Title: Exploring the communication behaviour among global software development learners

Authors: Fatma Cemile Serce, Kathleen M. Swigger, Ferda Nur Alpaslan, Robert Brazile, George Dafoulas, Victor Lopez-Cabrera

Addresses: Information Systems Engineering, Atilim University, 06836 Incek Golbasi Ankara – Turkey. ' Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311366, Denton, TX 76203-5017, USA. ' Department of Computer Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. ' Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311366, Denton, TX 76203-5017, USA. ' School of Engineering and Information Sciences, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, London NW4 4BT, UK. ' Facultad de Ingenieria de Sistemas Computacionales, Universidad Tecnologica de Panama, Apartado Postal: 0819-07289, Panama City, Panama

Abstract: This study examines communication behaviours in global software learning teams. Using a coding scheme developed in previous research (Curtis and Lawson, 2001), the paper characterises communication behaviours of students engaged in a software development project. The paper reports the results of two pilot projects done with students in USA, England, Turkey and Panama. Through content analysis we identify distinct patterns of interactions and examine how these patterns are associated with task, culture, or performance. Our results suggest that communication patterns among global software learners may be related to task type, culture and levels of performance.

Keywords: global software development; collaborative learning; e-learning; distributed learning; electronic learning; online learning; communication behaviour; students; USA; UK; United Kingdom; United States; Turkey; Panama; software projects; software learners; task types; culture; performance levels.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.2011.039141

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 2011 Vol.40 No.3, pp.203 - 215

Published online: 18 Mar 2011 *

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