Empirical Investigation on Agile Methods Usage: Issues Identified from Early Adopters in Malaysia

Agile Methods are a set of software practices that can help to produce products faster and at the same time deliver what customers want. Despite the benefits that Agile methods can deliver, however, we found few studies from the Southeast Asia region, particularly Malaysia. As a result, less empirical evidence can be obtained in the country making its implementation harder. To use a new method, experience from other practitioners is critical, which describes what is important, what is possible and what is not possible concerning Agile. We conducted a qualitative study to understand the issues faced by early adopters in Malaysia where Agile methods are still relatively new. The initial study involves 13 participants including project managers, CEOs, founders and software developers from seven organisations. Our study has shown that social and human aspects are important when using Agile methods. While technical aspects have always been considered to exist in software development, we found these factors to be less important when using Agile methods. The results obtained can serve as guidelines to practitioners in the country and the neighbouring regions

A report generation extension for an open source human resource management system

The rapid development of business enterprise software has greatly revolutionized how business is being done nowadays. However, most solutions are expensive and are more suited for large organizations, which poses a challenge for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to catch up in terms of operational excellence.Fortunately, initiatives for the development of free and open source software for various business processes continuously flourish with the help of academic Information Technology (IT) institutions, as well as organizations that support the Open Source movement.This phenomenon effectively empowers SMEs to achieve efficiency in various activities, and promotes financial sustainability.This study features the implementation of a free and open source Human Resource Management System (HRMS) called Orange HRM.It includes customization efforts to address the needs of some SMEs in the Philippines. It also discusses the cooperation between the academe and SMEs to promote sustainability in this project.Furthermore, it explains how scrum methodology was utilized in developing an extension for producing needed reports pertaining to work output, time sheet related information, and leaves.Various intranet and cloud-based approaches are also discussed. Opinions of employees, HR practitioners, and business owners who used the software are also summarized.Finally, recommendations and learning points are explained for future implementers

From Offshore Operation to Onshore Simulator: Using Visualized Ethnographic Outcomes to Work with Systems Developers

This paper focuses on the process of translating insights from a Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)-based study, conducted on a vessel at sea, into a model that can assist systems developers working with simulators, which are used by vessel operators for training purposes on land. That is, the empirical study at sea brought about rich insights into cooperation, which is important for systems developers to know about and consider in their designs. In the paper, we establish a model that primarily consists of a ‘computational artifact’. The model is designed to support researchers working with systems developers. Drawing on marine examples, we focus on the translation process and investigate how the model serves to visualize work activities; how it addresses relations between technical and computational artifacts, as well as between functions in technical systems and functionalities in cooperative systems. In turn, we link design back to fieldwork studies

The effects of supplemental feeds containing different protein: Energy ratios on the growth and survival of Tilapia nilotica (Oreochromis niloticus) in brackishwater ponds

A research was conducted in thirty approximately 100 sq.m earthern ponds of the Brackishwater Aquaculture Centre (BAC), College of Fisheries, University of the Philippines, Leganes Iloilo from November 7, 1982 to March 7, 1983 to evaluate the effects of nine supplemental feeds containing different protein: energy ratios on the growth and survival of Tilapia nilotica in brackishwater ponds. Nine supplemental feeds formulated were with protein levels of 20%, 25%, and 30% each at three energy levels of 3,000 kcals; 3,500 kcals; and 4,000 kcals. There was a control treatment with no feeding so that mean weight gain growth rate, feed conversion rate, and survival were determined. Fish fingerlings were acclimated from 0-29 ppt. salinity before the experiment and 20% of fish in each treatment were sampled after every 30 days. Growth rates were significantly different and increased with increasing energy level at the 30% protein feeds but decreased at high energy levels in the 20% and 25% protein feeds. Feed conversion was significantly different due to interaction between protein and energy levels in the feeds, and was better at the 30:3,500 kcals feeds having a feed conversion of 1.55 g. Survival was not significantly differen

