Out of sight but not out of mind? Informal networks, communication and media use in global software teams

Abstract

In an effort to reduce costs and improve staffing options, companies are going offshore to staff software projects. Although advances in communication technologies make it easier to share information, a growing number of studies have highlighted the disadvantages and hidden costs of distributed teams. This paper reports the results of a study that used social network analysis to study the informal communication patterns in three successful global software teams. The results indicated that technical leaders acted as brokers to coordinate work across tasks and sites in selforganizing sub-groups. Personal networks, awareness of tasks and accessibility influenced communication which in turn affected the social climate of the team. We discuss the implications of these results for technologies that support awareness and for management practices, especially in globally distributed work contexts. Copyright © 2007 Klarissa Chang and IBM Corp.