The consequences of Global Software Development (GSD) on software development processes are evolutionary. It has reshaped and reformed the traditional software development approaches. The preferences of the developers and priorities of the client have tremendously been changed. A set of new generation of processes, agile methodologies, has been appeared in response to the GSD. Many researchers have presented a good quality study on agile based methodologies. In this study we have discussed the work of the various researchers on GSD. A review of the prominent study ofthe researchers and practitioners on agile based methodologies is presented. The combined effects of both GSD and agile methodologies on overall software development paradigms are discussed. Based on the analysis of existing models and frameworks produced by the researchers and practitioners, the study suggests the future directions of the software development processes as required by the software industry. This study provides a guideline to the researchers and actual practitioners in formalizing and shaping up their future research works. Finally, the research findings emphasize on the need of applied and practical approaches of software development and contribution of the researchers in this regard. © 2011 Academic Journals Inc.