Collaboration Change in Enterprise Software Development

Abstract

Enterprise software development is a complex effort that may last years. Enterprise software is often developed by a systems integrator that makes modifications to a pre-made package or builds tailored software for the specific purpose. The development may include many developer organizations, the user organization, and their different departments and sub-units. Their collaboration evolves through project incidents, phases and even crises. The practices of project management, communication, contracts, and ultimately personal relationships change intentionally or unintentionally. These changes may cause uncertainties and discontinuities for the development. This study observes changes during enterprise software development and their influence on collaboration practices in different situations. During twenty years of development both internal and external crises and changes in the business environment triggered changes in collaboration. The collaboration practices are classified with four modes of collaboration (contract, cooperation, personified, and process) that illustrate emphasis in collaboration in different circumstances.