The Effects of Collaborative Skills and Culture in International Computer-Supported Collaborations

University Of North Texas, Denton TX

Investigators

Abstract

This research project proposes to study the programming productivity of global software teams from the dual perspectives of cultural variability and collaborative skills. Based on these two dynamics, the PIs will develop a framework, determine its validity and then establish the relative importance of cultural forces and collaborative skills on global team performance. An international research team of faculty at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea are participating in this project. The three universities will set up global teams of undergraduate students doing joint programming tasks. Students will use a synchronous groupware system (with asynchronous communications capabilities, also) for their tasks. This research should provide useful insights into how to manage globally dispersed software development projects and the specific dynamics affecting global team performance, contributing to the theoretically motivated empirical studies on these topics.