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A Multiple Case Study on the Architect’s Role in Scrum

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Book cover Product-Focused Software Process Improvement (PROFES 2016)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 10027))

Abstract

Context: Previous research investigated how to approach architecting in agile projects (e.g., in terms of processes and practices), but the role that architects play in Scrum is still not well understood. Objective: We aim at capturing scenarios of how architects (or those taking on architecture-related tasks) are involved in Scrum. Furthermore, we aim at identifying how those taking on the role of the architect interact with other roles in Scrum. Method: We conducted a multiple case study and interviews with practitioners from six Dutch software organizations. Results: We identified three generic scenarios of architects in Scrum (“internal architect”, “external architect”, “internal and external architects”). We found that how architects interact with other roles in Scrum heavily depends on the Product Owner role. Conclusions: Some of our results are not in line with recommended practices in the Scrum Guide. Our findings support those who take on architecture-related tasks in preparing for Scrum-like projects.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html.

  2. 2.

    http://www.ambysoft.com/essays/agileRoles.html.

  3. 3.

    https://www.scruminc.com/scrum-scale-case-modularity/.

  4. 4.

    https://www.scrum.org/Resources/The-Nexus-Guide.

  5. 5.

    https://less.works/.

  6. 6.

    https://www.scruminc.com/scrum-of-scrums/.

  7. 7.

    http://www.scaledagileframework.com/.

  8. 8.

    https://www.dsdm.org/resources/dsdm-handbooks/dsdm-atern-handbook-2008.

  9. 9.

    https://sites.google.com/site/samuilangelov/InterviewQuestions.docx.

  10. 10.

    http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html.

  11. 11.

    http://www.agilemodeling.com/.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Matthias Galster

  2. Software Engineering, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Samuil Angelov & Marcel Meesters

  3. Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Philipp Diebold

Authors
  1. Matthias Galster
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  2. Samuil Angelov
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  3. Marcel Meesters
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  4. Philipp Diebold
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthias Galster .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Pekka Abrahamsson

  2. Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Andreas Jedlitschka

  3. and Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Anh Nguyen Duc

  4. University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Michael Felderer

  5. Okayama Prefectural University, Soja, Japan

    Sousuke Amasaki

  6. Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland

    Tommi Mikkonen

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Galster, M., Angelov, S., Meesters, M., Diebold, P. (2016). A Multiple Case Study on the Architect’s Role in Scrum. In: Abrahamsson, P., Jedlitschka, A., Nguyen Duc, A., Felderer, M., Amasaki, S., Mikkonen, T. (eds) Product-Focused Software Process Improvement. PROFES 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10027. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49094-6_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49094-6_29

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49094-6

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