A Bayesian networks-based approach to assess and improve the teamwork quality of agile teams

Abstract

CONTEXT: According to the agile principles and values, as well as recent research articles, teamwork factors are critical to achieve success in agile projects. However, teamwork does not automatically arise. There are some existing instruments with the purpose of assessing the teamwork quality based on Structural Equation Modeling (i.e., empirically derived) and Radar Plots, but they may not be useful in a concrete situation because these techniques are not advised for prediction and diagnosis purposes. OBJECTIVE: Analytically derive a Bayesian network model based on a literature review and a practitioner’s knowledge; and to assess its practical utility through a case study. METHOD: To build the model, we executed a top-down approach using data collected through a literature review and a domain practitioner. We assessed the model with a case study executed in three Scrum teams. RESULTS: Given the context of the case study, the model assists agile teams on assessing teamwork quality and identifying improvement opportunities, is easy to learn, and the cost-benefit for using it with the proposed procedure is positive. CONCLUSION: We concluded that we achieved promising results with the presented solution. However, it needs more evaluation and validation to generalize the obtained results.