DECISION SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY FOR SPRINT PLANNING

Abstract

Context. The article describes the relevant planning process of software projects, planning problems and different solutions to these problems basis on use of the Scrum methodology.Objective. The purpose of the work is to develop the technology for solving the sprint planning task in the face of uncertainty and possible risks from software development standpoint.Method. The most used software life cycle models are described. The choice of the Scrum as a widely used representative of agile methodology for software development is justified. An analytical review of the methods for estimation of the complexity of user stories is carried out. The major problems of sprint planning are highlighted. The model of the business process to implement an ITproject by Scrum in the form of an BPMN-diagram has been developed. The algorithm to solve the problem of Sprint Backlog planning with uncertainty has been elaborated. The common process of user stories selection from Product Backlog to Sprint Backlog and ways of solving the possible problems are considered. The task of estimation of labor intensity of user stories and the task of risk evaluation in planning are formalized. The technology of user story selection for Sprint Backlog has been developed. Numerical studies of the decision support technology proposed in the article are carried out. It allows suggesting it as the practical tool during sprint planning. The method of adequacy evaluation of proposed technology is offered. The set of key performance indicators for assessing the team performance is selected. Results. The sprint planning technology was developed, which project managers, product owners and development teams for increasing the effectiveness of decision-making process can use. Conclusions. The conducted experiments have confirmed the importance of the proposed decision support technology and allow recommending it for use in practice for planning of software projects. Scientific novelty is to improve the sprint planning process with the assistance of the proposed technology, which alleviates uncertainty while defining labor intensity of user stories and decreases time spent on decision making.