'Negotiating Knowledge': The Case of a Russian-Norwegian Software Outsourcing Project

This paper presents an empirical analysis of a global software development relationship between a Norwegian client and Russian contractor for the redesign of a payroll system called SalarySystem. The empirical analysis, which involved multiple visits to both the Russian and Norwegian sites and meetings and interviews with people from different levels involved with the system, revealed some interesting insights into how the project was initiated, how it nearly degenerated into a breakdown situation, and how learning took place and the project was first salvaged and then was grown. The theoretical notion of embedded knowledge (Nicholson and Sahay 2004) is drawn upon, and extended to describe features of embedding arising from domain, language, and project management issues. Four mechanisms through which this embedding was negotiated are discussed: use of TestTool; use of test cases; use of ICQ; and increased face to face interaction.