15,807 research outputs found
Estimating, planning and managing Agile Web development projects under a value-based perspective
Context: The processes of estimating, planning and managing are crucial for software development projects,
since the results must be related to several business strategies. The broad expansion of the Internet
and the global and interconnected economy make Web development projects be often characterized by
expressions like delivering as soon as possible, reducing time to market and adapting to undefined
requirements. In this kind of environment, traditional methodologies based on predictive techniques
sometimes do not offer very satisfactory results. The rise of Agile methodologies and practices has
provided some useful tools that, combined with Web Engineering techniques, can help to establish a
framework to estimate, manage and plan Web development projects.
Objective: This paper presents a proposal for estimating, planning and managing Web projects, by
combining some existing Agile techniques with Web Engineering principles, presenting them as an
unified framework which uses the business value to guide the delivery of features.
Method: The proposal is analyzed by means of a case study, including a real-life project, in order to obtain
relevant conclusions.
Results: The results achieved after using the framework in a development project are presented, including
interesting results on project planning and estimation, as well as on team productivity throughout the
project.
Conclusion: It is concluded that the framework can be useful in order to better manage Web-based
projects, through a continuous value-based estimation and management process.Ministerio de EconomĂa y Competitividad TIN2013-46928-C3-3-
Management Strategies for Adopting Agile Methods of Software Development in Distributed Teams
Between 2003 and 2015, more than 61% of U.S. software development teams failed to satisfy project requirements, budgets, or timelines. Failed projects cost the software industry an estimated 60 billion dollars. Lost opportunities and misused resources are often the result of software development leaders failing to implement appropriate methods for managing software projects. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies software development managers use in adopting Agile methodology in the context of distributed teams. The tenets of Agile approach are individual interaction over tools, working software over documentation, and collaboration over a contract. The conceptual framework for the study was adapting Agile development methodologies. The targeted population was software development managers of U.S.-based companies located in Northern California who had successfully adopted Agile methods for distributed teams. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 5 managers and a review of project-tracking documentation and tools. Data analysis included inductive coding of transcribed interviews and evaluation of secondary data to identify themes through methodological triangulation. Findings indicated that coaching and training of teams, incremental implementation of Agile processes, and proactive management of communication effectiveness are effective strategies for adopting Agile methodology in the context of distributed teams. Improving the efficacy of Agile adoption may translate to increased financial stability for software engineers across the world as well as accelerate the successful development of information systems, thereby enriching human lives
Addressing challenges to teach traditional and agile project management in academia
In order to prepare students for a professional IT career, most universities attempt to provide a current
educational curriculum in the Project Management (PM) area to their students. This is usually based on
the most promising methodologies used by the software industry. As instructors, we need to balance
traditional methodologies focused on proven project planning and control processes leveraging widely
accepted methods and tools along with the newer agile methodologies. Such new frameworks
emphasize that software delivery should be done in a flexible and iterative manner and with significant
collaboration with product owners and customers. In our experience agile methodologies have
witnessed an exponential growth in many diverse software organizations, and the various agile PM tools
and techniques will continue to see an increase in adoption in the software development sector.
Reflecting on these changes, there is a critical need to accommodate best practices and current methodologies in our courses that deliver Project Management content. In this paper we analyse two of the most widely used methodologies for traditional and agile software development â the widely used
ISO/PMBOK standard provided by the Project Management Institute and the well-accepted Scrum
framework. We discuss how to overcome curriculum challenges and deliver a quality undergraduate PM
course for a Computer Science and Information systems curricula. Based on our teaching experience
in Europe and North America, we present a comprehensive comparison of the two approaches. Our research covers the main concepts, processes, and roles associated with the two PM frameworks and recommended learning outcomes. The paper should be of value to instructors who are keen to see their computing students graduate with a sound understanding of current PM methodologies and who can deliver real-world software products.Accepted manuscrip
FRIDA, a Framework for Software Design, Applied in the Treatment of Children with Autistic Disorder.
