SKI: A New Agile Framework that supports DevOps, Continuous Delivery, and Lean Hypothesis Testing

This paper explores the need for a new process framework that can effectively support DevOps and Continuous Delivery teams. It then defines a new framework, which adheres to the lean Kanban philosophy but augments Kanban by providing a structured iteration process. This new Structured Kanban Iteration (SKI) framework defines capability-based iterations (as opposed to Kanban-like no iterations or Scrum-like time-based sprints) as well as roles, meetings and artifacts. This structure enables a team to adopt a well-defined process that can be consistently used across groups and organizations. While many of SKI’s concepts are similar to those in found in Scrum, SKI’s capability-based iterations can support the demands of product development as well as operational support efforts, and hence, is well suited for DevOps and Continuous Delivery. SKI also supports lean hypothesis testing as well as more traditional software development teams where capability-based iterations are deemed more appropriate than time-based sprints

Application and improvement/finetuning of a hybrid pm planning method to a real project

Project management is the base for all projects. As many authors say and I also say, if a project fails in planning, it will fail in execution. The aeronautic business is a very demanding work which requires a big knowledge by the persons who are working on it. The present work is inserted into a very complex project. This project has the goal to perform Depot Level Maintenance (DLM) in a NATO fleet of 14 aircrafts. This project is characterized by performing in parallel the planning and the executing phases at the same time, which need to adopt a new approach more effective to accomplish with effectiveness all work. Within this, the team forecast to accomplish all the customers’ requirements, increasing, in that way, customer satisfaction. To address this problem, this work intent to implement and improve an approach developed before by another colleague. Finally, the implementation process showed very satisfied from the point of view of the team which they realize the approach very useful during this work, increasing the planning and executing phases performance of the team. Moreover, improvements were already made, following the intention the be more adaptive to the team.Gestão de projetos é a base para todos os projetos. Como é dito por muitos autores e também dito por mim, se um projeto falhar em planear, vai falhar na execução. O negócio aeronáutico é um trabalho muito exigente, o que necessita de um grande conhecimento por parte das pessoas que estão neste tipo de área. O presente trabalho está inserido num projeto muito complexo. Este projeto tem o objetivo de executar Depot Level Maintenace (DLM) numa frota de 14 aviões da NATO. Este projeto é caracterizado por ter a fase de execução e de planeamento ao mesmo tempo, o que precisa de adotar uma nova abordagem mais eficiente para realizar com eficiência todo o trabalho. Com isto, a equipa prevê realizar todos os requerimentos do cliente, aumentando desta maneira, a satisfação do cliente. Para resolver este problema, este trabalho tenciona implementar e melhorar uma abordagem desenvolvida por outro colega. Finalmente, o processo de implementação mostrou-se muito bom do ponto de vista da equipa onde encararam a abordagem muito útil ao longo deste trabalho, aumentando assim o desempenho da fase planeamento e execução da equipa. Além disso, melhoramentos já foram feitos, continuando com a intenção de ser cada vez mais apropriado para a equipa

An Empirical Study of Scrumban Formation based on the Selection of Scrum and Kanban Practices

Scrumban is a combination of practices from Kanban and Scrum practices to manage the development of software based on different project situations. Scrumban practices formation can differ based on different projects and team members. However, since each method has its own pros and cons, inappropriate formation of Scrumban practices may lead to increased waste and time of development, and decreased quality, which in turn, affect the Agile organizations and cause inefficient and ineffective development. Practitioners of Kanban and Scrum are convinced that a combination of both methods is better than the use of one and thus, practitioners should be guided in their decision making. This study aims to show how Scrumban method is formed based on a combination of Kanban and Scrum methods. Scrumban formation and the identification of the factors, which assist in the combination of Kanban and Scrum were conducted through a review of the previous work and semi-structured interviews with 7 Agile experts, after which, content analysis was conducted to analyse the gathered data. Different factors - the method prescription, roles and responsibilities, adoption time, team size, batch size, requirements prioritization, feature size, lead time, technical practices, cost and quality, assist Agile team members in the formation of Scrumban by combining appropriate Kanban and Scrum practices. In addition, Scrumban were found to be more appropriate than Scrum or Kanban in saving time, improving quality and minimizing waste

<i>Trace++</i>: A Traceability Approach for Agile Software Engineering

Agile methodologies have been introduced as an alternative to traditional software engineering methodologies. However, despite the advantages of using agile methodologies, the transition between traditional and agile methodologies is not an easy task. There are several problems associated with the use of agile methodologies. Examples of these problems are related to (i) lack of metrics to measure the amount of rework that occurs per sprint, (ii) interruption of a project after several iterations, (iii) changes in the requirements, (iv) lack of documentation, and (v) lack of management control. In this paper we present Trace++, a traceability technique that extends traditional traceability relationships with extra information in order to support the transition between traditional and agile software development. The use of Trace++ has been evaluated in two real projects of different software development companies to measure the benefits of using Trace++ to support agile software development

