Choice of Agile Methodologies in Software Development: A Vendor Perspective

The purpose of this research was to develop understanding about how vendor firms make choice about agile methodologies in software projects and their fit. Two analytical frameworks were developed from extant literature and the findings were compared with real world decisions. Framework 1 showed that the choice of XP for one project was not supported by the guidelines given by the framework. The choices of SCRUM for other two projects, were partially supported. Analysis using the framework 2 showed that except one XP project, all others had sufficient project management support, limited scope for adaptability and had prominence for rules

Complementing Measurements and Real Options Concepts to Support Inter-iteration Decision-Making in Agile Projects

Agile software projects are characterized by iterative and incremental development, accommodation of changes and active customer participation. The process is driven by creating business value for the client, assuming that the client (i) is aware of it, and (ii) is capable to estimate the business value, associated with the separate features of the system to be implemented. This paper is focused on the complementary use of measurement techniques and concepts of real-option-analysis to assist clients in assessing and comparing alternative sets of requirements. Our overall objective is to provide systematic support to clients for the decision-making process on what to implement in each iteration. The design of our approach is justified by using empirical data, published earlier by other authors

Towards an Integrated Framework for Applying the Agile Project Methodology to Manage Task Uncertainty in Disaster Management

Natural and man-made disasters are a constant threat to cultural civilizations and pose various risks to the basic foundations of our known existence. Not only do these situations occur at any time and place; they have various unknown determinants until the tragedy exists. Task uncertainty remains a critical factor in disaster management. This research study examines different facets of task uncertainty and develops an integrated research framework that applies the agile project methodology, in particular Scrum, to properly manage the impact of task uncertainty in disaster response, coordination, mitigation and recovery. Our framework provides insights to researchers and practitioners alike and offers guidelines for effective management of task uncertainty in projects. Implications for future research and practice are discussed

Agile methodologies between software development and music production: an empirical study

Over the past 20 years agile methodologies revolutionized Information Technology, oering tremendous opportunities for the development of Software Engineering as an independent discipline. More specifically, agile methodologies contributed to enhancing the eectiveness and the speed of the production process as well as to improving the productivity and motivations of software developers organized in high performing teams. The agile philosophy can be and has been applied in dierent contexts and across several domains. This work analyses the relationship between Agile methodologies used by software engineers and the practices pursued by musicians in their daily lives. Our findings suggests that collaborative, strongly planned software development life cycle models (such as Waterfall, V-model, iterative, and Spiral) are not adequate models to describe the daily practices of musical composers. This is because their work requires a lot of flexibility, which such models intrinsically lack, because they are oriented to ensuring some form of monitorable progress. Interestingly, our findings also show that nine out of 12 Agile Principles are consciously or unconsciously followed by musicians in their practices. This suggests that there are some deep connections between these two prima facie dierent fields, which are both very creative. Even though our findings await replication, possibly with larger statistical samples, they contribute to open up a new strand of research in the fi

Factors of Risk Reduction in Agile and Lean Enabled Governance of IT Project Portfolios

The subject of this paper is project portfolio governance and its improvement based on agile and framework which improves the management of project portfolio processes’ execution and reduces the risks of portfolio components’ implementation. The existing project portfolio models and governance processes use traditional principles, regulation, planning, and control methods, which require enhancement to ensure the portfolio management processes are followed in successful project implementation. The agile and lean project portfolio governance is a relative new domain for which the awareness and practical results related to influence on governance processes, risks, and quality are missing. The contribution is foremost methodological in introduction of agile and lean portfolio governance methods and processes, followed by the agile and lean governance framework, and conclusively in revealing the factors of risk reduction in the agile and lean enabled project portfolio governance with the emphasis on implementation risks reduction