Investigating integration challenges and solutions in global software development

One of the major challenges of Global Software Development (GSD) is associated with overcoming integration problems that remain hidden throughout development and surface at the end of a project. Incompatibilities and other integration complexities can lead to extra costs, delays, lowered quality and even failure of a GSD project. A solid integration strategy can be an effective solution to overcome integration challenges, but this requires a good understanding of what causes failure and how the failures can be mitigated. The aim of this study is to investigate integration problems that occurred in different phases of GSD, and successful integration practices with their relative importance through an extensive literature review and a Delphi survey. As a result, a prioritized list of failure and success factors is obtained. The findings are applicable for planning new projects at an early stage of GSD or improving ongoing projects.