Outsourcing as an Economic Development Tool in Transition Economies: Scattered Global Software Development

Abstract

In transition economies, information and communication technology (ICT) is vital for successful companies and may compensate for an underdeveloped infrastructure and lack of resources. The development of complex ICT systems requires skilled ICT professionals who are often difficult to acquire. In this paper, we address this specific issue of transition economies and propose a novel global software development approach that aims to compensate for the lack of skilled ICT professionals by outsourcing independent development tasks globally to remote developers. The proposed approach was empirically tested in a pilot study at three different locations at University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. The test demonstrated the feasibility of the approach and indicated that task specification quality and developer skills are important success factors. The findings of the pilot study are primarily relevant for software development companies in transition economies even though the approach may also be applicable in other settings where lack of locally accessible skilled ICT professionals is present.

Keywords:

• outsourcing
• global software development
• transition economies
• information and communication technology

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Cyprian Laskowski for expert proof-reading. We are grateful to the special issue editors and the four anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and constructive suggestions.

Notes on contributors

Simon L. R. Vrhovec is Junior Researcher at the University of Ljubljana. His research interests include IT project management, resistance to IT change, end user training, information systems development methodologies, global software development, and agile methods.

Marina Trkman is a PhD student. Her main research focus is gathering requirements in agile development projects.

Aleš Kumer is Assistant Lecturer at the Laboratory for Data Technologies at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Computer and Information Science. His research interests include data integration, data cleansing, NoSQL databases, big data, business intelligence, and information systems.

Marjan Krisper received the M.Sc. in Information Systems Engineering from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 1977, and the Ph.D. in Expert Systems from University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1989. He is an associate professor, the Chair of Information Science and the Head of Information Systems Laboratory at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Computer and Information Science. His research interests include information systems, information systems development methodologies, information systems strategic planning, and electronic business. He is a member of Association for Information Systems and a senior member of Project Management Institute Slovenian Chapter.

Damjan Vavpotič is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Computer and Information Science at the University of Ljubljana and a member of the Information Systems Laboratory at the same university. His research interests include information systems development methodologies, IS methodology evaluation and adoption, and evaluation of e-learning and IT in pedagogical processes. His research has appeared in journals such as Information and Software Technology, Nurse Education Today, Informatica, Computer Science and Information Systems, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, and in proceedings of many international conferences.