Mindful revolution or mindless trend? Examining agile development as a management fashion

The growing adoption of agile methods of system development can be seen as broadly consistent with characteristics of a management fashion. However, the extent that fashions relate to how specific organizations actually adopt and use agile remains unclear. Based on five case studies, this research seeks to apply the concepts from management fashion theory to understand how organizations mindfully (or mindlessly) adopt agile methods. We find in some cases that agile appears to be characterized as a short-term, transitory trend, while in others it is embedded in an organization’s processes and culture. We identify three categories that distinguish between fashion patterns during agile adoptions: Crusaders, who exclusively adopt agile in a pure form; Tailors, who integrate agile and traditional approaches to fit their specific circumstances; and Dabblers who employ a few ceremonial agile activities alongside a traditional approach. The results from this study can encourage managerial awareness of the link between fashions and agile development, which can serve to highlight the unique opportunities to enhance mindfulness and avoid the pitfalls of mindlessness. By uncovering insights into the fashion-centric drivers of agile adoption, this research extends past theory related to both mindful innovation and management fashions.     

The utility of rapid application development in large-scale, complex projects

This paper describes an investigation into the utility of an agile development approach known as rapid application development (RAD) within a large-scale development project conducted within the public sector in the UK. Features of RAD as an 'agile' information systems development method (ISDM) are discussed and previous research identifying properties of development environments most conducive to its application are described. A case study is then presented based upon a long-term qualitative investigation of the 'unbundling' of a commercial RAD-like ISDM. The evidence from this case leads us to question established wisdom in relation to appropriate adoption and application of agile development within large-scale and complex development environments.     

Developing comprehensive acceptance tests from use cases and robustness diagrams

In agile development processes, the rewards from acceptance testing are maximized by using the practice to drive the development process. Traditionally, User Stories are used in agile projects to describe a system’s usage scenarios and are utilized as a basis for developing acceptance tests. This paper introduces a technique that aims to achieve the benefits of acceptance testing within large-scale development projects that deploy a V-model development process, specifically those that utilize use case models. The approach is based on utilizing a number of artifacts: use case models supported by robustness diagrams and domain models. The feasibility of the proposed approach is demonstrated by applying it to a real-world system—the RestoMapper system. The results show that a comprehensive set of acceptance tests can be developed based upon use case models.     

Agile distributed software development: enacting control through media and context

While face‐to‐face interaction is fundamental in agile software development, distributed environments must rely extensively on mediated interactions. Practicing agile principles in distributed environments therefore poses particular control challenges related to balancing fixed vs. evolving quality requirements and people vs. process‐based collaboration. To investigate these challenges, we conducted an in‐depth case study of a successful agile distributed software project with participants from a Russian firm and a Danish firm. Applying Kirsch's elements of control framework, we offer an analysis of how control was enacted through the project context and in the participants' mediated communication. The analysis reveals that formal measurement and evaluation control were persistently enacted through mediated communication. These formal control practices were, however, predominantly carried out in conjunction with informal roles and relationships such as clan‐like control inherent in agile development. Overall, the study demonstrates that, if appropriately applied, communication technologies can significantly support distributed, agile practices by allowing concurrent enactment of both formal and informal controls. The paper discusses these findings as they relate to previous research and concludes with their implications for future research.     

传统软件开发团队如何转型为敏捷开发团队

通过在一个团队中推行敏捷开发流程,探讨团队如何根据自身的情况选取相应的敏捷开发方法以及团队由原有的开发方法转为使用敏捷开发方法的初期用何种方法才能有效的使团队接受敏捷,并阐述使用这些方法的原因。     

Assessing Self-Organization in Agile Software Development Teams

Self-organization, based on the Socio-Technical Design (STS) work design principles, is considered a hallmark of agile software development (SD) teams and an antecedent of motivation and innovation at work. However, while self-organization is considered a salient success factor in agile SD, past research has shown that there are many hurdles in self-organizing. Yet, the actual level of self-organization practiced in agile teams has not been investigated. In this study we develop a measure to do so using the nine principles of STS work design by Cherns [15]. We found that while the level of self-organization varies across agile projects, on each of the nine dimensions the level of self-organization in agile teams was found to be significantly higher than those using plan-driven methods. Furthermore, self-organization was found to positively affect the motivation and innovativeness of SD teams.     

