[5] D.C. Gumm, “Distribution Dimensions in Software Development Projects: A Taxonomy,” IEEE Software, vol. 23, no. 5, 2006, pp. 45–51.

[6] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[7] CMMI Product Team, CMMI for Development, v. 1.2, tech. report CMU/SEI-2006-TR-008, Carnegie Mellon Software Eng. Inst., 2006.

[8] B.W. Boehm, “Software Risk Management—Principles and Practices,” IEEE Software, vol. 8, no. 1, 1991, pp. 32–41.

[9] M.K. Kulpa and K.A. Johnson, Interpreting the CMMI: A Process Improvement Approach, CRC Press, 2003.

[10] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[11] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[12] B.W. Boehm, “Software Risk Management—Principles and Practices,” IEEE Software, vol. 8, no. 1, 1991, pp. 32–41.

[13] CMMI Product Team, CMMI for Development, v. 1.2, tech. report CMU/SEI-2006-TR-008, Carnegie Mellon Software Eng. Inst., 2006.

[14] J.M. Bhat, M. Gupta, and S.N. Murthy, “Overcoming Requirements Engineering Challenges: Lessons from Offshore Outsourcing,” IEEE Software, vol. 23, no. 5, 2006, pp. 38–44.

[15] S. Sakthivel, “Virtual Workgroups in Offshore Systems Development,” Information and Software Technology, vol. 47, no. 5, 2005, pp. 305–318.

[16] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[17] A. Powell, G. Piccoli, and B. Ives, “Virtual Teams: A Review of Current Literature and Directions for Future Research,” The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, vol. 35, no. 1, 2004, pp. 6–36.

[18] M.K. Kulpa and K.A. Johnson, Interpreting the CMMI: A Process Improvement Approach, CRC Press, 2003.

[19] J.M. Bhat, M. Gupta, and S.N. Murthy, “Overcoming Requirements Engineering Challenges: Lessons from Offshore Outsourcing,” IEEE Software, vol. 23, no. 5, 2006, pp. 38–44.

[20] D. Damian, “Stakeholders in Global Requirements Engineering: Lessons Learned from Practice,” IEEE Software, vol. 24, no. 2, 2007, pp. 21–27.

[21] CMMI Product Team, CMMI for Development, v. 1.2, tech. report CMU/SEI-2006-TR-008, Carnegie Mellon Software Eng. Inst., 2006.

[22] J.M. Bhat, M. Gupta, and S.N. Murthy, “Overcoming Requirements Engineering Challenges: Lessons from Offshore Outsourcing,” IEEE Software, vol. 23, no. 5, 2006, pp. 38–44.

[23] S. Sakthivel, “Virtual Workgroups in Offshore Systems Development,” Information and Software Technology, vol. 47, no. 5, 2005, pp. 305–318.

[24] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[25] S. Sakthivel, “Managing Risks in Offshore Systems Development,” Comm. ACM, vol. 50, no. 4, 2007, pp. 69–75.

[26] C.B. Gibson and J.L. Gibbs, “Unpacking the Concept of Virtuality: The Effects of Geographic Dispersion, Electronic Dependence, Dynamic Structure, and Na­tional Diversity on Team Innovation,” Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 3, 2006, pp. 451–495.

[27] D.C. Gumm, “Distribution Dimensions in Software Development Projects: A Taxonomy,” IEEE Software, vol. 23, no. 5, 2006, pp. 45–51.

[28] A. Powell, G. Piccoli, and B. Ives, “Virtual Teams: A Review of Current Literature and Directions for Future Research,” The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, vol. 35, no. 1, 2004, pp. 6–36.

[29] F.W. McFarlan, “Portfolio Approach to Information Systems,” Harvard Business Rev., vol. 59, no. 5, 1981, pp. 142–150.

[30] J.H. Iversen, L. Mathiassen, and P.A. Nielsen, “Manag­ing Risk in Software Process Improvement: An Action Research Approach,” MIS Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 3, 2004, pp. 395–433.

[31] CMMI Product Team, CMMI for Development, v. 1.2, tech. report CMU/SEI-2006-TR-008, Carnegie Mellon Software Eng. Inst., 2006.

[32] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[33] B.W. Boehm, “Software Risk Management—Principles and Practices,” IEEE Software, vol. 8, no. 1, 1991, pp. 32–41.

