Cultural patterns in software process mishaps

Abstract

This paper describes a current and ongoing research project being conducted at the University of British Columbia, Canada. The paper begins by briefly describing past anthropological and sociological culture research. This research will inform our current exploration into the issues surrounding culture and its role in Global Software Development efforts. It then clarifies why this research is particularly important. The paper continues with a description of the current phase of this research, which is an exploratory qualitative approach rooted in Grounded Theory, and of the next phase, which will be a more quantitative approach looking at specific "problem areas" that were identified during the first phase.