A Framework for Risk Management in Globally Distributed Agile Software Development (Agile GSD)

Global Software development (GSD) is gaining popularity as it helps in saving cost and reduces time to market. GSD faces various challenges like communication problems, time-zone differences and cultural differences. Agile principles are used as a means to increase production rate by making processes more responsive to change. Since success of using agile methodologies is dependent on communication and collaboration, combining agile with distributed development (Agile GSD) becomes a risky process. In the current literature, few research papers mention about the risk involved in globally distributed agile development process. This paper contributes by identifying some of the most relevant risk and suggesting risk mitigation strategies in the form of a framework for risk management for globally distributed agile development. The framework is created based on the literature available and the interviews of project managers and developers conducted in three software development organizations in Pune (India). Each component of the framework is discussed in the paper in detail. The research will be relevant for the project managers who are handling distribute agile projects. Keyword: Global Software Development. Agile methodologies, Scrum, eXtreme Programming, Risk Management