[34] B.W. Boehm, “Software Risk Management—Principles and Practices,” IEEE Software, vol. 8, no. 1, 1991, pp. 32–41.

[35] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[36] C.B. Gibson and J.L. Gibbs, “Unpacking the Concept of Virtuality: The Effects of Geographic Dispersion, Electronic Dependence, Dynamic Structure, and Na­tional Diversity on Team Innovation,” Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 3, 2006, pp. 451–495.

[37] E.T. Hall, Beyond Culture, Anchor Press, 1977.

[38] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[39] B.W. Boehm, “Software Risk Management—Principles and Practices,” IEEE Software, vol. 8, no. 1, 1991, pp. 32–41.

[40] CMMI Product Team, CMMI for Development, v. 1.2, tech. report CMU/SEI-2006-TR-008, Carnegie Mellon Software Eng. Inst., 2006.

[41] B.W. Boehm, “Software Risk Management—Principles and Practices,” IEEE Software, vol. 8, no. 1, 1991, pp. 32–41.

[42] M.K. Kulpa and K.A. Johnson, Interpreting the CMMI: A Process Improvement Approach, CRC Press, 2003.

[43] M.K. Kulpa and K.A. Johnson, Interpreting the CMMI: A Process Improvement Approach, CRC Press, 2003.

[44] J.S. Persson et al., “Managing Risks in Distributed Soft­ware Projects: An Integrative Framework,” IEEE Trans. Eng. Management, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 508–532.

[45] CMMI Product Team, CMMI for Development, v. 1.2, tech. report CMU/SEI-2006-TR-008, Carnegie Mellon Software Eng. Inst., 2006.

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Community comments

  • Insurance/Risk Management Perspective

    by Simon Le Pine,

    Your message is awaiting moderation. Thank you for participating in the discussion.

    Hi There,

    There's a lot of very valuable information here, thanks for providing it and the DPMS Tool free of charge. I come from an insurance/risk management/technology/emergency management background so might have something to add. As I said, there is a lot of very valuable information here but I would suggest it's too narrow in scope. For example, there's no mention key employees (and managing that exposure) or the increased risk of data breach/loss associated with distributed teams.

    In case it helps, the following is copied/pasted from a presentation I recently gave on risk management:
    The formal approach to risk management typically consists of:
    1.) Identify assets/liabilities/exposures
    2.) Select management techniques
    3.) Implement management techniques
    4.) Review effectiveness & cost of techniques

    There are 3 methods/approaches:
    1.) Prevent accidents from occurring.
    2.) Reduce the severity when an accident does occur.
    3.) Pay for the losses after an accident occurs (insurance).
    The first 2 are considered 'pre-loss' while the last is 'post-loss'. Pre-loss risk management is, typically, more effective than post-loss.

    The measures risk managers typically use to reduce exposure fall into the following catagories:
    Separation - The act of separating assets to prevent risk exposures.
    Duplication - The act of keeping unused backup copies of assets to prevent risk exposures.
    Avoidance - The act of avoiding some business operations with unacceptably high risk.
    Diversification - The act of diversifying business operations to prevent losses.
    Reduction - Any act to reduce risks. For example, wearing a seat belt should reduce the injuries resulting from a car accident.
    Prevention - Any act to prevent risks. For example, ensuring your tires have enough tread should prevent accidents.
    Retention - The act of consciously taking risks.
    Transfer - Transferring risk to an external third party.
    Frequency - What insurance companies look at when accessing risks. Basically, how often is it going to happen. For example, a major earthquake that occurs every 10 years and costs $10,000,000 in damages.
    Severity - What insurance companies look at when accessing risks. When it does happen how bad will it be. For example, a major earthquake that occurs every 10 years and costs $10,000,000 in damages.

    Effective risk management should extend to all employees and the more knowledgeable employees are the quicker & easier they can make decisions while reducing exposure.

    Hope that helps,

    P.S. I write a lot of content on my blog about risk management, some of it is technology specific while some is related to adventure tourism and insurance. amorphousprojects.com/blog/index.php?action=sea...

  • Be careful with humour

    by Alex Panzin,

    Your message is awaiting moderation. Thank you for participating in the discussion.

    "Promote humor and openness"

    Given that you mention Beyond Culture, you should not have added the promotion of humour. Openness and understanding of cultural differences in very important, but humour is subject to interpretation. Even the most light joke can lead to disasters. In fact, humour in a multicultural team is in itself a major risk.

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