Application of Social Network Theory to Software Development: The problem of task allocation

Chintan Amrit

2005

Abstract

To systematize software development, many process models have been proposed over the years. These models focus on the sequence of steps used by developers to create reliable software. Though these process-models have helped companies to gain certification and attain global standards, they don’t take into account interpersonal interactions and various other social aspects of software development organizations. In this paper we tackle one crucial part of the Coordination problem in Software Development, namely the problem of task assignment in a team. We propose a methodology to test a hypothesis based on how social networks can be used to improve coordination in Software Industry. In a pilot case study based on 4 teams of Masters Student working in a globally distributed environment (Holland and India), the social network structures along with the task distribution in each of the teams were analyzed. In each case we observed patterns, which could be used to test many hypotheses on team coordination and task allocation between them.

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Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Amrit C. (2005). Application of Social Network Theory to Software Development: The problem of task allocation . In Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Computer Supported Activity Coordination - Volume 1: CSAC, (ICEIS 2005) ISBN 972-8865-21-X, pages 3-17. DOI: 10.5220/0002576500030017


in Bibtex Style

@conference{csac05,
author={Chintan Amrit},
title={Application of Social Network Theory to Software Development: The problem of task allocation},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Computer Supported Activity Coordination - Volume 1: CSAC, (ICEIS 2005)},
year={2005},
pages={3-17},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0002576500030017},
isbn={972-8865-21-X},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Computer Supported Activity Coordination - Volume 1: CSAC, (ICEIS 2005)
TI - Application of Social Network Theory to Software Development: The problem of task allocation
SN - 972-8865-21-X
AU - Amrit C.
PY - 2005
SP - 3
EP - 17
DO - 10.5220/0002576500030017