Agility Across Time and Space

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XXXVI

   PDF

2. Motivation

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Fundamentals of Agile Distributed Software Development

      • Darja Šmite, Nils Brede Moe, Pär J. Ågerfalk

      Pages 3-7

3. Transition

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9

      PDF

   2. Implementing Extreme Programming in Distributed Software Project Teams: Strategies and Challenges

      • Likoebe M. Maruping

      Pages 11-30

   3. Transitioning from Distributed and Traditional to Distributed and Agile: An Experience Report

      • Daniel Wildt, Rafael Prikladnicki

      Pages 31-46

   4. Tailoring Agility: Promiscuous Pair Story Authoring and Value Calculation

      • Steve Tendon

      Pages 47-70

   5. Scrum and Global Delivery: Pitfalls and Lessons Learned

      • Cristiano Sadun

      Pages 71-89

   6. Onshore and Offshore Outsourcing with Agility: Lessons Learned

      • Clifton Kussmaul

      Pages 91-106

   7. Contribution of Agility to Successful Distributed Software Development

      • Saonee Sarker, Charles L. Munson, Suprateek Sarker, Suranjan Chakraborty

      Pages 107-116

   8. Preparing your Offshore Organization for Agility: Experiences in India

      • Jayakanth Srinivasan

      Pages 117-130

4. Management

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 131-131

      PDF

   2. Improving Global Development Using Agile

      • Alberto Avritzer, Francois Bronsard, Gilberto Matos

      Pages 133-148

   3. Turning Time from Enemy into an Ally Using the Pomodoro Technique

      • Xiaofeng Wang, Federico Gobbo, Michael Lane

      Pages 149-166

   4. MBTA: Management By Timeshifting Around

      • Erran Carmel

      Pages 167-170

   5. The Dilemma of High Level Planning in Distributed Agile Software Projects: An Action Research Study in a Danish Bank

      • Per Svejvig, Ann-Dorte Fladkjær Nielsen

      Pages 171-182

   6. Tools for Supporting Distributed Agile Project Planning

      • Xin Wang, Frank Maurer, Robert Morgan, Josyleuda Oliveira

      Pages 183-199

   7. Combining Agile and Traditional: Customer Communication in Distributed Environment

      • Mikko Korkala, Minna Pikkarainen, Kieran Conboy

      Pages 201-216

   8. Coordination Between Global Agile Teams: From Process to Architecture

      • Jan Bosch, Petra Bosch-Sijtsema

      Pages 217-233

   9. Considering Subcontractors in Distributed Scrum Teams

      • Jakub Rudzki, Imed Hammouda, Tuomas Mikkola, Karri Mustonen, Tarja Systä

      Pages 235-255

Rather than deciding whether or not to get involved in global sourcing, many companies are facing decisions about whether or not to apply agile methods in their distributed projects. These companies are often motivated by the opportunities to solve the coordination and communication difficulties associated with global software development. Yet while agile principles prescribe close interaction and co-location, the very nature of distributed software development does not support these prerequisites. Šmite, Moe, and Ågerfalk structured the book into five parts. In “Motivation” the editors introduce the fundamentals of agile distributed software development and explain the rationale behind the application of agile practices in globally distributed software projects. “ Transition” describes implementation strategies, adoption of particular agile practices for distributed projects, and general concepts of agility. “Management” details practical implications for project planning, time management, and customer and subcontractor interaction. “Teams” discusses agile distributed team configuration, effective communication and knowledge transfer, and allocation of roles and responsibilities. Finally, in the “Epilogue” the editors summarize all contributions and present future trends for research and practice in agile distributed development. This book is primarily targeted at researchers, lecturers, and students in empirical software engineering, and at practitioners involved in globally distributed software projects. The contributions are based on sound empirical research and identify gaps and commonalities in both the existing state of the art and state of the practice. In addition, they also offer practical advice through many hints, checklists, and experience reports. Questions answered in this book include: What should companies expect from merging agile and distributed strategies? What are the stumbling blocks that prevent companies from realizing the benefits of the agile approach in distributed environments, and how can we recognize infeasible strategies and unfavorable circumstances? What helps managers cope with the challenges of implementing agile approaches in distributed software development projects? How can distributed teams survive the decisions taken by management and become efficient through the application of agile approaches?

• Agile method
• Extreme Programming
• Motivation
• Offshore
• Outsourcing
• Scrum
• organization
• programming
• service-oriented computing
• software engineering

From the reviews:

“The researchers and practitioners who collectively wrote this volume have been examining without prejudice what works and what does not, and trying to get at the root cause, giving us another and better perspective on this fascinating wave: the agile software development movement.” – from the Foreword by Philippe Kruchten, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

“If you have anything to do with software projects at multiple locations, you should read this book. … provides a coherent framework and a logical flow of information. … easy to read and conducive to skimming for high-value information. … useful feature is the practice of inserting practical tips in shaded panels, at regular intervals. I recommend this book to professionals involved in distributed projects … . It will also useful … to academics with research interests in agile programming, distributed software development, or both.” (Neil D. Burgess, ACM Computing Reviews, October, 2010)

• School of Engineering, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Ronneby, Sweden

  Darja Šmite

• Dept. Information & Communication, Technology (ICT), SINTEF, Trondheim, Norway

  Nils Brede Moe

• Dept. Information Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

  Pär J. Ågerfalk

Darja Šmite is a senior researcher at Blekinge Institute of Technology, which has recently been ranked as number 11 among the top institutions in the world in systems and software engineering by the Journal of Systems and Software. Her main research efforts are directed towards improving industrial practice with off-shoring and outsourcing software development. Before pursuing an academic career she has been engaged in industrial positions at a number of software houses in Latvia. Nils Brede Moe is a research scientist at SINTEF Information and Communication Technology in Trondheim, Norway. He has 11 years of experience working as a project manager and researcher within software development and is a co-author of the book “Process Improvement in Practice—A Handbook for IT Companies”. His current research interests include global software development, process improvement, self-management, and agile software development. Pär J. Ågerfalk is a professor at Uppsala University where he holdsthe Chair in Computer Science in Intersection with Social Sciences. Among many other responsibilities, he is the founding chair of the AIS Special Interest Group on Pragmatist Information Systems Research.

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