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.     

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.     

Drivers of agile software development use: Dialectic interplay between benefits and hindrances

Context

Agile software development with its emphasis on producing working code through frequent releases, extensive client interactions and iterative development has emerged as an alternative to traditional plan-based software development methods. While a number of case studies have provided insights into the use and consequences of agile, few empirical studies have examined the factors that drive the adoption and use of agile.

Objective

We draw on intention-based theories and a dialectic perspective to identify factors driving the use of agile practices among adopters of this software development methodology.

Method

Data for the study was gathered through an anonymous online survey of software development professionals. We requested participation from members of a selected list of online discussion groups, and received 98 responses.

Results

Our analyses reveal that subjective norm and training play a significant role in influencing software developers’ use of agile processes and methods, while perceived benefits and perceived limitations are not primary drivers of agile use among adopters. Interestingly, perceived benefit emerges as a significant predictor of agile use only if adopters face hindrances to their agile practices.

Conclusion

We conclude that research in the adoption of software development innovations should examine the effects of both enabling and detracting factors and the interactions between them. Since training, subjective norm, and the interplay between perceived benefits and perceived hindrances appear to be key factors influencing the adoption of agile methods, researchers can focus on how to (a) perform training on agile methods more effectively, (b) facilitate the dialog between developers and managers about perceived benefits and hindrances, and (c) capitalize on subjective norm to publicize the benefits of agile methods within an organization. Further, when managing the transition to new software development methods, we recommend that practitioners adapt their strategies and tactics contingent on the extent of perceived hindrances to the change.     

It Pays to Be Agile

Agile development approaches emphasize working software, customer collaboration, adaptation, and a strong commitment to achieving business results. In this article, we use the Human Capital Theory as the rationale for why IT professionals possessing agile skills garner salary benefits. We then employ a Human Capital Model to estimate the benefits. Further, we investigate two specific categories of IT job types: software application development professionals and IT professionals at the strategic level of organizations. Our Human Capital Model was fit using a data set from an online survey of IT professionals with 12,893 respondents. Our results confirm the Agile benefits with an overall salary premium of 22.6%. We also specifically discuss the various premiums across application development job titles as well as strategic positions. Based on our findings, we draw practical implications for both IT professionals and management.     

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。     

Usability in agile software development: A tertiary study

In the last years the interest in developing research on integration of usability and agile software development has been increasing. The number of systematic literature reviews, systematic mapping studies and non-systematic reviews, related to this thematic has also increased. Nevertheless, there is no analysis on the quality of these published secondary studies, nor is there a consolidated research that brings the answer of how to integrate these two areas. The goal of this paper is to categorize secondary studies related to the integration of usability and agile software development and present a critical analysis on the quality of the selected studies. To accomplish this goal a tertiary study was performed to categorize the related studies selected. Initially 3,065 papers were identified and further narrowed to 14 by applying exclusion criteria and analysis. We classified the selected studies as systematic literature reviews, systematic mapping studies and non-systematic literature reviews to report the data analysis. As a result of this study different forms to integrate usability and agile software development were detected as well as the various challenges that must be overcome for the integration success. Six main categories were identified to represent ways of integrating usability into agile development: processes, techniques, practices, recommendations, principles and different approaches. Regarding to the challenges for the integration seven main categories were also identified: issues related to tests, time, work balance, modularization, feedback, prioritization, and documentation. Although the interest in researching the integration of usability and agile software development has increased in the last years, mostly of the analyzed studies neglected the quality criteria and presented difficulties to use methods to synthetize the research results. Despite this, it has been realized that the integration of usability with agile software development is possible and is strongly aligned with user-centered design. The initial studies indicated a separation of activities and roles into specific tracks with parallel work to treat usability in agile software development, but the trend is no longer to manage and control these activities in separate ways, so new challenges are becoming to appear. Although we have identified several points of tension, the integration does not become unfeasible.     

