Coordination technologies

Abstract

Coordination technologies improve the ability of individuals and groups to coordinate their efforts in the context of the broader, overall goal of completing one or more software development projects. Different coordination technologies have emerged over time with the objective of reducing both the number of occurrences of coordination problems as well as the impact of any occurrences that remain. This chapter introduces the Coordination Pyramid, a framework that provides an overarching perspective on the state of the art in coordination technology. The Coordination Pyramid explicitly recognizes several paradigm shifts that have taken place to date, as prompted by technological advancements and changes in organizational and product structure. These paradigm shifts have strongly driven the development of new generations of coordination technology, each enabling new forms of coordination practices to emerge and bringing with it increasingly effective tools through which developers coordinate their day-to-day activities.