Research review : globally distributed requirements engineering and agility

Getting requirements right is considered the most important and difficult part of the software development process. As organizations and stakeholders become more globally distributed, getting requirements right will pose a greater challenge. Today, organizations are offered a sophisticated array of multimedia meeting systems with video, audio and computer support for remotely specifying requirements. In the context of present day's global workforce scenario, distributed requirements engineering is now being explored by researchers as well as industry to build an understanding of the dynamics of this highly interactive phase in a globally distributed context. Accordingly, this paper addresses the timely need of reviewing the literature on globally distributed requirements engineering. Findings highlight paucity of literature in this area. Additionally, the paper presents an innovative approach to globally distributed requirements engineering by reviewing the literature on the applicability of agile development approach in a globally distributed setting. Contributing to academic and practitioner literature, the author discusses emerging directions for future research in this area.