The Structuring of Freedom in Agile Development

Management literature on agile software development has largely focused on the relationship between agile methods and behavioral control, particularly the role that control plays in fostering flexibility. Although the focus on control has helpfully illuminated the constraints necessary in agile projects, it has provided only a half-finished portrait of the importance of structure in this approach to software development. This paper deconstructs the customary oppositions between structure and flexibility, control and freedom, by examining the socially-governed and technologically-mediated practices that produce and sustain agility in an organization that is an exemplary practitioner of the agile approach. We find that an imbrication of social convention and material agency provides the kind of structure that nurtures those markers of ‘freedom’ – flexibility, creativity, improvisation, and adaptability – for which agile is touted

Flexible Global Software Development (GSD): Antecedents of Success in Requirements Analysis

Globalization of software development has resulted in a rapid shift away from the traditional collocated, on-site development model, to the offshoring model. Emerging trends indicate an increasing interest in offshoring even in early phases like requirements analysis. Additionally, the flexibility offered by the agile development approach makes it attractive for adaptation in globally distributed software work. A question of significance then is what impacts the success of offshoring earlier phases, like requirements analysis, in a flexible and globally distributed environment? This article incorporates the stance of control theory to posit a research model that examines antecedent factors such as requirements change, facilitation by vendor and client site-coordinators, control, and computer-mediated communication. The impact of these factors on success of requirements analysis projects in a “flexible” global setting is tested using two quasi-experiments involving students from Management Development Institute, India and Marquette University, USA. Results indicate that formal modes of control significantly influence project success during requirements analysis. Further, facilitation by both client and vendor site coordinators positively impacts requirements analysis success

Creative idea exploration within the structure of a guiding framework : the card brainstorming game

I present a card brainstorming exercise that transforms a conceptual tangible interaction framework into a tool for creative dialogue and discuss the experiences made in using it. Ten sessions with this card game demonstrate the frameworks' versatility and utility. Observation and participant feedback highlight the value of a provocative question format and of the metaphor of a card game

Doing, being, becoming: a historical appraisal of the modalities of project-based learning

Any pedagogy of media practice sits at the intersection between training for employment and education for critical thinking. As such, the use of projects is a primary means of structuring learning experiences as a means of mirroring professional practice. Yet, our understanding of the nature of projects and of project-based learning is arguably under-theorised and largely taken for granted. This paper attempts to address this issue through a synthesis of the literature from organisational studies and experiential learning. The article aims to shift the debate around project-based learning away from an instrumentalist agenda, to one that considers the social context and lived experience of projects and re-conceptualises projects as ontological modalities of doing, being and becoming. In this way, the article aims to provide a means for thinking about the use of project-based learning within the media practice curriculum that draws on metaphors of discovery, rather than of construction

On the metaphysics of management

The question about the metaphysics of management is considered especially from the point of view of the subject, acts and object of management. Management is understood holistically, in connection to production, rather than as an independent domain in itself. In terms of metaphysics, the time-honoured question about the superiority of thing (substance, matter) ontology or process ontology is addressed. The determination of metaphysical commitments is discussed. Empirical evidence on the appropriateness of alternative metaphysical assumptions inmanagement is forwarded. It is concluded that Western management thinking has been dominated by thing metaphysics. This has led to deficient conceptualizations and counterproductive methods, present in the 20th century. There have been process metaphysics based correctives, which include Japanese-originated methods and out-of-the box methods developed by Western parties. These correctives have often outperformed their substance based counterparts, but their adoption in the West has been slow. It is concluded that the Western metaphysical assumptions, especially when implicit, hinder learning, understanding and implementation of the process based correctives in the realm of management. However, even if the dominant Western metaphysics constrains our thinking, it might be possible to break out of it, through appropriate ontology training

Management and architecture click: The FAD(E)E Framework.

Enterprises are living things. They constantly need to be (re-)architected in order to achieve the necessary agility, alignment and integration. This paper gives a high-level overview of how companies can go about doing 'enterprise architecture' in the context of both the classic (isolated) enterprise and the Extended Enterprise. By discussing the goals that are pursued in an enterprise architecture effort we reveal some basic requirements that can be put on the process of architecting the enterprise. The relationship between managing and architecting the enterprise is discussed and clarified in the FAD(E)E, the Framework for the Architectural Development of the (Extended) Enterprise.Management; Architecture; Framework;

Collective Agility, Paradox and Organizational Improvisation:the Development of a Particle Physics Grid

This paper examines systems development in a global collaborative community of high-energy physics and offers insights and implications for agile systems development in other large scale and distributed settings. The paper studies the ongoing construction of the UK's computing grid for particle physics (GridPP), a grid that is itself part of the world's largest grid, the Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid. We observe in this project a collective, agile and distributed performance through which the Grid is constructed. We express this through the concept of ‘collective agility’ which captures a large distributed performance rather than the more conventional sense of agility as small-group and deliberate systems development practices. The collective agility of GridPP is analysed as a process of ‘enacted emergence’ expressed through the dynamics of six improvisation paradoxes