A Reference Model for Global Software Development

The objective of this paper is to propose a reference model for global software development, based on the results found in a case study conducted in two software development units from multinational organizations located in Brazil. Since the number of organizations distributing their software development processes worldwide keeps increasing, this change is having a profound impact on the way products are conceived, designed, constructed, tested, and delivered to customers. The focus of this study is to understand the factors that enable multinationals and virtual corporations to operate successfully across geographic and cultural boundaries. Lessons learned and reference model are presented. Moreover, part of this model is being implemented in one of the organizations studied, and a preliminary evaluation is made.