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A Study of the Agile Coach’s Role

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Product-Focused Software Process Improvement (PROFES 2020)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 12562))

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Abstract

While Agile Software Development has recently received much attention in industry, the implementation of agile methods and practices is not straightforward, partly because the approach focuses on people and their interactions. To facilitate the adoption of agile methods and the further development of agile teams, the role of an agile coach has been introduced. However, this role has not been sufficiently explored from the perspective of those whose perform that role. To address this gap, we conducted a case study where we interviewed agile coaches with experiences from multiple companies. We identified the main objectives of agile coaches, the methods they use to achieve those objectives, the challenges they frequently face, the skills required by the role, and the value they provide to organizations and teams. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the role and the construction of a professional identity. In addition, we offer a characterization that can be useful for professionals that are new in the role.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    PEAB Web site – https://www.computer.org/volunteering/boards-and-committees/professional-educational-activities.

  2. 2.

    Agile Coach Institute Website – https://www.agilecoachinginstitute.com.

  3. 3.

    Interview guideline: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4074965.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Estonian Center of Excellence in ICT research (EXCITE), ERF project TK148 IT, and by the team grant PRG 887 of the Estonian Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

    Kadri Daljajev, Ezequiel Scott, Fredrik Milani & Dietmar Pfahl

Authors
  1. Kadri Daljajev
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  2. Ezequiel Scott
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  3. Fredrik Milani
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  4. Dietmar Pfahl
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Correspondence to Ezequiel Scott .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Torino, Italy

    Maurizio Morisio

  2. Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, Torino, Italy

    Marco Torchiano

  3. Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering, Kaiserslautern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

    Andreas Jedlitschka

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Daljajev, K., Scott, E., Milani, F., Pfahl, D. (2020). A Study of the Agile Coach’s Role. In: Morisio, M., Torchiano, M., Jedlitschka, A. (eds) Product-Focused Software Process Improvement. PROFES 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12562. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64148-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64148-1_3

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