Managing risks in virtual-agile it projects: The paradigm of responsiveness

Managing risks in IT projects has always been a critical area of study for many researchers and practitioners. Due to the rapid advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs), there is an increasing number of challenges and issues for the IT organisations. Virtual-Agile IT projects being virtually operated and based on Agile methodology principles are facilitating IT industry having their main application in the software development industry, where entities from diverse backgrounds have varied working practices, languages and culture, and works together for achieving common aims. There have been several benefits integrated with the application of Virtual-Agile IT projects but the intersection of these two unique working concepts (Virtual-Agile) gives rise to several risks and uncertainties which have now become a point of concern for these organisations. The need for minimising the possibility of such evolving risks and uncertainties became the foundation of conducting this study from a theoretical viewpoint, where the researcher aimed to propose a conceptual framework helping organisations meet their business objectives constructively. The study is exploratory in nature which discovers all those appropriate practices, strategies and guidelines which support reducing risk and uncertainties between the distributed stakeholders during the product development phase. The research methodology used is primarily dependent on qualitative methods combined with the grounded theory methodology to gather rich and rigorous information from experienced and professional personnel from different geographical regions. Depending upon the procedures of grounded theory methodology, the data were collected and analysed simultaneously under the principles of constant comparison and theoretical sampling. The procedures helped to determine thought-provoking results and highlighted various dimensions of the phenomenon under investigation. Responsiveness which emerged as the central phenomenon to overcome risks and uncertainties in Virtual-Agile IT project environments proposes for a proactive system which could be able to deal with project uncertainties, thus reducing the likelihood of potential risks, and enhancing opportunities for the organisations. Responsiveness, which is an ability of the system to perceive, reflect and adapt changes in the project environments is dependent upon efficiently management of three major components, i.e. technology, timeliness and communication. Technology which is the most critical element when operating in virtual environments requires standardization and should be extensively used to develop strong networks and integration between various locations around the world. Timeliness is elementary and a pre-requisite for completion of on-going multiple projects in IT organisations Communication which is the utmost component, is required at various levels for evolving synchronisation in the overall system, such as when developing correlation and satisfaction among distributed stakeholders, estimating the level of required competency and ensuring an efficient knowledge transfer process. Responsiveness, which is required throughout the development cycle, also further influences formal risk management practices undertaken at various levels of the project. Risk management planning and implementation of the response strategies are dependent upon Responsiveness i.e. how well, timely and using technical resources the entities communicate for determining a solution to a problem. The paradigm developed, thus reflects industrial practices undertaken in the software development industry to meet project objectives and would support organisations and their prominent stakeholders to overcome risks and uncertainties in the future Virtual-Agile IT projects

Exploring the critical success factors of virtual-agile IT projects: a grounded theory study

Business dynamics and competition have necessitated IT organizations to use virtual style of working depending on the principles of agile methods. Virtual-agile IT projects are most relevant in the context of software and web development, new product development and information system projects. Organizations where fulfilling the demands of clients, face several complexities during projects; mainly obstructed by differences in location, time, culture and working dynamics etc. This paper aims to explore some useful practices undertaken in IT industry to deal with such criticalities. The research uses qualitative methods and grounded theory methodology to generate emerging themes recognized as codes or concepts; which were further transformed into categories based on their properties and dimensions. Categories or sub-categories identified were arranged using coding paradigm which helped to identify a core-category. Consequently, the relationships were refined, arranged in a unique way in selective coding phase and a storyline was generated elaborating the relationships between various categories, sub-categories and concepts. Finally, a conclusion is made and recommendations are proposed for future research

The Birds of the Highlands of South-West Saudi Arabia and adjacent parts of the Tihama: July 2010

The objective of the survey was to compare habitats and bird life in the Asir region, particularly Jebal Souda and the Raydah escarpment protected area of the Saudi Wildlife Commission, and adjacent regions of the tihama, with those observed in July 1987 (Jennings, et al., 1988). The two surveys were approximately the same length and equal amounts of time were spent in the highlands and on the tihama. A number of walked censuses were carried out during 2010 on Jebal Souda, using the same methodology as walked censuses in 1987, and the results are compared. Broadly speaking the comparison of censuses revealed that in 2010 there were less birds and reduced diversity on the Jebal Souda plateau, compared to 1987. However in the Raydah reserve the estimates of breeding bird populations compiled in the mid 1990s was little changed as far as could be assessed in 2010. The highland region of south-west Saudi Arabia, especially Jebal Souda, has been much developed since the 1987 survey and is now an important internal recreation and resort area. This has lead to a reduction in the region’s importance for terraced agriculture. These changes may be a contributing factor to changes in bird numbers on the plateau. Subsidiary tasks that arose during the 2010 survey were to help locate satellite tagged Bald Ibises Geronticus eremita from Syria which were transiting Saudi Arabia at the time. Secondly to search for the Asir subspecies of the Eurasian Magpie Pica pica asirensis, which is endemic to the south-west Saudi Arabia highlands, and is reported to be in decline. A separate team searching for the Bald Ibis located some individuals and one was found dead. Few Magpies were located and it seems clear that this very scarce bird has declined further in numbers in recent years. A number of interesting records of birds were obtained, especially on the tihama, where two new birds for Saudi Arabia were observed, Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala and Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis and one species, Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus was found breeding for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula. Some recommendations for the protection and management of the Raydah reserve are presented. A systematic list of all birds seen is provided

