Minimizing the Challenges of Risk Management in Distributed IT Projects: The Importance of the Alignment of Strategic, Tactical, and Operational Levels

Abstract

Distributed IT projects exhibit certain features that make them fundamentally different from traditional colocated projects, not only involving additional steps and decisions, but also impacting the risk management process. The goal of this chapter is to discuss these impacts and to suggest the development of an integrated risk management process taking into account site dispersion, time-zone difference, and cultural boundaries not only at the operational but also at the tactical and strategic level. We also report results of an exploratory case study conducted in a software development center (a Brazilian subsidiary of a U.S. corporation) in support of such a model, and conclude with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications of our work.