The Next Generation of Software Development

The Delphi Report
By
Thomas The Next Generation
Koulopoulos
of SoftwareFounder
Delphi Group Development
How Globalization and Sourcing are Creating a
New Playbook for Software Developers
We have a tiger by the tail. Software EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
development has taken off in the last Sourcing relationships that rely on distributed global softwaredecade as global demand and talent development teams have been increasing in every industry. Yet,according to many estimates, nearly half of these relationshipshave spiked. Like most tigers, this sour, falling far short of expectations. How can a multi-billion dol-lar industry have such an abysmal rate of success? The answer liesone is roaring, tugging violently at in the brute force methods used to date to try to both estimate andits captor to escape. But if we let it measure the processes of distributed software development.
The primitive approaches used by many sourcing providers, andgo without the tools to control it our software developers in general, not only rely primarily on antiquat-quandary is clear. So here we are ed methods to scope out projects but also fail to put into placesophisticated real time metrics to assess the progress and productiv-holding onto its enormous potential, ity of future software development. SLAs (Service Level Agreements),post-mortems, and project management systems, as well as seat-of-keeping it tethered as we wonder the-pants intuition had their place in the first generation of sourc-ing, but they are as out of place in today's software developmentwhat to do next! environment as an 18th Century craftsman in a modern day manu-facturing plant. Moving to the next generation of software development and sourc-ing requires moving from art to science. Given how dependent weare on software as a foundation for every product and service, any-thing less creates a climate of risk, uncertainty, and unjustifiablecosts that undermines our ability to compete in a global market-place.1 ©2007 Delphi GroupThe Delphi Report
grammers in India, Russia, Eastern Europe and theThe Emergence of a Pacific Rim. That hasn't changed much throughout the growth ofNew Model for Global the software development offshoring phenomenon.Delphi's research shows that cost is still the singleSoftware Development greatest factor in making a sourcing decision for soft-ware development. Although the idea of Marshall Mcluhan's global village However, while the immediate savings and the avail-goes back nearly fifty years, it is not until recently that ability of developers continue to play a vital role in thewe have started to realize the true potential of moving attraction to global software development there is awork electronically across the globe to have it done in growing realization that these benefits will be fleetingwhatever location and by whatever talent it is best at best and an outright illusion at worst. suited for. This trend to move work to Global teams create levels of complexi-wherever it can be most economically ty in management, metrics, and produc-accomplished is undoubtedly the single For many companies today, tivity that come with a high price, some-greatest innovation of our generation. it's not only about outsourc- times offsetting the savings predicted.Nowhere is this more keenly felt than Recent studies show that these hiddenthe arena of software product develop- ing so-called "non-core" expenses can eat up more than half ofment. The advent of the Internet, open- functions-it's about out- the cost savings in offshore develop-source development environments, ment efforts. universally adopted programming lan- sourcing product innovation At the same time there is mountingguages and standardized computing itself. pressure to improve the predictabilityplatforms have almost overnight and productivity of software develop-altered software development from a ment overall, no matter where thefairly contained and localized effort to one that criss- development is taking place.crosses the globe. The challenge in both cases, offshore and onshore,Software developers need a new playbook; one that lies in the growing complexity of software develop-recognizes the critical importance of global partner- ment. We have, in many ways, exceeded the capacitysh... [download for more]