Supporting Networked Software Development

A networked software development effort is any software development effort that is carried out through a network of multiple, heterogeneous organizations. A core constant behind a networked software development scenario is the emergence of development communities, i.e., social networks across which certain conditions and organizational/social arrangements are constantly true, either explicitly (i.e. enforced by a managing body) or by emergence (e.g. as a consequence of contextual conditions and other emerging relations). Producing software better in these conditions means researching the organizational and social structures behind networked communities, to find means that support their key characteristics. This book offers the state of the art in organizational and social structures, investigating organizations research and social network analysis, later discussing mechanisms to support such structures for networked development.