Challenges in Distributed Software Development: A Systematic Review

In an increasingly connected and technologically advanced world, Distributed Software Development has gained considerable prominence due to its ability to utilize the talent, experience, and resources of geographically distributed teams. However, this development approach can also result in a number of problems caused by distance and a lack of communication. In this article, we have put together a systematic review that aims to identify the main problems when working with Distributed Software Development, as well as their possible solutions. The search was conducted in three different databases, and included only studies published after and including the year of 2020. After applying the selection criteria, 25 studies were selected and analyzed, we found that the main problems were project management, bad communication and geographical distance. We could also found that the main solutions listed were tools for improving communication and use of agile methodologies. These results suggest that the biggest difficulty in working with distributed projects is project management, and this is what solutions should be focus on.