Is Knowledge transfer an obstacle? A post pandemic study of the challenges and proposing strategies to improve efficiency in distributed IS projects

Knowledge transfer (or sharing) has always been crucial within the dispersed teams’ structure. As we are moving into post-Covid 19 pandemic times where the norms of working are being redefined, there becomes a need to revisit this area and examine the working collaboration of the teams for meeting clients’ expectations, as there have been only few attempts undertaken after the pandemic. This study is based on interviewing 18 IT practitioners and professionals, further support by thematic analysis of data collected. The findings determined that for efficient knowledge transfer process ‘sustaining coordination’ is the core phenomenon together with having ‘closed feedback loops, exchanging particulars and logs timely, dynamic reporting and building teams capacity’ as sub-cores. The key observations identified from the results of this study were mainly the inclusion of several non-technical components which have now become essential, and back and forth support knowledge sharing in the distributed IS projects for productivity and completing tasks

Equal Protection, Unequal Political Burdens, and the CCRI

States certainly have the right to repeal previously enacted race-based affirmative action programs. As Professors Amar and Caminker point out, however, a rarely discussed line of Supreme Court authority identifies some federal constitutional limitations on the ways in which states may effect repeal. The most coherent and sophisticated reading of this line of cases suggests the following: When a state law not only repeals programs that specially benefit racial minorities, but also entrenches that repeal by making reenactment of those programs in the future particularly difficult, such a law runs contrary to the Equal Protection Clause. Taking these cases as given, Amar and Caminker apply them to the so-called California Civil Rights Initiative ( CCRI ), which appears as Proposition 209 on this November\u27s California ballot. The authors conclude that these cases, which are presently the law of the land and binding on lower courts, cut strongly against the constitutionality of the CCRI

Biological phosphorus removal from dairy wastewater by alternating anaerobic and aerobic conditions

In this study, the possibility of applying the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process for Algiers dairy wastewater which can have phosphorus contents up to 130 mg/L was examined. EBPR is conventionally performed by an anaerobic-aerobic process. The objectives of this work were to determine an optimal hydraulic retention time (HRT) in aerobic conditions and to study the effect of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) (acetic and propionic acids) addition on the phosphorus release in anaerobic conditions. The tests were performed in a batch reactor operating with an aerobic/anaerobic sequence of phases. Batch tests have been carried out at 3 HRTs in aerobic conditions (1, 2 and 3 h) while the anaerobic retention time was fixed at 4 h, to examine the effect of stress related to changes of aerobic HRT. Main results show that the most favorable aerobic retention time was found to be 2 h. The amount of P released in anaerobic phase increases from 2.25 to 2.48 mgP/gVSS with increasing aerobic HRT from 1 to 2 h and decreases to 1.28 mgP/g VSS for a time of 3 h using acetic acid. Similarly, this amount increases from 1.62 to 4.38 mgP/gVSS for 1 to 2 h and decreases to 1.41 mgP/gVSS for a time of 3 h using propionic acid. The initial release rate was directly proportional to the amount of added substrate. Propionate may be a more effective carbon source for biological phosphorus removal than acetate. Based on the results presented herein, we can confirm the possibility of phosphorus removal from dairy wastewater in the aerobic-anaerobic biological process.Keywords: Dairy wastewater, biological phosphorus removal, aerobic, anaerobic, release, acetic acid, propionic aci

Constitutional Sunsetting?: Justice O\u27Connor\u27s Closing Comments on Grutter

Most Supreme Court watchers were unsurprised that Justice Sandra Day O\u27Connor\u27s vote proved pivotal in resolving the University of Michigan affirmative action cases; indeed, Justice O\u27Connor has been in the majority in almost every case involving race over the past decade, and was in the majority in each and every one of the 5-4 decisions the Court handed down across a broad range of difficult issues last Term. Some smaller number of observers were unsurprised that Justice O\u27Connor decided (along with the four Justices who in the past have voted to allow latitude with regard to race-based affirmative action programs) to uphold the kind of flexible and individualistic use of race to promote a diverse student body embodied in the University of Michigan Law School\u27s admissions policy. Justice O\u27Connor had often cited Justice Powell\u27s opinion in Bakke favorably, and just two terms ago she had voted with the more liberal Justices in a 5-4 decision that permitted race consciousness in a voting redistricting setting. But perhaps most were surprised by a comment Justice O\u27Connor made for the Court at the end of the Grutter opinion: We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today. In this short essay, we explore that provocative sentence, and tease out some of the doctrinal and jurisprudential implications and connections that it might be understood to raise