Triggers analysis of an agile transformation: the case of a central bank

Abstract

Agile transformation is one of the central topics for many IT departments in large organizations. Convinced by the benefits, large companies have entered a generalization phase of these approaches at the level of all information system projects. But little research informs practitioners about how a company goes from an experimentation phase to the generalization. Knowing that agile methods generate several changes in roles, processes and culture, our paper aims to answer the following question: what are the triggers of a decision that will enable an organization moving from experimentation to a wide generalization of an agile method? Based on a qualitative research design via a case study seeking to explain this complex phenomenon. We investigated the adoption process of agile methods during the last 13 years in the IT department of the French central bank. Contributions and practical implications highlight successful ingredients allowing to organize the implementation of agile methods in a large public organization.