Concepts of Collaboration - Considerations for Customers and Developers

Big me little team, little me big team:

CSDI operates on the principal that cooperation is better than competition. The premise is that our role, accomplishments, and compensation can be far greater in teams. Collaboration is cooperation - with an expectation of interdependence in learning and acting. Mission critical systems such as ships, planes, hospitals, and in certain ways, athletic teams evidence collaborative teamwork - which are often lucrative, high performance teamwork and profit making operations. Emergent, distributed collaboratives also require a dynamic group environments which reward cooperative action and discourage "gaming the system" for personal advantage. Our focus here is on the emergence of collaborative behaviors as the foundation for excellence in software manufacture.

First, Global Outsourcing is a complex and dynamic scenario of job surpluses and job shortages. Continued downward wage trends are likely.

Second, we believe commodification of IT stems from misconceptions about development. These systemic misconceptions need to be corrected. A counter-intuitive example is when we realize there are highly paid, highly experienced and competent people now unemployed. All too often, such work has been outsourced with no proof of the positive value of outsourcing.

Consider these two dimensions of outsourcing: First, we have to have accurate estimates on the return of that overseas investment. Second, there are tangible risks, such as corporate security risks with all overseas outsourcing. We are suggesting strongly that uncritical acceptance of the premise nearly all jobs can be outsourced --can fulfill the prophesy by failing to recognize, value, and employ the particular talents of highly skilled individuals resulting in 'de-skilling' of the individual or of the job description. The absence of the compelling explanations about the sophistication and talent of IT workers lies with the IT community. We need to work on it. ExamplesDeskilling

Third, we believe that in the IT industry, responsibility falls on everyone's shoulders if we want an ascendant future. If there is a downward commodification wage trend we want to get off that escalator. We do believe in working our way out of this situation and retaining a high wage and having a better job yet. Creative collaborative work is the means to work our way out of this situation..

Fourth, we believe there are several models already emerging for this new better paying, more secure workplace. Open Source is an excellent example, yet it is only one model. The IT industry has all of the resources, insight, models, methods, talent, and resolve to create this better IT. Our intent is to create better, more secure, higher paying jobs which provide higher unit value to the customer.

Fifth, we believe it is time to collaborate! Properly structured collaboration can offer a competitive advantage over use of mass-hired offshore teams. We recognize that overseas competition probably has a better sense of large scale collaboration than current onshore practice. The need to find ways of quickly building large scale functional teams is a problem collaboration is likely to be uniquely suited to resolve. Given the large amount of legacy, new, and customized code development that will still need to be done, it's likely that significant portions of the work could still be obtained. Customers now need believable demonstration of quick team formation and deployment. Given the 2009 economy, there is a sense of urgency.

Sixth, our commitment to this action oriented view stems from a desire to see value delivered to the customer, and our respective emphasis on improvement of team member's capabilities.