Abstract
The role of software architecture in large-scale Agile development is important because several teams need to work together to release a single software product while helping to maximise teams’ autonomy. Governing and aligning Agile architecture across autonomous squads (i.e., teams), when using the Spotify model, is a challenge because the Spotify model lacks practices for addressing Agile architecture governance. To explore how software architecture can be governed and aligned by scaling the Spotify model, we conducted a longitudinal embedded case study in a multinational FinTech organisation. Then, we developed and evaluated an approach for architectural governance by conducting an embedded case study. The collected data was analysed using Thematic Analysis and informed by selected Grounded Theory techniques such as memoing, open coding, constant comparison, and sorting. Our approach for architectural governance comprises an organisational structure change and an architecture change management process. The benefits reported by the practitioners include devolving architectural decision-making to the operational level (i.e., Architecture Owners), enhancing architectural knowledge sharing among squads, minimising wasted effort in architectural refactoring, and other benefits. The practitioners in our case study realised an improved squad autonomy by the ability to govern and align architectural decisions. We provide two key contributions in this paper. First, we present the characteristics of our proposed architectural governance approach, its evaluation, benefits, and challenges. Second, we present how the novel Heterogeneous Tailoring model was enhanced to accommodate our architectural governance approach.
Highlights
The Spotify model, which was introduced by Kniberg and Ivarsson (Kniberg 2014; Kniberg and Ivarsson 2012), has become influential among Agile proponents and formed the basis of Agile methods used in several other organisations (Salameh and Bass 2018, 2019b, 2020)
Our research addresses the question: How can software architecture be governed and aligned by scaling the Spotify model? We conducted a longitudinal embedded case study in a multinational FinTech organisation to gain an understanding of how the Spotify model is being used
To explore how software architecture can be governed and aligned by scaling the Spotify model, a longitudinal embedded case study was conducted in a multinational FinTech organisation to have a deep understanding of how the Spotify model is being used
Summary
The Spotify model, which was introduced by Kniberg and Ivarsson (Kniberg 2014; Kniberg and Ivarsson 2012), has become influential among Agile proponents and formed the basis of Agile methods used in several other organisations (Salameh and Bass 2018, 2019b, 2020). Each squad (i.e., team) is empowered to select and tailor its development method This key feature is supported by a set of identified guidelines that facilitate building squads’ autonomy (Salameh and Bass 2020). Each squad is aligned with other squads and common product development goals This key feature is supported by a set of identified influential factors on aligning autonomous squads (Salameh and Bass 2018, 2019b). Many advocates give software architecture a vital role in Agile development as in other development approaches, other opponents against this This clash between the two different cultures is because of different believes on each side.
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