Управління міжнародним бізнесом: Agility Journey для високотехнологічних компаній

The purpose of the article is the development of recommendations for the business maturity determination and measurement in the implementation of the agile approach for high-tech companies. Methods of analysis of documents, observation, personal and in-depth interviews, case studies have been used in the research. The findings of the research: Business Agility Journey has been suggested for defining the state of the maturity of the company and conducting express diagnostics of agility. Agile Project Management Journey has been developed for the identification of weaknesses by the companies in the path to agility, as well as for the determination of events for the transition from the traditional to the agile approach. Personal Agility Checklist has been designed for testing the soft skills of employees for the presence of the agile mindset. Research limitations include the study of the maturity of companies in the IT industry. Practical implications are based on the use of suggested Agility Journeys in defining the state of maturity and main problems on the transition path. Also, Personal Agility Checklist will help to check the agility of the future employees. The originality of the article is based on the uniqueness of the Agility Journey that has been developed for the first time. Further research on this topic should be focused on the development of an agile mindset as a prerequisite for the provision of agility in the company.Метою статті є розробка рекомендацій щодо визначення та вимірювання зрілості бізнесу при впровадженні еджайл-підходу для високотехнологічних компаній. У дослідженні використовуються методи аналізу документів, спостереження, особистого та глибинного інтерв’ю та кейс-стаді. Розроблено Business Agility Journey для визначення стану зрілості компанії та проведення експрес-діагностики еджайльності. Agile Project Management Journey було розроблено для визначення компаніями своїх слабких сторін, а також заходів для переходу від традиційного до еджайльного підходу. Personal Agility Checklist був створений для перевірки «гнучких навичок» (soft skills) співробітників на наявність гнучкого мислення (agile mindset). Обмеження досліджень включають вивчення зрілості компаній ІТ-галузі. Практична значущість ґрунтується на використанні запропонованих Agility Journeys для визначення стану зрілості та основних проблем на шляху переходу. Також Personal Agility Checklist допоможе перевірити еджайльність майбутніх працівників. Оригінальність статті базується на унікальності Agility Journey, яка була розроблена вперше. Подальші дослідження на цю тему доцільно зосередити на розвитку гнучкого мислення як передумови забезпечення еджайльності в компанії

Safety-Critical Systems and Agile Development: A Mapping Study

In the last decades, agile methods had a huge impact on how software is developed. In many cases, this has led to significant benefits, such as quality and speed of software deliveries to customers. However, safety-critical systems have widely been dismissed from benefiting from agile methods. Products that include safety critical aspects are therefore faced with a situation in which the development of safety-critical parts can significantly limit the potential speed-up through agile methods, for the full product, but also in the non-safety critical parts. For such products, the ability to develop safety-critical software in an agile way will generate a competitive advantage. In order to enable future research in this important area, we present in this paper a mapping of the current state of practice based on {a mixed method approach}. Starting from a workshop with experts from six large Swedish product development companies we develop a lens for our analysis. We then present a systematic mapping study on safety-critical systems and agile development through this lens in order to map potential benefits, challenges, and solution candidates for guiding future research.Comment: Accepted at Euromicro Conf. on Software Engineering and Advanced Applications 2018, Prague, Czech Republi

How agile coaches create an agile mindset in development teams: Insights from an interview study

Since the publication of the agile manifesto in 2001, many companies implement an agile—or at least more agile—software development process. However, only including agile methods or practices in the overall process does not guarantee being agile. The mindset of the people involved in the process, including the development team, the customers, and the management, is of particular importance. As such an agile mindset cannot be enforced, the process of creating a suitable mindset needs to be handled with care. In an interview study with nine agile coaches, we analyzed which aspects they perceive being of particular importance during an agile transformation. One of these aspects is the agile mindset. We figure out how they support the creation of such a mindset. We identify 12 categories related to the process of creating an agile mindset. These categories include the collaboration between the coach and the management as well as the necessity to internalize the agile values. The main factor for succeeding with the creation of an agile mindset, however, can be hardly influenced: The success strongly depends on the personal prerequisites and attitudes of the individuals involved in the process, mainly the development team. We synthesize the results of our study into a timeline describing the process of how an agile coach can support the development team creating an agile mindset as part of the transformation towards an agile development process