基于敏捷思想的iOS平台软件的设计与实现

软件的开发过程与最初的计划保持一致已经不再是当今软件开发的主要目标了,如何应对客户对于需求的不断变化,快速地交付高质量的软件并做到让客户满意,已经成为了一个软件开发公司能否在当今竞争激烈的软件行业中得以生存的关键。文中在对统一软件过程以及敏捷方法的优势和局限性研究与分析的基础上,利用敏捷思想对统一过程进行适当裁剪并利用统一思想对敏捷开发进行合理扩充,提出了一种基于统一过程和敏捷方法的软件开发过程,成功地将敏捷过程应用到iOS智能手机操作系统开发这一实际的项目中。实践证明,敏捷开发方法在应对需求频繁变化和提高软件开发效率方面均起到了很好的效果。     

Agile requirements engineering practices and challenges: an empirical study

This paper describes empirical research into agile requirements engineering (RE) practices. Based on an analysis of data collected in 16 US software development organizations, we identify six agile practices. We also identify seven challenges that are created by the use of these practices. We further analyse how this collection of practices helps mitigate some, while exacerbating other risks in RE. We provide a framework for evaluating the impact and appropriateness of agile RE practices by relating them to RE risks. Two risks that are intractable by agile RE practices emerge from the analysis. First, problems with customer inability and a lack of concurrence among customers significantly impact agile development. Second, risks associated with the neglecting non‐functional requirements such as security and scalability are a serious concern. Developers should carefully evaluate the risk factors in their project environment to understand whether the benefits of agile RE practices outweigh the costs imposed by the challenges.     

Routinisation of B2B E-commerce by small firms: A process perspective

Prior research on e-business based on the TOE framework and the factor based variance approach have yielded mixed results in that differences exist in terms of the identified technology, organisation and environmental factors and their influence at different steps of the routinisation trajectory. In this research we probe deeper into the routinisation phenomenon and investigate the process in a bid to understand ??when?? and ??why?? certain TOE factors become crucial determinants at different stages of the routinisation process. The context of our study is integration of B2B e-markets by four small firms. Our findings from interpretive case studies indicate that changes in organisational characteristic (such as IT infrastructure), environmental characteristics (such as e-business usage in the industry), and perceptions of e-business (risk and benefit) over time influenced movement along the routinisation trajectory. There is evidence that in high risk e-business, the ability to conduct trials with controlled risk is a crucial determinant of progression from initial to continued usage. Also, contrary to the independent effects of the organisation, environment and technology characteristics assumed in prior research, we found that it is the interaction effect of the three factors that determined initial attitude, initial usage and continued usage. Based on our findings we develop a process model of e-business routinisation and discuss the theoretical and practical implications.     

Communities of practice in a large distributed agile software development organization – Case Ericsson

ContextCommunities of practice—groups of experts who share a common interest or topic and collectively want to deepen their knowledge—can be an important part of a successful lean and agile adoption in particular in large organizations.ObjectiveIn this paper, we present a study on how a large organization within Ericsson with 400 persons in 40 Scrum teams at three sites adopted the use of Communities of Practice (CoP) as part of their transformation from a traditional plan-driven organization to lean and agile.MethodsWe collected data by 52 semi-structured interviews on two sites, and longitudinal non-participant observation of the transformation during over 20 site visits over a period of two years.ResultsThe organization had over 20 CoPs, gathering weekly, bi-weekly or on a need basis. CoPs had several purposes including knowledge sharing and learning, coordination, technical work, and organizational development. Examples of CoPs include Feature Coordination CoPs to coordinate between teams working on the same feature, a Coaching CoP to discuss agile implementation challenges and successes and to help lead the organizational continuous improvement, an end-to-end CoP to remove bottlenecks from the flow, and Developers CoPs to share good development practices. Success factors of well-functioning CoPs include having a good topic, passionate leader, proper agenda, decision making authority, open community, supporting tools, suitable rhythm, and cross-site participation when needed. Organizational support include creating a supportive atmosphere and providing a suitable infrastructure for CoPs.ConclusionsIn the case organization, CoPs were initially used to support the agile transformation, and as part of the distributed Scrum implementation. As the transformation progressed, the CoPs also took on the role of supporting continuous organizational improvements. CoPs became a central mechanism behind the success of the large-scale agile implementation in the case organization that helped mitigate some of the most pressing problems of the agile transformation.     

敏捷需求建模的研究与设计

文章综合研究了敏捷方法与极限编程开发过程,结合需求工程方法,设计提出了基于敏捷思想的敏捷需求建模（Agile Requiremenb Modeling。简称ARM）。敏捷需求建模作为各种敏捷方法在软件需求中的实践补充,能够满足CMMI的目标。可以为中小型软件开发组织的行动指南提供参考。     

基于多任务优先算法的异地敏捷软件开发任务分派

针对日益受欢迎的异地敏捷软件开发,提出了一种基于多任务优先算法的任务分派方法,并运用数学计算方法进行任务分派.通过多模型调查研究,较全面综合考虑异地敏捷开发中多方面影响因素,给出一种具体分派方法,以提高任务分派的有效性.经验证,该任务分派方法适合异地敏捷软件开发.     

Acceptance of agile methodologies: A critical review and conceptual framework

It is widely believed that systems development methodologies (SDMs) can help improve the software development process. Nevertheless, their deployment often encounters resistance from systems developers. Agile methodologies, the latest batch of SDMs that are most suitable in dealing with volatile business requirements, are likely to face the same challenge as they require developers to drastically change their work habits and acquire new skills. This paper addresses what can be done to overcome the challenge to agile methodologies acceptance. We provide a critical review of the extant literature on the acceptance of traditional SDMs and agile methodologies, and develop a conceptual framework for agile methodologies acceptance based on a knowledge management perspective. This framework can provide guidance for future research into acceptance of agile methodologies, and has implications for practitioners concerned with the effective deployment of agile methodologies.     