The âFRIDAâ framework is a guide for the agile development of accessible software for users with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as a tool for strengthening emotional and social skills in the treatment of autism. It is based on the use of accessible software for the development of emotional and social skills, and designed with a focus on the user with intellectual disabilities. A mixed quasi-experimental study is carried out with three focus groups: children with ASD, expert therapists in ASD treatments and software designers adapting the Design Thinking model for the co-creation of the functional characteristics of the software and its use in therapies. The findings and results show that using FRIDA facilitates the agile design of accessible apps by reducing their development time by 94% and increasing their usability level by more than 90%. This facilitates the treatment of people with ASD, especially in the development of emotional self-recognition skills and social adaptation. The experience applied collaborative design thinking models and agile software design methodologies, articulating knowledge between software developers, therapists, and families of users with ASD. Users were characterized separately, and the functionalities required for the software that would be developed and linked in the treatment of autism were identified.post-print5958 K
Agile in Public Administration: Oxymoron or reality? An experience report
In the last 10 years, Agile methods and practices have emerged as an
alternative for software development. Different "flavors" of Agile have
appeared ranging from project management to tests organization. These
approaches have being gaining popularity and involve now a solid option for
organizations developing software, but what about Public Administrations? Is
Agile a suitable option for developing software in Public Administrations?
Even if Public Administrations have been traditionally regarded as changeresistant,
Agile approach can also provide them with the benefits of quick
adaptation and frequent value delivery.
This paper presents the results of two different projects, which use an Agile
framework based on Scrum, developed by a Spanish Public Administration.
Additionally, after considering the obtained results, it takes out some relevant
learned lessons on the suitability of applying Agile approaches to Public
Administration environments.Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciĂłn TIN2010-20057-C03-02Junta de AndalucĂa TIC-578
An agile business process improvement methodology
Adoption of business process improvement strategies are now a concern of most organisations. Organisations are still facing challenges and finding transient solutions to immediate problems. The misalignment between IT solutions and organisational aspects evolves across space and time showing discrepancies. Unfortunately, existing business process approaches are not according with continuous business process improvement involving business stakeholders. Considering this limitation in well-known Business Process (BP) methodologies, this paper presents a comparative study of some approaches and introduces agility in the Business Process and Practice Alignment Methodology (BPPAM). Our intention is to present observed problems in existing approaches and introduce agility in our proposal to address features, like the alignment between daily work practices and business process descriptions, in a simple and agile way. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V
Influence Factors for the Choice of a Software Development Methodology
The success rate of software development projects can be increased by using a methodology that is adequate for the specific characteristics of those projects. Over time a wide range of software development methodologies has been elaborated, therefore choosing one of them is not an easy task. Our research reviews the main categories of development methodologies and then focuses, for a detailed study, on three of them: Rational Unified Process (RUP), Rapid Application Development (RAD) and Extreme Programming (XP). For each methodology it is presented the structure of software life cycle, there are identified the situations in which the methodology can be used successfully and the situations in which it tends to fail. Based on the literature review of software development methodologies and on a series of surveys, published by different researchers, exploring the state of practices in this field, we have identified a number of factors that influence the decision of choosing the most adequate development methodology for a specific project. The methodologies that are subject of this study are evaluated in relation to these factors to find out which development methodology is the most adequate depending on the level of the factors for a specific project. The results of our research are useful for the developers by helping them to identify what software development methodology can be used with success for a specific project.Software development methodology, Rational Unified Process, Rapid Application Development, Extreme Programming, choosing the adequate methodology
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Harnessing agile concepts for the development of intelligent systems
Traditional and current approaches to intelligent systems design, have led to the creation of sophisticated and computationally-intensive packages and environments, for a wide range of applications. This paper proposes methods with which to extend the functionality of such systems, borrowing knowledge management concepts from the field of Agile Manufacturing. As such, this paper proposes that the future of intelligent systems design should be based not only upon the continuing development of artificial intelligence techniques, but also effective methods for harnessing human skills and core competencies to achieve these aims
Agile, Web Engineering and Capability Maturity ModelI ntegration : A systematic literature review
Context
Agile approaches are an alternative for organizations developing software, particularly for those who develop Web applications. Besides, CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) models are well-established approaches focused on assessing the maturity of an organization that develops software. Web Engineering is the field of Software Engineering responsible for analyzing and studying the specific characteristics of the Web. The suitability of an Agile approach to help organizations reach a certain CMMI maturity level in Web environments will be very interesting, as they will be able to keep the ability to quickly react and adapt to changes as long as their development processes get mature.
Objective
This paper responds to whether it is feasible or not, for an organization developing Web systems, to achieve a certain maturity level of the CMMI-DEV model using Agile methods.
Method
The proposal is analyzed by means of a systematic literature review of the relevant approaches in the field, defining a characterization schema in order to compare them to introduce the current state-of-the-art.
Results
The results achieved after the systematic literature review are presented, analyzed and compared against the defined schema, extracting relevant conclusions for the different dimensions of the problem: compatibility, compliance, experience, maturity and Web.
Conclusion
It is concluded that although the definition of an Agile approach to meet the different CMMI maturity levels goals could be possible for an organization developing Web systems, there is still a lack of detailed studies and analysis on the field
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