The use of prototypes to bridge knowledge boundaries in agile software development

Bridging knowledge boundaries among project team members is essential to prevent delays or complete failure of software development projects. Prior researchers have reported that software prototypes can be used to help bridge knowledge boundaries between team members in traditional software development settings, yet their use in an agile development setting remains unexplored. Agile development centers the interactions between team members on emerging representations of the prototype whose properties are prone to change over time. Therefore, we conducted an in‐depth study of an agile development project to enhance our understanding on how software prototypes are used as boundary objects in a distributed team setting. Our analyses of team member interactions during 46 virtual meetings that took place over a period of 6 months revealed four different prototype use practices (exemplifying, contrasting, relating, framing) that were effective in bridging syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic knowledge boundaries. We also provide empirically grounded evidence of how variations in object properties can afford different use practices, how the use practices take advantage of these properties, and how object properties are reshaped through these use practices as different types of knowledge boundaries are bridged. These findings bear important implications for research on prototypes as boundary objects in software development in particular and boundary object use in general.     

“Leagile” software development: An experience report analysis of the application of lean approaches in agile software development

In recent years there has been a noticeable shift in attention from those who use agile software development toward lean software development, often labelled as a shift “from agile to lean”. However, the reality may not be as simple or linear as this label implies. To provide a better understanding of lean software development approaches and how they are applied in agile software development, we have examined 30 experience reports published in past agile software conferences in which experiences of applying lean approaches in agile software development were reported. The analysis identified six types of lean application. The results of our study show that lean can be applied in agile processes in different manners for different purposes. Lean concepts, principles and practices are most often used for continuous agile process improvement, with the most recent introduction being the kanban approach, introducing a continuous, flow-based substitute to time-boxed agile processes.     

极限编程的质量保证分析

极限编程是敏捷软件开发方法的代表,在敏捷的同时能否保证最终软件产品的高质量成为我们所关心的问题。通过讨论质量管理的一般过程、对比极限编程相比其它软件过程的特点,从外部过程的控制和内部代码两个角度分析了极限编程控制软件产品质量的方法。分析结果表明,极限编程能够保证一定的软件质量。     

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.     

Exploring principles of user-centered agile software development: A literature review

ContextIn the last decade, software development has been characterized by two major approaches: agile software development, which aims to achieve increased velocity and flexibility during the development process, and user-centered design, which places the goals and needs of the system’s end-users at the center of software development in order to deliver software with appropriate usability. Hybrid development models, referred to as user-centered agile software development (UCASD) in this article, propose to combine the merits of both approaches in order to design software that is both useful and usable.ObjectiveThis paper aims to capture the current state of the art in UCASD approaches and to derive generic principles from these approaches. More specifically, we investigate the following research question: Which principles constitute a user-centered agile software development approach?MethodWe conduct a systematic review of the literature on UCASD. Identified works are analyzed using a coding scheme that differentiates four levels of UCASD: the process, practices, people/social and technology dimensions. Through subsequent synthesis, we derive generic principles of UCASD.ResultsWe identified and analyzed 83 relevant publications. The analysis resulted in a comprehensive coding system and five principles for UCASD: (1) separate product discovery and product creation, (2) iterative and incremental design and development, (3) parallel interwoven creation tracks, (4) continuous stakeholder involvement, and (5) artifact-mediated communication.ConclusionOur paper contributes to the software development body of knowledge by (1) providing a broad overview of existing works in the area of UCASD, (2) deriving an analysis framework (in form a coding system) for works in this area, going beyond former classifications, and (3) identifying generic principles of UCASD and associating them with specific practices and processes.     

