169 The Anatomy-Centric Approach Towards Managing Complex Projects Chapter 10 The purpose of this chapter is to describe and discuss the anatomy-centric approach towards coordinating complex development projects. The content of the chapter is mainly based on my empirical experience from Ericsson. The development of a telecom system must deal with a multitude of technical, market related, cultural and organizational interdependencies. Most often, this requires mutual adjustment across many types of boundaries (Adler, 1999). For example, telecom systems are to a great extent implemented in software and developed on a global basis. The interest in distributed software development 1 has increased due to factors such as reduced costs, the access to well-educated labor pools, the possibility of 24-hour develop- ment, global presence, and proximity to customers (e.g. Battin, Crocker, Kreidler, & Subramanian, 2001; Damian, 2003; Ebert & De Neve, 2001; Gorton & Motwani, 1996; Heeks, Krishna, Nicholson, & Sahay, 2001; Herbsleb & Moitra, 2001; Karlsson, Andersson, & Leion, 2000; Komi-Sirviö & Tihinen, 2005; Kraut & Streeter, 1995; McChesney & Gallagher, 2004; Ovaska, Rossi, & Marttiin, 2003; Prikladnicki, Audy, & Evaristo, 2003; Sakthivel, 2005). Many challenges already present in centralized software development are aggravated by the distribu- tion. At the core of these challenges lies the issue of coordination. "While there is no single cause of the software crisis, a major contributor is the problem of coordinating activities while developing large software systems" (Kraut & Streeter, 1995, p. 69). The anatomy-centric approach is one possible answer to these challenges. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-192-6.ch010 Copyright © 2010, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.