基于敏捷软件开发的软件工程教学研究

讨论了当前软件工程存在的问题和敏捷软件开发对相应问题的解决方法;针对软件工程在教学中遇到的问题,提出了基于敏捷软件开发组织教学内容和教学实践的方法,并分析了这种方法的优点。     

Risks to Effective Knowledge Sharing in Agile Software Teams: A Model for Assessing and Mitigating Risks

We present an empirically grounded and theoretically informed model for the assessment and mitigation of risks to effective knowledge sharing in agile development. The model is anchored in empirical insights from four agile projects across two software companies and in extant research on risk‐strategy analysis and knowledge sharing in software development. We develop the model as part of the long‐standing tradition of presenting risk management models dedicated to specific issues in software development and confirm its practical usefulness in one of the software companies studied. The model offers concepts and processes to assess a project's knowledge sharing risk profile and articulate an overall resolution strategy plan to mitigate the risks. The results highlight how different knowledge sharing risk management profiles can lead to different project performance outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of research opportunities that the results offer software development scholarship. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Waste identification as the means for improving communication in globally distributed agile software development

Agile approaches highly values communication between team members to improve software development processes, even though, communication in globally distributed agile teams can be difficult. Literature proposes solutions for mitigating the challenges encountered in these environments. These solutions range from general-level recommendations and practices to the use of communication tools. However, an approach covering the whole development process for identifying challenges, and improving communication in globally distributed agile development projects, is missing. In order to address this, we conducted a case study within a globally distributed agile software development project focused on using the concept of waste as a lens for identifying non-value producing communication elements. In order to achieve this, we constructed a waste identification approach through which we identified five communication wastes, and solutions to mitigate them. These wastes can help companies identify communication issues that are present in their development efforts, while the presented waste identification technique gives them a mechanism for waste identification and mitigation. This work contributes to the scientific community by increasing the knowledge about communication in globally distributed agile development efforts.     

How agile software development methods reduce work exhaustion: Insights on role perceptions and organizational skills

Agile methods are widely used in the software industry as a way to more rapidly develop and deliver new software. They define iterative work processes, advocate self‐organization and openness for change, and prescribe how software developers interact with each other and external stakeholders. Despite their popularity, it is unclear how agile methods influence work exhaustion in software developers and how developer skills play into this effect. On the one hand, agile methods may reduce software developers' work exhaustion by levelling out their workload across the entire duration of a project. On the other hand, agile methods exert a high level of pressure on software developers to continuously deliver working software, create many intensive social interactions, and to frequently adapt to changes. In light of these effects, prior research could not explain why some software developers become less exhausted from using agile methods, whereas others perceive the exact opposite. Based on the job demand‐control model, we develop a theoretical model connecting agile method use to individual developer skills and to two established determinants of employee exhaustion: role conflict and role ambiguity. We tested our research model in a field study among 1894 software developers in 217 project teams that used agile methods. The random coefficient modelling results show that agile method use facilitates the achievement of clear and unambiguous role perceptions and thereby reduces work exhaustion in developers, particularly if developers possess the organizational skills to effectively interact with others in their organization. We highlight implications for theory on the individual‐level effects of software development methods and provide practical insights for software companies.     

A framework to support the evaluation, adoption and improvement of agile methods in practice

Agile methods are often seen as providing ways to avoid overheads typically perceived as being imposed by traditional software development environments. However, few organizations are psychologically or technically able to take on an agile approach rapidly and effectively. Here, we describe a number of approaches to assist in such a transition. The Agile Software Solution Framework (ASSF) provides an overall context for the exploration of agile methods, knowledge and governance and contains an Agile Toolkit for quantifying part of the agile process. These link to the business aspects of software development so that the business value and agile process are well aligned. Finally, we describe how these theories are applied in practice with two industry case studies using the Agile Adoption and Improvement Model (AAIM).     

敏捷组织的复杂适应性及其行为模式研究

从CAS理论出发,分析了敏捷软件开发方法的复杂适应性,指出敏捷开发组织是一个复杂适应性系统,并建立敏捷开发组织的个体与环境关系的回声模型以及主体行为模式的刺激-反应模型,为敏捷软件开发方法的运行机制和持续改进提供理论依据。     

基于敏捷技术开发的ARP国际合作管理系统

基于中国科学院资源规划(Academia Resource Planning,简称ARP)项目建设,阐述针对科学院院所两级管理情况下,将服务、科研、管理信息化,集成人、财、物、项目以及多种资源共享并能够对高层领导支持决策分析的复杂管理信息系统-ARP 系统。此系统包含十大应用系统和三大建设支撑平台。以国际合作系统开发设计为例,为能快速响应由管理变革带来的需求变更,采用基于敏捷技术平台的开发方法建设业务系统,并实时响应用户。应用效果表明,该方法建设的系统极大的提高了工作效率,提升了院管理信息化水平。