Designing for Agility as an Organizational Capability: Learning from a Software Development Firm

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of agility in an organizational setting -- how a software development firm (SDF) developed, maintained and enhanced agility as it changed from a developer of experimental prototypes to a product-based provider. Qualitative approach based onextensiveinterviewsandon-siteobservationsattwopointsintimeseparatedbyafive-year interval. Agilitymechanismstendtobedynamicandevolveovertime.Attime1,SDFachievedagilitybyadopting a formal platform-based product design and an informal, organic organizational structure. By time 2,SDFhadadoptedamodular-basedproductdesignandamoreformalstructure.Implicationsinclude: (1) interdisciplinary-based framework to understand agility in the workplace; (2) multiple forms of agility and the dynamics among them; (3) re-conceptualization of agility as a new organizational capability;and,(4)causalrelationshipbetweenagilityandotherorganizationallearningmechanisms. Limitationsinclude:(1)thetentativetheorybuilding(asopposedtotheorytesting)qualitativeapproach; and, (2) single case study within a specific industry. (Practical Implications: 1) By adopting agility mechanism software development firms may overcome strategic challenges in the software industry: extensive reworks, death marches, and client support services; (2) over time managers should explore alternative mechanisms to sustain agility; and (3) agility-by-design is likely to facilitate firm success and growth.