This presentation has been given at ICGSE '13, Bari, Italy. We revisit the factors that engender trust in global systems engineering teams and discuss implications for research

1. Revisiting the Factors that Engender
Trust of Global Systems Engineers
University of California, Irvine
Ban Al-Ani
David Redmiles
PUCRS University, Brazil
Sabrina Marczak
Rafael Prikladnicki
International Conference on Global Software Engineering
August 26-29, 2013
Bari, Italy

2. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our previous study
• An investigation about communication,
distribution of tasks, and leadership in GSD
• 16 participants
• single multinational organization
2

3. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our previous study 3
4
{balani|redmiles}@ics.uci.edu
Seq.PurposeInterviewFramework
ParticipantBackground
(education,experience…etc)
ProjectA:Collocated
ProjectDescriptionsand
TeamStructure
ProjectB:Distributed
ProjectDecomposition
andTaskAssignment
Communication
Leadership
SocialBehaviorandTool
Support
Establish the following:
1.! Demographics,
2.! Participant
terminology,
3.! Points of reference,
4.! Comparative
evaluation,
5.! Problem domain.
Gain understanding
1.! How developers
identify tasks,
2.! How tasks are
allocated to
developers,
3.! Challenges.
Investigate:
1.! Models,
2.! Types,
3.! Efficiency
and
effectiveness
What impact
does the
locality of the
leader have on
team
dynamics?
How do
developers
exchange ideas?

4. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our previous study 3
4
{balani|redmiles}@ics.uci.edu
Seq.PurposeInterviewFramework
ParticipantBackground
(education,experience…etc)
ProjectA:Collocated
ProjectDescriptionsand
TeamStructure
ProjectB:Distributed
ProjectDecomposition
andTaskAssignment
Communication
Leadership
SocialBehaviorandTool
Support
Establish the following:
1.! Demographics,
2.! Participant
terminology,
3.! Points of reference,
4.! Comparative
evaluation,
5.! Problem domain.
Gain understanding
1.! How developers
identify tasks,
2.! How tasks are
allocated to
developers,
3.! Challenges.
Investigate:
1.! Models,
2.! Types,
3.! Efficiency
and
effectiveness
What impact
does the
locality of the
leader have on
team
dynamics?
How do
developers
exchange ideas?
team size, distribution

5. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our previous study 3
4
{balani|redmiles}@ics.uci.edu
Seq.PurposeInterviewFramework
ParticipantBackground
(education,experience…etc)
ProjectA:Collocated
ProjectDescriptionsand
TeamStructure
ProjectB:Distributed
ProjectDecomposition
andTaskAssignment
Communication
Leadership
SocialBehaviorandTool
Support
Establish the following:
1.! Demographics,
2.! Participant
terminology,
3.! Points of reference,
4.! Comparative
evaluation,
5.! Problem domain.
Gain understanding
1.! How developers
identify tasks,
2.! How tasks are
allocated to
developers,
3.! Challenges.
Investigate:
1.! Models,
2.! Types,
3.! Efficiency
and
effectiveness
What impact
does the
locality of the
leader have on
team
dynamics?
How do
developers
exchange ideas?
team size, distribution
project types

6. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our previous study 3
4
{balani|redmiles}@ics.uci.edu
Seq.PurposeInterviewFramework
ParticipantBackground
(education,experience…etc)
ProjectA:Collocated
ProjectDescriptionsand
TeamStructure
ProjectB:Distributed
ProjectDecomposition
andTaskAssignment
Communication
Leadership
SocialBehaviorandTool
Support
Establish the following:
1.! Demographics,
2.! Participant
terminology,
3.! Points of reference,
4.! Comparative
evaluation,
5.! Problem domain.
Gain understanding
1.! How developers
identify tasks,
2.! How tasks are
allocated to
developers,
3.! Challenges.
Investigate:
1.! Models,
2.! Types,
3.! Efficiency
and
effectiveness
What impact
does the
locality of the
leader have on
team
dynamics?
How do
developers
exchange ideas?
team size, distribution
project types
types of leader

7. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our previous study 4
Trust
ProjectA:Collocated
ProjectDescriptionsand
TeamStructure
ProjectB:Distributed
Leadership
Communication
SocialBehaviorandTool
Support

8. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Trust 5
positive expectations

9. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Trust 5
managing expectations
positive expectations

10. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our previous study
• The issue of trust was raised by respondents:
• Team size: large teams
• Project type: innovative or new product
• Team diversity: high diversity
• Leadership: strong leadership
6

11. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
An example 7

12. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
An example 7
X are very impatient to
leave when it is the
end of the working day
[in their country].

13. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
An example 7
X are very impatient to
leave when it is the
end of the working day
[in their country].
Y have a tendency to talk
longer

14. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
An example 7
X are very impatient to
leave when it is the
end of the working day
[in their country].
Y have a tendency to talk
longer
“you don’t need to know this part
of the code you wouldn’t
understand it”

15. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
An example 7
X are very impatient to
leave when it is the
end of the working day
[in their country].
Y have a tendency to talk
longer
“you don’t need to know this part
of the code you wouldn’t
understand it”“engineers in X feel they are
superior and a level of
arrogance. With this comes
a level of mistrust of us”

16. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Why is this important?
• Think about collaboration without trust:
• Double checking
• Working on isolation
• Reluctance to share information
8

17. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
We needed more...
• Future work of our previous study:
• To extend the field study to investigate
trust more in-depth
9

18. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our current goal
• To understand the factors that engender
the development of trust in GSE teams
10

19. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our new study
• Focused solely on trust
• 71 participants
• 5 multinational organizations
• Distribution across 2 to 11 sites
11

20. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Interview script 12

21. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Interview script 13

22. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our new findings
• Confirmation
• Team size: large teams
• Project type: innovative
• Team diversity: high diversity
• Leadership: strong leadership
14

23. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our new findings
• Confirmation
• Team size: large teams
• Project type: innovative
• Team diversity: high diversity
• Leadership: strong leadership
14

24. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our new findings
• Confirmation
• Team size: large teams
• Project type: innovative
• Team diversity: high diversity
• Leadership: strong leadership
14

25. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our new findings
• Confirmation
• Team size: large teams
• Project type: innovative
• Team diversity: high diversity
• Leadership: strong leadership
14

26. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our new findings
• Confirmation
• Team size: large teams
• Project type: innovative
• Team diversity: high diversity
• Leadership: strong leadership
14

27. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Team size 15
Trust is more likely to be an issue of concern to
developers working in large distributed teams

28. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Team size
“you know, there is probably a maximum number of
people you can know”
15
Trust is more likely to be an issue of concern to
developers working in large distributed teams
“it is important to have a sense of belonging to
the team”
“in distributed teams, you have to trust at least one
person outside, one from each site”

29. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Diversity 16
Trust is more likely to be an issue the greater
the [cultural] diversity of the team’s distribution

30. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Diversity
“we had issues with the remote colleagues, they do respect working
hours rigidly, I don’t think they have this sense of urgency”
16
Trust is more likely to be an issue the greater
the [cultural] diversity of the team’s distribution
“if I look at my US team, it’s a culturally diverse
team anyway”
“I suppose there are cultural differences, but people are
different too.We have to get to know a colleague”

31. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Leadership 17
Trust is more readily granted to an authoritative
team member characterized by leadership
qualities within a distributed team

32. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Leadership
“I guess it is not about the position itself, it is about them
having information and knowledge that I do not have”
17
Trust is more readily granted to an authoritative
team member characterized by leadership
qualities within a distributed team
“if I know managers from different sites are
arguing, this affects me”
“you just have to trust that managers will make the
decisions needed despite where there are”

33. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Our new findings
• New factors
• Communication medium
• Time
• Previous experience working together
18

34. B.Al-Ani, S. Marczak, R. Prikladnicki, and D. Redmiles
Contributions
• GSE team formation, leadership and
management
• Research community building
• Tool development
19

35. Thank you for your attention!
Questions?
Comments?
Suggestions?
Sabrina Marczak
PUCRS
sabrina.marczak@pucrs.br
Presented by
Ban Al-Ani
UCI
balani@ics.uci.edu
Main contact for this work
International Conference on Global Software Engineering
August 26-29, 2013
Bari, Italy