Abstract
This paper examines dimensions of social capital in the distributed collaborative development of the
UK particle physics Grid. It is shown that the GridPP project effectively draws upon social capital
rooted in the tradition and culture of particle physics experiments, characterized with trust, equality,
shared vision, collaboration, and pragmatism. These factors contribute to overcoming the challenges
in the creation and sharing of knowledge in the development of the Grid, a cutting-edge technology
that has to be delivered as a working system with limited time and resources. This case sheds lights
on, and provides a good example of, the importance of social capital in distributed systems
development.
Recommended Citation
Zheng, Yingqin; Venters, Will; and Cornford, Tony, "Understanding agility in software development through a complex adaptive systems perspective" (2009). ECIS 2009 Proceedings. 150.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2009/150