Large-scale agile transformation at Ericsson: a case study

Many large organizations are adopting agile software development as part of their continuous push towards higher flexibility and shorter lead times, yet few reports on large-scale agile transformations are available in the literature. In this paper we report how Ericsson introduced agile in a new R&D product development program developing a XaaS platform and a related set of services, while simultaneously scaling it up aggressively. The overarching goal for the R&D organization, distributed to five sites at two continents, was to achieve continuous feature delivery. This single case study is based on 45 semi-structured interviews during visits at four sites, and five observation sessions at three sites. We describe how the organization experimented with different set-ups for their tens of agile teams aiming for rapid end-to-end development: from component-based virtual teams to totally cross-functional, cross-component, cross-site teams. Moreover, we discuss the challenges the organization faced and how they mitigated them on their journey towards continuous and rapid software engineering. We present four lessons learned for large-scale agile transformations: 1) consider using an experimental approach to transformation, 2) consider implementing the transformation step-wise in complex large-scale settings, 3) team inter-changeability can be limited in a complex large-scale product — specialization might be needed, and 4) not using a common agile framework for the whole organization, in combination with insufficient common trainings and coaching may lead to a lack of common direction in the agile implementation. Further in-depth case studies on large-scale agile transformations, on customizing agile to large-scale settings, as well as on the use of scaling frameworks are needed.     

Short-Term Physiological Strain and Recovery among Employees Working with Agile and Lean Methods in Software and Embedded ICT Systems

Agile work practices have become popular. Although they hold great promise regarding well-being at work, systematic scientific research on this connection is scarce. This article aims to capture the current situation by measuring the state of mental workload using physiological indicators and by comparing high and low perceived agile work. Is the agile way of working associated with well-being at work? Three software teams and four embedded development teams were used in the different phases of applying agile methods. We conducted a baseline survey on perceived agile work in the team and carried out physiological measurements three times in a working period. Repeated-measure procedure was used to analyze the effects. The results provide evidence that agile work could even out workload during a working period, i.e. maintain sustainable pace. The results of the low agile work were in line with the assumption that work will accumulate at the end of the period because of loose planning and a lack of frequent checking. Therefore, workers also felt more strain from the pressure of deadlines.     

Understanding user differences in open-source workflow management system usage intentions

Open-source software systems have become a viable alternative to proprietary systems. We collected data on the usage of an open-source workflow management system developed by a university research group, and examined this data with a focus on how three different user cohorts – students, academics and industry professionals – develop behavioral intentions to use the system. Building upon a framework of motivational components, we examined the group differences in extrinsic versus intrinsic motivations on continued usage intentions. Our study provides a detailed understanding of the use of open-source workflow management systems in different user communities. Moreover, it discusses implications for the provision of workflow management systems, the user-specific management of open-source systems and the development of services in the wider user community.     

A comparative study of software tools for user story management

ContextUser stories have become widely accepted in agile software development. Consequently, a great number of software tools that provide, inter alia, support for practices based on user stories have emerged in recent years. These tools may have different features and focus in terms of support for agile requirements engineering (RE) concepts and practices.ObjectiveThe present study aims to provide a deep insight into the current capabilities and future trends of software support for agile RE practices based on user stories.MethodA comparative qualitative study of a set of agile software tools has been conducted according to the following criteria: coverage of the key functional requirements, support for basic agile RE concepts and practices, and user satisfaction with the tool. The criteria for tool selection were: diversity of software tools, high rating on the user-stories community Web site (http://www.userstories.com), and availability for review.ResultsThe results show a generally good coverage of key functional requirements related to management of user stories and epics, high-level release planning and low-level iteration planning. On the other hand, user-role modeling and persona support have not been addressed at all, and it has been found that requirements for acceptance testing support were completely covered by only one tool. More importantly, the study has revealed significant differences in the way different tools support agile RE concepts and practices (if at all). Finally, qualitative analysis of user reviews has demonstrated that practitioners prefer tools that are easy to set up, easy to learn, easy to use, and easy to customize, over more sophisticated but simultaneously more demanding tools.ConclusionAlthough the progress that has been made since the inception of these tools is quite clear, there is still room for improvements in terms of support for various agile RE practices within a specific agile process.     