The hidden pitfalls of Kanban in software development

ABSTRACT: Objectives of the Study: The objective of this thesis is to explore the hidden pitfalls of Kanban in software development. The aim is to discover the reasons behind the pitfalls and actions that nourish Kanban's failure. Academic background and methodology: Software development industry has been shifting towards more iterative, responsive and people-oriented development methods, which present the values of lean and agile thinking. Being characterized as the antidote for bureaucracy, the shift towards agile development methodologies has been one of the most significant factors affecting the software industry. Kanban as an agile change management framework has been perceived as the fairy godmother of software development making the reasons behind struggling Kanban projects particularly interesting. Thesis interviews five agile experts in the software development and studies their experiences of unsuccessful Kanban implementations. Emphasis is given to similar experiences and perceptions on how Kanban fails to redeem its value proposition. Findings: The primary finding of the study is that an organization that is unable to change its mindset to support Kanban is a pitfall affecting the whole project, inevitably causing Kanban to fail. This is a challenge that all agile methods have in common. Agile can flourish only when agile values are being appreciated. The secondary finding is that many software teams claiming to be using Kanban have implemented only a shallow imitation of the real method thus creating a superficial implementation, which prevents achieving Kanban induced benefits. Thus, creating a superficial implementation, which prevents achieving Kanban induced benefits. Furthermore, the erroneous human interpretation of what Kanban really is and how to apply it correctly is a key factor contributing to the emerge of the pitfalls. Keywords: Kanban, software development, pitfall, agile, change management, framewor

The ability of project managers to implement industry 4.0-related projects

Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstrac

Misaligned Values in Software Engineering Organizations

The values of software organizations are crucial for achieving high performance; in particular, agile development approaches emphasize their importance. Researchers have thus far often assumed that a specific set of values, compatible with the development methodologies, must be adopted homogeneously throughout the company. It is not clear, however, to what extent such assumptions are accurate. Preliminary findings have highlighted the misalignment of values between groups as a source of problems when engineers discuss their challenges. Therefore, in this study, we examine how discrepancies in values between groups affect software companies' performance. To meet our objectives, we chose a mixed method research design. First, we collected qualitative data by interviewing fourteen (\textit{N} = 14) employees working in four different organizations and processed it using thematic analysis. We then surveyed seven organizations (\textit{N} = 184). Our analysis indicated that value misalignment between groups is related to organizational performance. The aligned companies were more effective, more satisfied, had higher trust, and fewer conflicts. Our efforts provide encouraging findings in a critical software engineering research area. They can help to explain why some companies are more efficient than others and, thus, point the way to interventions to address organizational challenges.Comment: accepted for publication in Journal of Software: Evolution and Proces

Three Personality Trait Combinations for Agile Employees: The Relationship Between the Big Five and Agile Mindset

Agile IT projects need employees who not only follow agile structures but have a specific attitude called the agile mindset. While the relevance of the agile mindset is clear, findings on when it can be developed, are very limited. Stable personality traits, like the big five, influence attitude. Providing how these traits interact with the agile mindset gives orientation regarding in which cases an agile mindset is more trainable than in other cases. To investigate these relationships, we conducted an online survey with 327 students of a project management lecture. As a result of our SEM and QCA analysis, we found three combinations of personality traits that influence the agile mindset including different extents of conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness and neuroticism. We deepen and extend the theory around the agile mindset and enable practitioners to choose data-driven cases for development activities. Limitations and future research based on these results are given

Agile Usage: Refining a Theoretical Model

Agile methodologies (AM), which emphasize iterative and incremental development with just-in-time processes and documentation, have been adopted by an increasing number of organisations. Despite this progress there is lack of clarity on their effective use after initial adoption. While there is much research on the use of various agile methods and practices, there is very limited understanding on the critical factors that impact their continued and effective usage. To address this gap, an integrated model called the Agile Usage Model (AUM) was developed, by coalescing insights from organisational level Information Systems implementation, traditional innovation diffusion models, and post-adoptive agile usage. The objective of this study is to use multiple data collection methods to further evaluate and refine the AUM. The final refined conceptual model of Agile Usage is presented along with implications for research and practice

Should Agile be Part of Your Quality Management System?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of Agile in Quality Management Systems. Design/methodology/approach: This paper provides a brief history of Agile and compares it to the management theory of W. Edwards Deming. The authors then examine the strengths and weaknesses of Lean, Agile, and Six Sigma in relationship to the four components of Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge in order to clarify Agile’s role in contemporary Quality Management Systems. In addition to the existing literature, the authors draw extensively on their experiences and observations from more than 50 years of experience in IT and quality (both as practitioners and academics) to substantiate the opinions expressed in the paper. Findings: This paper acknowledges that while Deming’s management theory could be accurately described as “agile,” Agile is not comprehensive enough to be considered an effective stand-alone Quality Management System. However, our analysis suggests that Agile can be an important part of a contingency or umbrella approach to Quality Management. Limitations: This is a very theoretical paper based on the authors’ experiences and the existing literature. The next stage of this research is to conduct empirical studies in existing organizations to quantify the advantages and roadblocks of incorporating Agile methodologies in Quality Management Systems. Originality/value: This paper helps to fill a void in the academic literature concerning the relationships between Agile and Deming’s management theory. Moreover, using the System of Profound Knowledge to understand the role of Lean, Six Sigma and Agile in a Quality Management System is a novel approach