Distributed development
Distributed Development
Distributed Development can be described as a R&D project across locations, whereas all contributing pproject members and entities are together responsible for the outcome of the project. A distiributed developement project builds on common goals, shared information and real collaborative work, supported by mans of technology. The collaborative element of a distributed development project makes it different from a outsourcing initiative, the research element distinguishes it from a virtual team.
Distributed Development means three things:
1.) Location: People and or teams are distributed across locations and work on the same project or product. The reasons for the distribution do not matter, it could be either the availability of resources in different location, closeness to certain clusters, to customers or cost advanatges. Examples could be the production of an Airbus or or Boeing aircraft - those are usually done in multiple locations (though by the sam ecompany) and assempled finalli in one location.
2.) Collaboration: People might specialize in a distributed development environment, but they actively collaborate together to achieve the common goal. Of course there has to be a program lead or project head somehwere, but it is not an environement of an outsourced part of the overall development lifecycle, where people at one location wouldn't know what happens in the other locations. In an distributed environement, project mmebers share ideas, information and resources. To get back to the Aircarft example: The Airbus engineers in Hamburg know exactly whatthe colleague sin Tolouse are doing and they know this well beyond just the interfaces of the pieces they do.
3.) Responsiblity & Accountability: Everybody feels responsible for the achievement of the overall project goal. Nobody can succeed without everybody being successful. This is as well different from a typical outsourcing project, where every outsourced function just concentrates (and gets measured) against the actual goals & tasks of that function. This mandatory set-up makes people think about what the "other side" thinks and makes them collaborate and help each other. Again - Airbus in Hamburg can neve rbe successful, if the aircraft doesn't take off. Even if they produce the best fueselage and wings the world has ever seen - only if all togther it flies, they will be rewarded for success.
In summary, distributed development is the highest form of collaboration in any engineering and R&D environement. It is difficult to achieve, though as it normally relies on excellent organizational setup, an environement largely free of political battles and a highly efficient set-up. The top management needs to belive in the set-up and put measures in place to reward compliance and be strict against those who do not comply.
Success factors
There are three main success factors for a distribute ddevelopment project:
1.) Selecting and/or recruiting the right people.
2.) Spend some money of face-to-face meetings, specifically initially.
3.) Build an organizational design that supports working in an distributed development, including the right incentive systems
=> By doing that, one gets many advantages beyond pure outsourcing or offshoring, namely much higher motivated employees in all parts of the dirstibuted network, higher retention and certainly one gains from the diversity of the network.