Strengths and barriers behind the successful agile deployment—insights from the three software intensive companies in Finland

The number of success stories being reported concerning agile software development has led to an increase in interest among industries and research communities. The purpose of this paper is to identify strengths and barriers for ‘successful agile deployment’ in the software companies. This knowledge can benefit software companies planning their current strategy for agile deployment. Analysis of 57 developers, architects, project managers, customers, quality managers, and line and product managers in three case companies identifies 71 strengths and 169 barriers of agile deployment. The analysis revealed the importance of management providing the necessary goals and support for agile development. It also indicated the significance of defining a tailored process model and giving developers the freedom to improve their own agile development process continuously during agile deployment. The identified barriers, strengths and recommendations can be used as a checklist for planning and/or monitoring the effectiveness of agile deployment in software companies. By identifying the barriers and strengths of agile deployment, the paper deepens understanding of this highly relevant but relatively under-researched phenomenon and contributes to the literature on agile deployment and software process improvement.     

The effect of CRM use on internal sales management control: An alternative mechanism to realize CRM benefits

This case study investigates how effective internal sales management control is achieved through CRM use and why enhanced control is beneficial to firms, which are largely overlooked by the extant literature. The main theoretical lens is organizational control theories. Results show that CRM use strengthened formal control and informal control simultaneously. Formal control was significantly boosted by enhanced outcome measurability and process visibility of sales work. CRM use also facilitated informal control, by serving as the carrier of new institutional processes and sales philosophy, which bolstered clan control, and by functioning as tools for self-control.     

Understanding agile software development practices using shared mental models theory

ContextAgile software development is an alternative software development methodology that originated from practice to encourage collaboration between developers and users, to leverage rapid development cycles, and to respond to changes in a dynamic environment. Although agile practices are widely used in organizations, academics call for more theoretical research to understand the value of agile software development methodologies.ObjectiveThis study uses shared mental models theory as a lens to examine practices from agile software methodologies to understand how agile practices enable software development teams to work together to complete tasks and work together effectively as a team.MethodA conceptual analysis of specific agile practices was conducted using the lens of shared mental models theory. Three agile practices from Xtreme Programming and Scrum are examined in detail, system metaphor, stand-up meeting, and on-site customer, using shared mental models theory.ResultsExamining agile practices using shared mental models theory elucidates how agile practices improve collaboration during the software development process. The results explain how agile practices contribute toward a shared understanding and enhanced collaboration within the software development team.ConclusionsThis conceptual analysis demonstrates the value of agile practices in developing shared mental models (i.e. shared understanding) among developers and customers in software development teams. Some agile practices are useful in developing a shared understanding about the tasks to be completed, while other agile practices create shared mental models about team processes and team interactions. To elicit the desired outcomes of agile software development methods, software development teams should consider whether or not agile practices are used in a manner that enhances the team’s shared understanding. Using three specific agile practices as examples, this research demonstrates how theory, such as shared mental models theory, can enhance our understanding regarding how agile practices are useful in enhancing collaboration in the workplace.     

Applying agile methods to aircraft embedded software: an experimental analysis

This paper discusses the applicability of agile methods to aircraft embedded software development. It presents the main results of an experiment that combines agile practices from Scrum with model‐based development and distributed development. The experiment consists of the development of an aircraft cockpit display system divided in five distributed teams. Three features are analysed and quantified, using the output artefacts of each team: the artefacts' quality, the adherence to agile methods, and the adherence to standard DO‐178C. The main conclusion of the experiment is that there is a high correlation between the adherence to agile methods and the artefacts' quality, motivating the use of agile methods in aircraft industry. Also, the experiment evinced that agile methods does not specifically address the integration of distributed teams and the hardware/software integration. This lacuna affects the artefacts' quality. The results of the experiment emphasize the importance of concentrating future work in the proposal of specific agile practices for these activities. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.