Managing risks in virtual-agile it projects: The paradigm of responsiveness

Managing risks in IT projects has always been a critical area of study for many researchers and practitioners. Due to the rapid advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs), there is an increasing number of challenges and issues for the IT organisations. Virtual-Agile IT projects being virtually operated and based on Agile methodology principles are facilitating IT industry having their main application in the software development industry, where entities from diverse backgrounds have varied working practices, languages and culture, and works together for achieving common aims. There have been several benefits integrated with the application of Virtual-Agile IT projects but the intersection of these two unique working concepts (Virtual-Agile) gives rise to several risks and uncertainties which have now become a point of concern for these organisations. The need for minimising the possibility of such evolving risks and uncertainties became the foundation of conducting this study from a theoretical viewpoint, where the researcher aimed to propose a conceptual framework helping organisations meet their business objectives constructively. The study is exploratory in nature which discovers all those appropriate practices, strategies and guidelines which support reducing risk and uncertainties between the distributed stakeholders during the product development phase. The research methodology used is primarily dependent on qualitative methods combined with the grounded theory methodology to gather rich and rigorous information from experienced and professional personnel from different geographical regions. Depending upon the procedures of grounded theory methodology, the data were collected and analysed simultaneously under the principles of constant comparison and theoretical sampling. The procedures helped to determine thought-provoking results and highlighted various dimensions of the phenomenon under investigation. Responsiveness which emerged as the central phenomenon to overcome risks and uncertainties in Virtual-Agile IT project environments proposes for a proactive system which could be able to deal with project uncertainties, thus reducing the likelihood of potential risks, and enhancing opportunities for the organisations. Responsiveness, which is an ability of the system to perceive, reflect and adapt changes in the project environments is dependent upon efficiently management of three major components, i.e. technology, timeliness and communication. Technology which is the most critical element when operating in virtual environments requires standardization and should be extensively used to develop strong networks and integration between various locations around the world. Timeliness is elementary and a pre-requisite for completion of on-going multiple projects in IT organisations Communication which is the utmost component, is required at various levels for evolving synchronisation in the overall system, such as when developing correlation and satisfaction among distributed stakeholders, estimating the level of required competency and ensuring an efficient knowledge transfer process. Responsiveness, which is required throughout the development cycle, also further influences formal risk management practices undertaken at various levels of the project. Risk management planning and implementation of the response strategies are dependent upon Responsiveness i.e. how well, timely and using technical resources the entities communicate for determining a solution to a problem. The paradigm developed, thus reflects industrial practices undertaken in the software development industry to meet project objectives and would support organisations and their prominent stakeholders to overcome risks and uncertainties in the future Virtual-Agile IT projects

Customising software products in distributed software development a model for allocating customisation requirements across organisational boundaries

Requirements engineering plays a vital role in the software development process. While it is difficult to manage those requirements locally, it is even more difficult to communicate those requirements over organisational boundaries and to convey them to multiple distribution customers. This paper discusses the requirements of multiple distribution customers empirically in the context of customised software products. The main purpose is to understand the challenges of communicating and allocating customisation requirements across distributed organisational boundaries. We conducted an empirical survey with 19 practitioners, which confirmed that communicating customisation requirements in a DSD context is a significant challenge. We therefore propose a model for allocating customisation requirements between a local, customer-based agile team and a distributed development team that uses a traditional development approach. Our conjecture is that the model would reduce the challenge of communicating requirements across organisational boundaries, address customers’ requirements and provide a focus for future empirical studies

End-Users Leading, Capturing, and Mitigating Risk in a DSDM Project

The study aimed to assess the suitability of Dynamic System Development Methodology (DSDM) for managing strategic risk and incorporating the end user's perspective in developing a Business Risk Strategy. Additionally, it sought to outline the elements and processes of the DSDM risk strategy, devise an end-user-cantered DSDM risk strategy, and evaluate the effectiveness of the model in capturing the end user's voice. It was discovered that the DSDM serves as an agile software development tool aimed at enhancing the efficiency and productivity of software development projects. Traditionally, project teams have relied on conventional methods for assessing and mitigating risks in software development. However, the agile approach has emerged as a solution to common challenges encountered in these projects. While it can enhance project workflow and productivity, agile processes may not always effectively address customers' needs and involve them in the development process. To address this gap, it is essential to align customers' requirements with the technical capabilities and skills of the project team, particularly as team structures evolve. To facilitate this alignment, researchers have developed various techniques, tools, and processes to aid subject matter experts, end-users, and developers in making informed decisions. This approach simplifies the complex process of integrating customers' perspectives into software development, ultimately enhancing the overall success of the project. In this study theories of compliance and stakeholder are foundational in extracting associated element for the development of further strategy. Both theories offer valuable insights for examining the research questions, thereby enhancing the research motivation and contribution. By leveraging compliance theory, the study can analyse how regulatory requirements and standards influence risk management strategies. Stakeholder theory, on the other hand, provides a framework for understanding the diverse interests and perspectives of stakeholders involved in the project, which is crucial for effective risk management. Integrating these theories into the research methodology can enrich the analysis and contribute to more comprehensive and insightful findings. The study adopts a qualitative approach, integrating a case study with qualitative interviews conducted in two organizations within the United Kingdom. It combines secondary data from the organizations, such as risk management records and lessons learned, with primary data collected through in-depth interviews and focused group discussions. Through a detailed analysis of the empirical evidence, the study identifies the central phenomenon of responsiveness as fundamental for mitigating risks and uncertainties in a DSDM project environment. Furthermore, the research uncovers a gap between the potential impact of end-user involvement in risk management and their current capabilities, including skills, knowledge, tools, and approaches. This realization leads to the development of the End User Framework (ERF), which stands as the primary contribution of the study. The ERF is formulated by synthesising key elements from interviews and case studies to bolster risk management in DSDM projects. Drawing on principles from stakeholder theory and compliance theory, which advocate for end-user involvement in the process, the ERF emphasis continuous collaboration between project development managers and product owners. Additionally, it 8 C2 General leverages the Organizational Project Management (OPM) structure to establish a hierarchical framework for risk management. Overall, the study underscores the significance of both primary and secondary data sources in informing the development of the ERF and advancing understanding of risk management in DSDM projects. A total of 26 in-depth interview questions were posed to focus group interviewees from various project contexts. The focus group comprised 14 individuals from different levels of project management. Data collection was distributed as follows: 50% through interviews, 20% through archival data, and 30% through focus groups. Structured interviews, including a pilot interview with five participants, were conducted with 20 key figures within the software development community (refer to Table 5 for details regarding their roles, years in the organization, and employment status, whether full-time, contractor, or line manager). Before conducting the interviews, NVivo was employed for data analysis. The raw data was transformed into transcriptions, each representing an interview session alongside corresponding rationales for the new model. The resulting End User Framework (ERF) comprises three key steps. The thesis makes a multifaceted contribution. Firstly, it offers a solution to mitigate the inherent uncertainty in DSDM projects by emphasizing responsiveness to end-users' voices. Secondly, it introduces the End User Framework (ERF) to capture the end user's perspective throughout the project lifecycle. This framework integrates Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and Customer, Actor, Transformation, Worldview, Owner, and Environment (CATWOE) approaches in the Environment step, Process step focusing on three levels of organizational view, technical view, and risk analysis, and Product step consisting of iterative cycles of 2-4 weeks. By following these steps, ERF ensures end-user involvement across risk analysis, compliance, and planning and control stages. The significance of ERF lies in its ability to replace existing measures of capabilities (such as skills, knowledge, tools, and approaches) with the end-user voice. However, further testing of ERF's impact in live projects is necessary to validate its effectiveness

Comparative Study on Agile software development methodologies

Today-s business environment is very much dynamic, and organisations are constantly changing their software requirements to adjust with new environment. They also demand for fast delivery of software products as well as for accepting changing requirements. In this aspect, traditional plan-driven developments fail to meet up these requirements. Though traditional software development methodologies, such as life cycle-based structured and object oriented approaches, continue to dominate the systems development few decades and much research has done in traditional methodologies, Agile software development brings its own set of novel challenges that must be addressed to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of the valuable software. It is a set of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development process, where requirements and development evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams that allows rapid delivery of high quality software to meet customer needs and also accommodate changes in the requirements. In this paper, we significantly identify and describe the major factors, that Agile development approach improves software development process to meet the rapid changing business environments. We also provide a brief comparison of agile development methodologies with traditional systems development methodologies, and discuss current state of adopting agile methodologies. We speculate that from the need to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of the valuable software, Agile software development is emerged as an alternative to traditional plan-based software development methods. The purpose of this paper, is to provide an in-depth understanding, the major benefits of agile development approach to software development industry, as well as provide a comparison study report of ASDM over TSDM.Comment: 25 pages, 25 images, 86 references used, with authors biographie

Distributed software development in a financial services organisation

The outsourcing of IS functionality to offshore development firms has been a growth industry that has blossomed over the last 10 years. This is as a result of organisations, seeking to optimise costs, mitigate risks, and achieve greater return on shareholder value by delegating the delivery of business information systems and applications to third party vendors. At the same time, distributed approaches to software development has arisen, there has been a growing interest in the applicability of lightweight or Agile development methodologies. As such, this paper this paper discusses experiences of a European Financial Services firm in outsourcing, and subsequently offshoring, two of its IT projects to vendor firms in India, where Agile approaches were used. The authors provide a model of the financial firm’s critical success factors presented as a frame of reference for others interested and involved in this topical area

Constrained bayesian inference of project performance models

Project performance models play an important role in the management of project success. When used for monitoring projects, they can offer predictive ability such as indications of possible delivery problems. Approaches for monitoring project performance relies on available project information including restrictions imposed on the project, particularly the constraints of cost, quality, scope and time. We study in this paper a Bayesian inference methodology for project performance modelling in environments where information about project constraints is available and can be exploited for improved project performance. We apply the methodology to probabilistic modelling of project S-curves, a graphical representation of a project’s cumulative progress. We show how the methodology could be used to improve confidence bounds on project performance predictions. We present results of a simulated process improvement project in agile setting to demonstrate our approach

Coordinating Knowledge Work in Multi-Team Programs: Findings from a Large-Scale Agile Development Program

Software development projects have undergone remarkable changes with the arrival of agile development methods. While intended for small, self-managing teams, these methods are increasingly used also for large development programs. A major challenge in programs is to coordinate the work of many teams, due to high uncertainty in tasks, a high degree of interdependence between tasks and because of the large number of people involved. This revelatory case study focuses on how knowledge work is coordinated in large-scale agile development programs by providing a rich description of the coordination practices used and how these practices change over time in a four year development program with 12 development teams. The main findings highlight the role of coordination modes based on feedback, the use of a number of mechanisms far beyond what is described in practitioner advice, and finally how coordination practices change over time. The findings are important to improve the outcome of large knowledge-based development programs by tailoring coordination practices to needs and ensuring adjustment over time.Comment: To appear in Project Management Journa