Knowledge and Contextual Information Management in Global Software Development: Challenges and Perspectives

Global Software development approach has become a reality with growing demand for complex software. However, this approach requires a greater attention because it demands additional coordination and communication among the distributed team members. So, tools and techniques to share information and knowledge generated by each team geographically dispersed are necessary. In this scenario, this position paper presents a set of challenges and opportunities for research in global software development (GSD). These challenges and opportunities are focused on contextual information management, knowledge management, performance management, socio-cultural aspects of GSD, and strategies to store and sharing data. They were mapped into a proposed research agenda with the following items: knowledge management in GSD projects; definition of mechanisms to support the capture of contextual information; use of cloud computing paradigm to store data generated; study of techniques for dealing with the contextual information; and establishment of performance dimensions to provide support for the decision maker that manages the distributed teams. The research agenda also includes strategies defined aiming to strengthen the partnership between university and industry. We believe that the collaboration between university and industry can contribute for the consolidation of the area in Brazil.