1Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Deepak ModgilConfiguration Management EngineerSymbian Ltd
Distributed Development at Symbian
2Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Outline• Introduction
… Company Profile
… Export Control and Intellectual Property
• Offshore Software Development Outsourcing… Why Go Offshore
… Why India
… Journey and Evolution of Symbian India
• Challenges Faced with Distributed Development… Communication/Cultural/Language
… HR
… IT Infrastructure
… Training
… Perforce• Symbian’s Perforce Service
• Symbian OS™ Development Process
• What Makes It Successful?
3Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Symbian Ltd
• Develops and licenses the Symbian OS
…the leading mobile operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones (aka Smartphones), to the world’s leading handset
manufacturers
4Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Symbian Ltd
• Founded in 1998 as a private independent company, Symbian was a spinout from Psion Software and had 120 staff
• Symbian is privately owned by the major telecoms players: Ericsson, Nokia, Panasonic, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Ericsson
• As of August 2006 Symbian employs 1,300 with 1,000 Software Engineers across global sites
5Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Redwood CityStaff: 8
London & CambridgeStaff: 890
RonnebyStaff: 139
TokyoStaff: 27
Symbian Development Sites & Offices
Bangalore,IndiaStaff: 246
Sydney,Australia
Beijing, China
Seoul,South Korea
• Figures relate to 05 May 2006• Offices in italics indicate representative offices.• Employee numbers include contract and non-permanent staff
Vancouver,Canada
Tel Aviv,Israel
6Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Export Control & Intellectual Property
• Symbian success depends on overseas market
• Symbian OS contains code relating to and enabling cryptography
• Export licence needed to deliver Symbian OS outside of the EU
• Additional issues include Intellectual Property Rights, Configuration Management and Contractual Agreements
7Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Why go Offshore?
• Rapid growth in Europe during 2002 to meet increasing customer demands and ‘take off’ of the Ecosystem (3rd party community)
…It is becoming harder to cope domestically
…Economies of scale
• Decision taken to look at offshore options to complement existing sites and to:
…Increase risk control
…Broaden access to a global talent base
…Take advantage of time differences
…Deliver more functionality whilst maintaining the same cost base
8Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Why India?
• Deep pool of engineering talent
• Off shoring well established for IT services
• Risk and 3rd party acceptability
• Symbian already have an existing strong partnerships in India
…Keen to capitalize on this and to grow more
• Solid process capability, many companies at CMML5/CMMI
9Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Symbian’s India Offshore Journey
2001
First proposals on offshore use
2 offshore vendors tested for onshore work
Offshore site established with40 staff working on future OS projects
Offshore site ramp up to 150+ staff
Symbian India subsidiary established
2002 2003 2004 2005
10Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
India Site - Evolution
• Staged approach going from maintenance focus to independent development
Responsibility
Maintenance Co-development Independent Development
Time
Accumulated competencies within SODC
• Basic understanding• Project Management skills• Quality systems• Predictability
• Scalability of low level skill sets• Stability
• Functional understanding• Co-design skills• Higher rate of acceptance• Seamless global development
• Critical domain knowledge• Independent design skills• Specialized streams of
technology
• Ability to define and lead
11Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Challenges with India
• Problem: Communication
…Time Zone
…Culture, Language and Education
…Personal Contact
• Solution: Communication Improved
…Applications such as IM and video conferencing
…Increased visits
…Personal introductions
…Internal switchboard implemented
12Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Challenges with India
• Problem: Human Resources
… Vendors own resources assigned to tasks
… Resources having lack of knowledge of Symbian
… Different recruitment policy, criteria and requirements
… Staff turnover
• Solution: Symbian HR Team Created
… Formal Symbian interview process and criteria introduced
• Employment key requirements
… Fair and equal employment policy
• Rewards and bonuses
• Working conditions and respect
13Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Challenges with India• Problem: IT Infrastructure
… Vendors own network and IS resources
• Poor network performance – slow and unreliable
• Integration issues with Perforce
• Solution 1: Perforce Proxy Introduced
… Little improvement in performance
• Solution 2: Symbian IS Network Implemented
… Symbian IS staff in India
… Larger network link with lower latency
• Productive network dependant tasks
• Perforce sync times reduced by half
14Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Challenges with India
• Problem: Training
… Vendor responsible for providing training
• External trainer - Not enough knowledge on Symbian OS/tools
• “Training the Trainer”
• Lack of interaction - Seriousness of training not understood
… IP/Export control
• Limited access to training materials
• Solution: Symbian Technical Training Team Created
… New trainer put through intensive Symbian training
… More access to training materials
… Bootcamp setup for new starters and graduates
15Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Symbian’s Perforce Service
Symbian/ UIQ Sweden P4 server
Symbian IndiaP4 Proxy
Sub contractor company -CanadaP4 Proxy
Symbian UK domain
3rd party/sub contractor companies
Symbian Japan
P4 Servers
16Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Symbian OS Development Process
Development
Deliver
Master
Integrations
Quality
17Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Symbian OS Development Process
All managed by a Software Change
Control Board
MCL contains all supported platforms
which are maintained in parallel
Files are held in the Master Codleline which is
over 2 gigabytes
Contains 300,000 files in 16,000 directories
18Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Challenges with India
• Problem: Perforce Access
…Poor network link
…Contractual restrictions on Symbian OS
• Limited access to Perforce repository
• A separate area in Perforce created
• Additional protection masks in protection table
…Increased Perforce user base
• Not enough Perforce training
• Inexperienced users working with Perforce
• Increased overhead on UK teams to populate MCL
19Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Challenges with India
• Solution 1: OGEL Licence received from DTI
…Established formal procedure for exporting under licence
• Record deliveries of Symbian OS by info from Perforce
• ODC still had limited access to source code
• Redefine and reengineer work done by ODC
20Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Challenges with India
• Solution 2: Symbian India established
… Export/3rd party source agreements signed
… Direct submissions to MCL now possible from India
• Staggered approach to MCL submissions
• Handful of teams selected to submit to MCL
• CM plans written and understood by UK and India teams
• MCL submissions policed/approved by the UK Build and Integration teams
…Special ‘shared’ codeline created
• Allowed sharing of file independent of geographical location
• Codeline free of restricted software
21Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
So What Makes It Successful?
• Before You Start
…Tools, practices and processes have to be well defined and implemented at UK location
…Time, patience and perseverance is a key to success.
…Strategy has to be well defined before moving forward
…Greater attention given to Project and Risk Management
…Planning is imperative
…Use a ‘staged approach’
…Be ready to review and move forward or review and try again.
22Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
So What Makes It Successful?
• Formation of Distributed Development Site
…Set a common development environment
…Set an infrastructure for collaborative sessions
…Give a 360 degree view of project information
…Establish and support relationships
23Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Final Remarks
• Software development is now a global multi-site and multiculturally distributed
• Managers and employees face new challenges on many levels not only technical, but also cultural and social differences
• To make global sites work you need to be able to connect to resources globally
24Copyright
�
2006 Symbian Ltd.
Thank You!
Questions?
Please forward all further comments and questions to: