RESUMEN

Distribution in software development projects is a complex phenomenon with many dimensions. In addition to the obvious physical dimension entailed by geographically dispersed project personnel and resources, projects must contend with organizational distribution among various company departments, for example, as well as temporal and stakeholder distributions. A review of the literature on globally distributed software development projects produced a preliminary taxonomy based on a dimensional analysis of distribution. Developers can use this taxonomy to identify and visualize their project's distribution dimensions and scopes. A real-world case study of the taxonomy's use illuminates its value, as well as common challenges and possible solutions to distribution problems.This article is part of a special issue on Global Software Development.