Agile Development as Service Ecosystems

On the background of an emerging shift from a product, goods-dominant to a service-dominant logic (SDL) in business and society, there is a need for further theoretical grounding of information systems development (ISD) in general and for agile development in particular. This paper presents SDL and the concept of service ecosystem as a promising complementary theoretical basis for broadening the understanding of agile development. Based on an analysis of in-depth interviews with experienced agile practitioners and their current involvement in large agile projects related to managing such projects, we investigate the question how agile development can be understood as a service ecosystem, and how such a perspective impacts more general on the scholarly understanding and practice of information systems development

Agile software development and service science

This paper shows the necessary steps, which should be taken in order to get the most out of agile software development in interdisciplinary settings involving scientific experts. If applied properly, Agile delivers increased productivity, higher quality and, last but not least, higher customer satisfaction. The task of developing high quality software is already difficult. Developing software for a new IT-enabled service in an interdisciplinary team however, is even more challenging. In interdisciplinary projects scientific experts from different fields need to work together with computer scientists, developers, testers, business analysts and domain experts. Software engineering is very time-consuming and scientific experts who have never been involved in a software project, often find it hard to understand why progress sometimes seems so slow. Therefore, it is important that they understand what it takes to write high- quality code, i.e. code that is clean, tested, documented and extendable at the right points. The best way to achieve this goal is to expand the software team, make the scientific experts an integral part of it and thus profit from their know-how

Large-Scale Agile Transformation: A Case Study of Transforming Business, Development and Operations

Today, product development organizations are adopting agile methods in units outside the software development unit, such as in sales, market, legal, operations working with the customer. This broader adoption of agile methods has been labeled large-scale agile transformation and is considered a particular type of organizational change, originating in the software development units. So far, there is little research-based advice on conducting such transformations. Aiming to contribute towards providing relevant research advice on large-scale agile transformation, we apply a research-based framework for evaluating organizational agility on a product development program in a maritime service provider organization. We found that doing a large-scale agile transformation involves many significant challenges, such as having a shared understanding of the problem, getting access to users, and getting commitment to change that needs to be done. In order to overcome such challenges, we discuss the need for a holistic and integrated approach to agile transformation involving all the units linked to software development.publishedVersio

Predictive variables for agile development merging cloud computing services

Cloud Technology is a most challenging modern area in the field of modern technologies in whichassets(e.g.,CPUandcapacity)canberentedanddischargedbytheclientsthroughinterneton-demand basis. The cloud computing has been giving virtual computing services to a little, medium and extensive industries, and services, for example, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and softwareasaservice(SaaS).Cloudcomputinghasagreatcombinationwiththeagilesoftwaredevelopment as a research area. Many researchers worked in Agile Cloud field. The software industries are using the agile methodology for efficient software development need some platform to get quick feedback from the client. Therefore, the agile-cloud is a great combination for it but due to security reasons that directly influence the less adoption of cloud in software industries. This paper reports the survey results of software industries. The total of seven IT industries and many professionals was involved in this paper. However, this paper also contributes and reveals how existing issues can affect agile-cloud adoption for efficient software development. Furthermore, we do not find any type of survey conducted in Pakistan’s software industries-related to cloud-agile adoption

Service-Oriented Software Development

This paper describes a methodology for planning and executing software development projects based on the service-oriented paradigm called Service-Oriented Software Development (SOSD). This does not refer to a methodology for developing software services or service-oriented architectures. Rather, it is a method for managing the process of software development in a service-oriented approach in which the actions performed by individuals and groups are modeled as “services” which can be choreographed and orchestrated. SOSD has been adopted informally by many organizations in various forms and it runs somewhat contrary to some of the recent trends toward agile development methodologies. Interestingly, it performs well in certain situations where agile methods tend to break down. In addition to describing the basics of SOSD and its theoretical underpinnings, we outline its benefits and potential shortcomings. As evidence, project data is provided from a Fortune 500 company which has gradually adopted SOSD over the last two years

Agile Framework for Information Technology Service Management

Companies are recognizing Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) as a key improvement target and as a strategic tool to survive in competition in the IT industry. At the same time Agile methodologies are becoming more and more popular in the IT industry. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework provides a structured approach to tackle challenges and to be successful in ITSM. IT companies are facing a lot of changes and Agile software development methods are helping with that challenge. Agile methods are widely known and used over the world and one of the most popular Agile methodologies is the Scrum framework. The first objective of this master ́s thesis is to describe how ITIL, ITSM best practices can be combined with Scrum to be able to create framework for Agile IT service management. The second objective is to research what Agile features companies have added as part of service management and to research experienced the benefits and challenges experienced when combining Agile methods with IT service management. ITSM, ITIL and Agile ideology including the Agile framework Scrum, are presented first in the literature review. Based on the literature review Scrum and ITIL frameworks are combined as a framework for Agile service management and this creates the theoretical framework for this Master ́s thesis. The empirical part of the thesis is done by survey. The Population is service managers working in the IT industry in Finland and the sample size was 63 service managers and 59 of answers was approved. Survey results are described by presenting how Agile methodologies are combined with service management in practice and what kind of benefits and challenges respondents have been experienced. Results show that it is possible to incorporate Agile methodologies as part of IT service management and, at more detailed level, as part of service lifecycle phases so as to fulfill the objectives of service lifecycles. The most common Agile features implemented as part of IT Service management were self-organized teams, the product owner role, the sprint backlog artifact and the daily scrum event. These were all implemented by 30 or more service teams in the sample of 59 service teams. Regarding benefits experienced, three topics arose clearly from survey responses, and those are transparency, sharing big work into smaller tasks and better communication. The following topics were the main challenges experienced: lack of focus on the customer, insufficient clarification of Agile methodologies for the team, customer and stakeholders and implementation of Scrum roles. Based on experienced benefits and challenges experienced 6 rules are created to support service managers to accomplish the benefits and avoid the challenges.Yritykset tunnistavat IT-palvelunhallinnan kehityskohteeksi ja strategiseksi työkaluksi, joka auttaa paljon kilpailulla IT-alalla. Samaan aikaan ketterät menetelmät nostavat suosiotaan IT-alalla. ITIL malli tarjoaa jäsennellyn menetelmän, jonka avulla yritykset voivat voittaa haasteita ja menestyä IT-palvelunhallinnassa. IT-yritykset kohtaavat paljon haasteita ja ketterän ohjelmistokehityksen metodit auttavat selviytymään näistä haasteita. Ketterät menetelmät ovat tunnettuja maailmanlaajuisesti ja yksi suosituimmista on Scrum. Ensimmäinen tavoite tälle diplomityölle on kuvata miten ITIL eli IT-palvelunhallinnan parhaat käytännöt voidaan yhdistää Scrumin kanssa, jotta voidaan luoda malli ketterälle palvelunhallinnalle. Toinen tavoite työlle on selvittää mitä ketteriä ominaisuuksia yritykset ovat ottaneet osaksi palvelunhallintaa ja mitä hyötyjä ja haasteita yritykset ovat kokeneet liittyen ketterien menetelmien yhdistämiseen palvelunhallintaan. Palvelunhallinta, ITIL, ketterä ideologia ja Scrum esitetään kirjallisuuskatsauksena ensimmäisenä tässä diplomityössä. Pohjautuen kirjallisuuskatsaukseen Scrum ja ITIL mallit yhdistetään malliksi ketterälle palvelunhallinnalle ja nämä muodostavat teorian tälle diplomityölle. Empiirinen osa on toteutettu kyselyllä. Tutkimuksen perusjoukko koostuu palvelupäälliköistä, jotka työskentelevät IT-alalla Suomessa ja tutkimukseen vastasi 63 palvelupäällikköä ja vastauksista hyväksyttiin 59. Tutkimustulokset on kuvattu esittämällä miten ketterät menetelmät yhdistetään palvelunhallintaan käytännössä ja mitä hyötyjä ja haittoja palvelupäälliköt ovat kokeneet. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että ketterien menetelmien yhdistäminen palvelunhallintaan ja tarkemmin osaksi palvelun elinkaaren vaiheita on mahdollista. Ketterien menetelmien avulla voidaan tukea palvelun elinkaaren vaiheille asetettujen tavoitteiden täyttymistä. Suosituimmat ketterien menetelmien ominaisuudet, jotka oli otettu käyttöön osaksi palvelunhallintaa oli itseohjautuvat tiimit, palvelunomistaja rooli, sprintin tehtävälista ja päivittäisen Scrum tapaamiset. Nämä olivat käytössä 30 tai useammalla vastaajalla 59 vastauksesta. Koettuihin hyötyihin liittyen kolme aihetta korostui vastauksissa, läpinäkyvyys, työn jakaminen pienempiin tehtäviin ja parempi viestintä. Haasteiden osalta nousivat puute asiakkaan huomioimiseen, riittämätön selventäminen ketteristä menetelmistä tiimille, asiakkaalle ja sidosryhmille ja Scrum roolien käyttöönotto. Koettujen hyötyjen ja haittojen osalta on luotu kuusi sääntöä palvelupäälliköille, jotta voidaan saavuttaa hyödyt ja välttää haasteita

Identifying benefits and challenges in the application of agile methodologies in software development

A dissertation submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Master of ScienceSoftware has generally been developed using the ‘Waterfall’ methodology which is now believed to be cumbersome and slow to react to change. This belief has spawned new ‘Agile’ methodologies that aim to deliver small pieces of working software on a frequent basis. Many claims have been made about Agile, but little academic research has been carried out to justify them. This study identifies the significance of benefits and challenges practitioners have found when adapting to Agile methodologies. Further, the benefits and challenges are linked to the Agile features in use and assesses what contributes to the level of user satisfaction. A survey instrument was employed to collect data from as many practitioners as possible followed by post survey interviews. Claims made for Agile by service providers are compared to the experiences of those canvassed in the survey. Results reveal that the most significant benefit is closer collaboration with other members of the development team. Significant challenges were the estimation of the time and effort Agile projects take to complete and that Agile only works with competent, motivated people. The insights gained in this study will be circulated for the benefit of future research on software development methodologies and Agile practice

An Approach for Agile SOA Development using Agile Principals

In dynamic and turbulent business environment, the need for success and survival of any organization is the ability of adapting to changes efficiently and cost-effectively. So, for developing software applications, one of the methods is Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) methodology and other is Agile Methodology. Since embracing changes is the indispensable concept of SOA development as well as Agile Development, using an appropriate SOA methodology able to adapt changes even during system development with the preservation of software quality is necessary. In this paper, a new approach consisted of five steps is presented to add agility to SOA methodologies. This approach, before any SOA-based development, helps architect(s) to determine Core Business Processes (CBPs) by using agile principals for establishing Core Architecture. The most important advantage of this approach according to the results of case study is possibility of embracing changes with the preservation of software quality in SOA developments.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 1 table; http://airccse.org/journal/ijcsit2012_curr.htm

Designing a Competence Management System with Agile Methods: Case Silli Solutions PLC

Most of the world population works in the service sector, which stresses the importance of knowledge-intensive organizations and, consequently, strategic competence management. Knowledge management and the supporting enterprise systems (ESs) have received a lot of researcher attention, but the deployment success rate is not flattering. Therefore, in this 33-month long Action Design Research (ADR) program we designed and implemented Competence Management System (CMS) with agile methods in a professional services company Siili Solutions PLC. The contribution of this paper is to provide rich insight and understanding on technological aspect of CMS design and implementation as well as on agile software development practices of agile experts

Human factors that influence the success of Agile Projects

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing IntelligenceProject management, when based on agile methodologies, has brought improvements in the success rate in software development projects in recent years, contributing to the improvement of service quality and boosting motivation and productivity in their teams. Thus, it is important to understand what people face when managing projects, using agile methodologies. This study suggests a revised model for assessing the impact of human variables that affect the success of agile methodology in a project management context based on the DeLone & McLean IS Success Model. Our model combines three human factors including collaboration quality as independent variable and agile mindset and agile coach as moderators between the relationship of user satisfaction and individual performance. The motivation of this research is to gain a better understanding of the factors that can influence the achievement of successful agile project management, taking into consideration the factors related with individual performance. The results of a SEM-PLS analysis of 201 professional respondents indicate that "user satisfaction" and "individual performance" are the two most important elements in the success of agile software development projects. Managers and teams will be able to set priorities and improve project outcomes by recognizing which aspects are crucial for success. We discuss this topic, the limitations of the research, and possible paths for future studies