Agile Methodology In Offshore Outsourcing

Firms have to be cognizant of appropriate methods to deploy when managing offshore outsourcing.  As industry continues to deploy agile methodology, such methodology may not be the best approach in offshore outsourcing.  Managers may benefit from more disciplined application development methodologies.  The case study examines risk factors of offshore outsourcing of software projects and the appropriateness of agile methodologies in these projects. The findings contribute important insight into the benefits and limitations of agile methods in offshore outsourcing

A Human Factors Study of Risk Management of Complex Agile Scrum Projects in Large Enterprises

Agile Project Management methods have gained phenomenal success in the IT software world in managing projects of high complexity and uncertainty. However, Agile projects come with their unique set of risks. This paper seeks to explore the risks posed by human factors to complex Agile Scrum projects in large enterprises. Project Risk Management is crucial in determining the future performance of a complex project. Increasing project complexity makes it more and more difficult to anticipate potential events that could affect the project and to make effective decisions to reduce project risk exposure. This is even more true for Agile projects that promote immediate and frequent visibility of risk factors and distributed decision making in projects. A dominant reason for failure of complex Agile projects are the risks caused by human and organization factors. This paper will analyze the delivery risks posed by human factors and the traditionally hierarchical decision making in large enterprise systems

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 – 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

Testing and Improving a Continuous Requirements Risk Profiling Method - A Case Study on Agile Software Projects

As requirements play key role in the success of a software development project, identifying and mitigating requirements related risks becomes an important factor in improving software quality. Still, only few methods are offered for that purpose and little results of the feasibility of such methods in industry are reported. In this thesis, feasibility of one requirements risk management methodology was tested in agile software projects and an improved version of the method proposed. The tested method consists of identifying, prioritizing and resolving risks using predefined checklists, patterns and techniques. The objectives of the study were to gain knowledge do professionals working in agile software projects find the method feasible, are such methods found useful and how the method should be improved so that it could be taken into use in the case company. The study was conducted as an interpretive case study which covered several agile software projects from the case company. The primary data collection method for the study were semi-structured theme-centered interviews, in which the method was tested and evaluated by conducting a requirements risk analysis for each of the case projects. The key selection criteria for the interviewees was participation to requirements work and use of some agile software development methodology. The collected qualitative interview data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Based on the results of this study, it was observed that the tested method helped professionals to identify different type of requirements risks and to prioritize those on high level. The interviewed professionals found the tested method useful and feasible in the agile software projects they were currently working with. However, it was also observed that the resolution proposals provided by the method would still need further development. For researchers, the study provided empirical evidence on the feasibility of the method and several suggestions for further research. For professionals working in industry, the study provided one empirically validated method for managing requirements risk, and encouragement for collecting the existing requirements risk management knowledge and sharing it with corresponding methods and tools.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Is agile project management applicable to construction?

This paper briefly summarises the evolution of Agile Project Management (APM) and differentiates it from lean and agile production and ‘leagile’ construction. The significant benefits being realized through employment of APM within the information systems industry are stated. The characteristics of APM are explored, including: philosophy, organizational attitudes and practices, planning, execution and control and learning. Finally, APM is subjectively assessed as to its potential contribution to the pre-design, design and construction phases. In conclusion, it is assessed that APM offers considerable potential for application in predesign and design but that there are significant hurdles to its adoption in the actual construction phase. Should these be overcome, APM offers benefits well beyond any individual project

Is project management the new management 2.0?

This paper considers the evolving nature of project management (PM) and offers a comparison with the evolving nature of management generally. Specifically, we identify a number of management trends that are drawn from a paper that documents a proposed ‘Management 2.0’ model, and we compare those trends to the way in which PM is maturing to embrace the challenges of modern organizational progress.Some theoretical frameworks are offered that assist in explaining the shift from the historically accepted ‘tools and techniques’ model to a more nuanced and behaviorally driven paradigm that is arguably more appropriate to manage change in today’s flexible and progressive organizations, and which provide a more coherent response, both in PM and traditional management, to McDonald’s forces. In addition, we offer a number of examples to robustly support our assertions, based around the development of innovative products from Apple Inc. In using this metaphor to demonstrate the evolution of project-based work, we link PM with innovation and new product development.

Uncertainty management in real estate development: studying the potential of the SCRUM design methodology

Real estate development is all about assessing and controlling risks and uncertainties. Risk management implies making decisions based on quantified risks to execute riskresponse measures. Uncertainties, on the other hand, cannot be quantified and are therefore unpredictable. In literature, much attention is paid to risk management. The management of uncertainties is underexposed. Uncertainties appear in the programming and designing phases of projects. The main goal of our research is to develop guidelines for real estate developers to manage uncertainties in those phases

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