A Study of Software Development Methodologies

Software development methodologies are often overlooked by software engineers as aspects of development that are handled by project managers alone. However, if every member of the team better understood the development methodology being used, it increases the likelihood that the method is properly implemented and ultimately used to complete the project more efficiently. Thus, this paper seeks to explore six common methodologies: the Waterfall Model, the Spiral Model, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming. These are discussed in two main sections in the paper. In the first section, the frameworks are isolated and viewed by themselves. The histories, unique features, and professional opinions regarding the methodologies are explored. In the second section, the methodologies are compared to one another, particularly within the context of ideal development environments and methodology advantages and disadvantages. It becomes apparent that the Waterfall and Spiral models are immensely different from the Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming methodologies. This is because the Waterfall Model and the Spiral Model are both software development life cycle models, which indicates that there is a specific flow and set of rules to follow when it comes to development. The other methodologies, however, embrace the idea of flexibility. The process of creating software often changes. For example, a client could deliver new requirements for the software after development has already begun. Thus, the Agile-based methods do not attempt to create a rigid step-by-step development plan. Rather, they incorporate the idea of embracing change, empowering teams to accept that their development plan will have to change often. This paper further explores these considerations with the intention of promoting an interest in learning about the best ways to go about planning and developing software

Aplicação de SAFe® a um Projecto de Manutenção de Aviões

Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations have a great impact on the life cycle of an aircraft (A/C). MROs organizations address various challenges on planning activities to ensure the maximum reliability of an A/C, given the amount of unscheduled maintenance. Subcontracting MRO activities by airline companies, has been continuously increasing as an alternative of performing the heavy maintenance themselves, adding a constraint on this type of industries which is to manage the customer demands. Considering the main issues, it is required to select the most suitable approach to plan and manage A/C maintenance projects. Agile Project Management (PM) could be a solution to overcome the main difficulties in this sector, managing the uncertainty throughout the project, providing customer visibility and control over the service. This work arises in a real-life case of a subcontracted MRO program in a multinational A/C manufacture enterprise, which also suffers from significant challenges of planning and managing maintenance activities throughout the project life cycle. The program has experimented agile methodologies that revealed a positive impact. In order to the whole program embrace agility and overcome the identified main problems, it was proposed the usage of an elaborate and well-defined agile framework. Scaled Agile Framework for enterprises (SAFe®) is an online knowledge base that implements diverse agile techniques to support businesses, develop and deliver solutions, achieving business agility. As SAFe® was mainly developed for software industries, due to the characteristics of the project and the type of industry where it is inserted, the application of this framework needed to be customized. Accordingly to the particularities of the project, the most suitable PM approach is a hybrid approach, where initially the scope of the project is delineated, with a contingency plan, supported by SAFe® to manage the issues that arise throughout the project. The agile methodologies allow customer centred attention, more communication channels, and by iterating over the product, planning the unscheduled work focusing on high priority tasks. Lastly, a framework in the core of the appearance of the issues was developed, to define the interconnection between the whole SAFe® concepts and to provide an extended view of how the project will progress with the new approach.As operações de manutenção, reparação e revisão produzem grande impacto no ciclo de vida de uma aeronave. As organizações que operam neste setor enfrentam vários desafios no planeamento das atividades que garantem a máxima confiabilidade de uma aeronave, dada a quantidade de manutenção não programada. A subcontratação deste tipo de atividades, por parte das companhias aéreas, tem crescido continuamente como uma alternativa à realização da própria manutenção pesada, adicionando um constrangimento para este tipo de indústrias: gerir as exigências dos clientes. Considerando os principais problemas, é necessário selecionar a abordagem mais adequada para planear e gerir projetos de manutenção de aviões. A gestão ágil de projetos poderá ser uma solução para superar as principais dificuldades deste setor, gerindo as incertezas ao longo do projeto, proporcionando visibilidade ao cliente e controlo sobre o serviço. Este trabalho surge num caso real de um programa subcontratado numa empresa multinacional de fabrico de aviões, que também sofre de desafios significativos no planeamento e gestão de atividades de manutenção ao longo do ciclo de vida do projeto. O programa experienciou metodologias ágeis que revelaram um impacto positivo. Para que todo o programa adote a agilidade e supere os principais problemas identificados, foi proposto o uso de uma elaborada e bem definida estrutura ágil. O Scaled Agile Framework para empresas é uma base de conhecimento online que implementa diversas técnicas ágeis para apoiar as empresas no desenvolvimento e entrega de soluções, alcançando a agilidade nos negócios. O SAFe® foi desenvolvido principalmente para indústrias de software, devido às características do projeto e ao tipo de indústria em que está inserido, a aplicação desta estrutura necessitou de ser personalizada. De acordo com as particularidades do projeto, a abordagem de gestão de projetos mais adequada é uma abordagem híbrida, onde inicialmente o projeto é delineado, com um plano de contingência, apoiado pelo SAFe® para gerenciar os problemas que surgem ao longo do projeto. As metodologias ágeis permitem centrar a atenção no cliente, mais canais de comunicação e, ao iterar sobre o produto, planear o trabalho não programado com foco em tarefas de alta prioridade. Por fim, foi desenvolvido um framework no cerne do surgimento dos problemas, de forma a definir as interligações entre todos os conceitos do SAFe® e fornecer uma visão ampliada de como o projeto irá progredir com a nova abordagem

Using a coach to improve team performance when the team uses a Kanban process methodology

Teams are increasing their use of the Kanban process methodology across a range of information system projects, including software development and data science projects. While the use of Kanban is growing, little has been done to explore how to improve team performance for teams that use Kanban. One possibility is to introduce a Kanban Coach (KC). This work reports on exploring the use of a Kanban Coach, with respect to both how the coach could interact with the team as well as how the use of a coach impacts team results. Specifically, this paper reports on an experiment where teams either had, or did not have, a Kanban Coach. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data collected during the experiment found that introducing KC led to significant improvement of team performance. Coordination Theory and Shared Mental Models were then employed to provide an explanation as to why a KC leads to better project results. While this experiment was done within a data science project context, the results are likely applicable across a range of information system projects