Distributed development

A distributed development project is a research and development (R&D) project that is done across multiple business worksites or locations. It is a form of R&D where the project members may not see each other face to face, but they are all working collaboratively toward the outcome of the project. Often this is done through email, the Internet and other forms of quick long-distance communication. Distributed development was largely pioneered by the open-source software community.

It is different from outsourcing because all of the organizations are working together on an equal level, instead of one organization subcontracting the work to another. It is similar to a virtual team but with a research element.