Managing Requirements in Globally Distributed COTS Customization

In today's world of internationally connected software labor and consumer markets, globally distributed software development (GSD) is common. It is well documented that global requirements engineering (GRE) activities are challenging. However, there is no silver bullet to address these challenges and in practice GRE methods are generally contextualized to suit project characteristics. An important context that has received little attention from researchers is the increasingly popular Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) product customization. This paper offers insights into GRE in the context of a COTS customization with globally distributed client and vendor teams. An exploratory case study approach is taken to understand the GRE activities in this situation. A detailed process model is developed from analyses of interview data and relevant artifacts. Insights and challenges particular to the global and COTS aspects of the project are identified. This suggests some implications for practitioners and researchers working in global COTS customization projects.