950 research outputs found
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
A Wheelbarrow Full of Frogs: Understanding Portfolio Management for Agile Projects
Organizations increasingly embrace agile approaches for IT projects, replacing rigid formal stage-gate control by flexible output-orientation. This challenges established program or portfolio management approaches that largely rely on consolidated (stage-gate) project metrics. Based on seven case studies of large Dutch organizations we explore these challenges and the organizational responses towards a new approach to portfolio management for agile projects. Data-collection is guided by four propositions derived from control theory and portfolio management literature. Our findings show that portfolio management adapts to agile projects by performing fewer and less strict process controls, by modifying the budget controls and by shifting from IT project/program control to business outcome control, with an increased focus on business value
Management Methods for Complex Projects
This freely available project management eBook is the start of your journey in the field of complex project management methodologies, introducing you to some of the core methods, processes and tools as recognised by the project management discipline. This eBook lays out methodologies such as XP, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Six Sigma, PRINCE2, Waterfall, PRiSM, Soft Systems Methodology as well as introducing Project Design as a method so you can leverage the right project management approach. This eBook will be of value to students, practitioners, and businesses in Australia and overseas seeking professional development in the field of project management methodologies
Artefacts and agile method tailoring in large-scale offshore software development programmes
Context: Large-scale offshore software development programmes are complex, with challenging deadlines and a high risk of failure. Agile methods are being adopted, despite the challenges of coordinating multiple development teams. Agile processes are tailored to support team coordination. Artefacts are tangible products of the software development process, intended to ensure consistency in the approach of teams on the same development programme.
Objective: This study aims to increase understanding of how development processes are tailored to meet the needs of large-scale offshore software development programmes, by focusing on artefact inventories used in the development process.
Method: A grounded theory approach using 46 practitioner interviews, supplemented with documentary sources and observations, in nine international companies was adopted. The grounded theory concepts of open coding, memoing, constant comparison and saturation were used in data analysis.
Results: The study has identified 25 artefacts, organised into five categories: feature, sprint, release, product and corporate governance. It was discovered that conventional agile artefacts are enriched with artefacts associated with plan-based methods in order to provide governance. The empirical evidence collected in the study has been used to identify a primary owner of each artefact and map each artefact to specific activities within each of the agile roles.
Conclusion: The development programmes in this study create agile and plan-based artefacts to improve compliance with enterprise quality standards and technology strategies, whilst also mitigating risk of failure. Management of these additional artefacts is currently improvised because agile development processes lack corresponding ceremonies
HOW CAN SCRUM BE SUCCESFUL? COMPETENCES OF THE SCRUM PRODUCT OWNER
For decades a structured development process was followed when developing software. However, the suggested predictability of such an approach has long been proofed erroneous and in its place, more flexible methods have been suggested. Such agile methods are less structured and trust in the creativity of the development team in countering unpredicted events and realizing a solution. Currently one of the most popular agile methodologies is Scrum. There are only three roles in Scrum: the development team, the Scrum master and the product owner. As the product owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and the work of the development team, this role is key in the success of Scrum. However, the competences needed by the product owner are unclear. Based on this the research question underlying this study is: Which competences of the Scrum product owner are related to team effectiveness and stakeholder satisfaction? In order to answer this question empirical data was collected from 141 employees in organizations in the Netherlands. To analyse the data, we have conducted correlation analyses, t-tests and regression analyses. The most important findings are that the competences ‘Relationship management’ and ‘User support’ are the main predictor for both Team effectiveness as Stakeholder satisfaction
Scalable agile frameworks in large enterprise project portfolio management
Con un alcance de estudio exploratorio, debido a que se ha investigado poco y se encuentra en
un estado emergente, el propósito de la investigación fue explorar la implementación de los
marcos ágiles escalables en la gestión del portafolio de proyectos (PPM) de grandes empresas.
Además, este estudio de caso cualitativo planteó la siguiente pregunta principal de
investigación: ¿De qué manera los marcos ágiles escalables se implementan en la PPM de
grandes empresas, y por qué? Este estudio recopiló información de 59 portafolios de
proyectos en 22 empresas con implementaciones de métodos ágiles y marcos ágiles escalables
de las industrias tecnologías de la información (IT- por sus siglas en inglés), financiera y
telecomunicaciones, de México, Colombia, Perú, Ecuador, Costa Rica y Chile, mediante 43
entrevistas en profundidad semiestructuradas. Los hallazgos revelan que existen portafolios de
proyectos con alta variabilidad en servicio, producto e innovación, y con implementaciones
híbridas de Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Spotify Model y Scrum. Además, enfrentan
diferentes desafíos relacionados con la implementación de los marcos ágiles escalables en la
PPM, la cultura organizacional, resistencia al cambio y liderazgo estratégico. Del mismo
modo, los hallazgos demuestran que los marcos ágiles son una opción viable para optimizar el
time-to-market, aumentar la productividad de los equipos y mejorar la comunicación a nivel
general. Este estudio es uno de los primeros en explorar cómo implementan las grandes
empresas los marcos ágiles escalables en la PPM para llenar el vacío en la literatura
relacionado con cómo y cuándo las empresas deben abordar un proceso de transformación
ágil que funcione de manera exitosa en su PPM. Por lo tanto, este estudio proporciona
evidencia empírica de seis países latinoamericanos como base potencial para futuras
investigaciones y publicaciones.With an exploratory study scope, due to little research and in an emerging state, the
purpose of the research was to explore the implementation of scalable agile frameworks in
project portfolio management (PPM) of large enterprises. This qualitative case study posed as
its primary research question: How and why are scalable agile frameworks implemented in
the PPM of large companies? Further, this study used the purposive sampling method and the
snowball technique. Data were collected from 59 project portfolios in 22 companies with
agile and scalable agile framework implementations in the information technology (IT),
financial and telecommunications industries in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica
and Chile, through 43 semi-structured in-depth interviews. The findings reveal that there are
project portfolios with high variability in service, product and innovation, and with hybrid
implementations of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Spotify Model and Scrum. In addition,
they face different challenges related to the implementation of scalable agile frameworks in
PPM, organizational culture, resistance to change, and strategic leadership. Similarly, the
findings demonstrate that agile frameworks are a viable option to optimize time-to-market,
increase team productivity and improve communication across the board. This study
represents one of the first to explore how large companies implement scalable agile
frameworks in PPM to fill the gap in the literature related to how and when companies should
approach an agile transformation process working successfully in their PPM. Accordingly,
this study provides empirical evidence from six Latin American countries as a potential basis
for future research and publications
Inter-team Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Development: A Case Study of Three Enabling Mechanisms
Agile methods are increasingly used in large development projects, with multiple development teams. A central question is then what is needed to coordinate feature teams efficiently. This study exam- ines three mechanisms for coordination: Shared mental models, commu- nication and trust in a large-scale development project with 12 feature teams running over a four-year period. We analyse the findings in rela- tion to suggested frameworks for large-scale agile development and a theory on coordination, and provide new recommendations for practice and theory.Inter-team Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Development: A Case Study of Three Enabling MechanismspublishedVersio
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