Comunicação e coordenação em equipes virtuais de Desenvolvimento Distribuído de Software (DDS): um estudo de caso múltiplo

Abstract

The technological revolution has transformed contemporary work, particularly in the software industry, driving the adoption of the Distributed Software Development (DSD) model. This model is characterized by the collaboration of geographically dispersed teams, cost reduction, and improved time-to-market response. Increasingly, companies have been adopting the distributed work model, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating this trend and leading to the creation of new team arrangements and challenges in communication and coordination. This study aims to "Understand the challenges and practices of communication and coordination in different virtual team arrangements in DSD projects.". It is a qualitative research with an inductive and exploratory approach, using a multiple case study to analyze communication and coordination challenges and practices in two DSD projects with hybrid and remote team arrangements. The study analyzed indicators and historical messages from Slack, as well as conducted interviews with project members. Data analysis involved the execution of simple statistical operations, Text Mining, and thematic analysis. The results revealed the identification of 15 communication challenges, 16 coordination challenges, 22 communication practices, and 36 coordination practices. The findings conclude that the projects share similar challenges and practices, with differences attributed to project context, the project management approach adopted, and team structure, rather than the type of team arrangement. Furthermore, one of the key findings highlights that awareness represents a central challenge in these projects, and communication platforms such as Slack demonstrate potential in facilitating situational awareness, contributing to more effective communication and coordination in DSD projects.