Effective communication in globally distributed Scrum teams

Trends in information systems development include the use of globally distributed teams and agile methodologies such as Scrum. Globally distributed (GD) software development challenges team communication. Before we can evaluate effective communication in GD teams using Scrum, we need to know what effective communication means in that context. This study captures the understanding of effective communication based on interviews with industry professionals working in GD Scrum teams and reports on Scrum practices that keep communication effective. From these interviews, we developed a model consisting of communication transparency, communication quality, and communication discipline, leading to the alignment of team understanding. This paper contributes to practitioners’ knowledge about what effective communication means in GD Scrum and describes tools that support communication. The theoretical contribution of the study is a model of effective communication that lays the ground for future research on evaluating Scrum’s effect on communication in GD contexts

Exploring Software Developers’ Experiences in Startups: The Philippine

Though there may be a proliferation of technology startups, it is a sad fact that most of them fail. Because startups depend on people, there is a need to study not only the factors that lead to the success or failure of these startups, but also the experiences of the people on which these startups depend. This study explores the experiences of software developers in technology startups in the Philippines, a developing country that has consistently ranked highly in the annual Tholons Top Outsourcing Destinations Ranking and the Kearney Global Services Location Index. Thematic analysis of interview data revealed 7 themes: Startups are characterized by (1) Rapid Search, which refers to the need to look for or develop something innovative and useful under time pressure. Rapid Search in turn requires a lot of (2) Feedback, highly flexible (3) Development Strategies, a high degree of (4) Collaboration, and a lot of (5) Learning. To cope well with all the uncertainties that startups must face, startup software developers’ (6) Motivations are more intrinsic than extrinsic, and are derived from a strong sense of (7) Community, from all the Learning (theme 5) that the software developer makes because he or she must, and from the internal gratification of having found or developed something innovative and useful, i.e., Rapid Search, which is theme 1

Microsourcing - Using Information Technology to Create Unexpected Work Relationships and Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Offshore outsourcing has increased to the point where it is now part of the mainstream consciousness. The same tools that enable remote work sharing in corporations also allow individuals to outsource their own work (microsourcing)—either with company approval or covertly. As an innovative work practice, microsourcing can bring greater flexibility to the workforce. It also has the potential to undermine control of the work process as well as introducing new risks and ethical issues to the workplace. The appearance of brokers to facilitate microsourcing suggests that entrepreneurs perceive there is a demand for these arrangements. Due to the potential threats to intellectual property, even employers and managers who do not use or approve of the practice should take some steps to educate themselves about microsourcing. This research is the first known attempt to use a theoretical framework to understand microsourcing as an individual level work strategy as well as its context and drivers. This study uses Structuration Theory as a guideline in the investigation of different microsourcing implementations

The Democracy Cube as a Framework for Guiding Participatory Planning for Community-based IT Initiatives

Literature suggests there is a need to build more theoretically-informed understandings of the social processes implicated in participatory IT planning and implementation (Jakku & Thorburn, 2010). In this study, we explore the value of Archon Fung’s (2006) “democracy cube” as a framework for qualitatively examining the process we undertook for planning a community-based IT strategy. Our planning process involved consultations with multiple stakeholder groups across five different communities, as well as from other entities involved in disaster management, with the aim of surfacing factors that shaped local communities’ abilities to participate in disaster management activities. These factors, drawn from qualitative interviews and categorized using a SWOT framework, were subsequently translated into an IT strategy. In this paper, we revisit this process and examine it using Fung’s (2006) three dimensions of democratic participation as a lens: participant selection (our use of multiple stakeholder groups); communication and decision (our consultation process); and authority and power (how participant input drove our strategy). We use the framework to identify the specific practices that made IT planning participative, as well as those that made it nonparticipative. We also use our empirical data to explore ways that the framework can be enhanced

Dimensions of the Learning Organization

{Excerpt} If organizational learning is still seeking a theory, there can be no (and perhaps cannot be) agreement on the dimensions of the learning organization. Even if the dimensions were understood, the connection between learning (or lack thereof) and performance remains unclear. However, regardless of the disputed state of the art, a multilevel, practical but necessarily exploratory and simple framework of common and individual variables associated with learning and change follows. Here as elsewhere, experimentation has an important role to play. Individual and collective learning are not about finding out what others already know, even if that is a useful first stage—it is about solving problems by doing, reflecting, connecting, and testing until a solution forms part of organizational life. There is no stock answer nor is there a single best approach