Agile Development Process Research Articles

Technical Note—Waterfall and Agile Product Development Approaches: Disjunctive Stochastic Programming Formulations

When engaging in the development of new products, the primary objective of start-up companies is to generate a specified return level quickly and with high confidence. Achieving this goal is complicated because of uncertainties in projects’ returns and durations. In the study titled, “Waterfall and Agile Product Development Approaches: Disjunctive Stochastic Programming Formulations,” Kettunen and Lejeune develop new disjunctive chance-constrained programming models that capture this goal. The first static model reflects the traditional waterfall product development process, whereas the second one is dynamic and depicts the agile product development process. Kettunen and Lejeune design a novel reformulation method and a decomposition algorithm and use them on a new product development problem encountered by a U.S.-based software start-up company. The results reveal that high confidence in reaching a certain return can be achieved by investing in projects with a longer development time and higher risk. Additionally, overlooking the capability to make dynamic decisions, as allowed by the agile approach, leads to overestimating the time needed to obtain the targeted return.

Are Product Owners communicators? A multi‐method research approach to provide a more comprehensive picture of Product Owners in practice

AbstractProduct Owners have an important role in the agile and hybrid software development process. While this role is supposed to maximize the value of a product, there seem to be several scattered results on how they achieve this, as well as what actually constitutes this role in practice. To consolidate current research results and to further analyze the key attribute of Product Owners, we conducted a multi‐method research approach spanning a systematic mapping study and a consecutive case study in a hybrid development environment.The results of the mapping study states that Product Owners are communicators. We further investigated on this and used the shadowing technique to observe three Product Owners' communication activities. The results support that statement, as the gained data reveal that Product Owners spend 65% of their time in meetings. But rather than just providing the team with the necessary requirements for the product under development, Product Owners need this time to synchronize and align their work, streamline the agile process of large‐scale Scrum, discuss team‐based topics, and to solve upcoming issues addressed by the team. These results contribute to draw a more comprehensive picture of the important but yet complex role of Product Owners in practice.

A Precision Medicine Tool for Patients With Multiple Sclerosis (the Open MS BioScreen): Human-Centered Design and Development.

BackgroundPatients with multiple sclerosis (MS) face several challenges in accessing clinical tools to help them monitor, understand, and make meaningful decisions about their disease course. The University of California San Francisco MS BioScreen is a web-based precision medicine tool initially designed to be clinician facing. We aimed to design a second, openly available tool, Open MS BioScreen, that would be accessible, understandable, and actionable by people with MS.ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe the human-centered design and development approach (inspiration, ideation, and implementation) for creating the Open MS BioScreen platform.MethodsWe planned an iterative and cyclical development process that included stakeholder engagement and iterative feedback from users. Stakeholders included patients with MS along with their caregivers and family members, MS experts, generalist clinicians, industry representatives, and advocacy experts. Users consisted of anyone who wants to track MS measurements over time and access openly available tools for people with MS. Phase I (inspiration) consisted of empathizing with users and defining the problem. We sought to understand the main challenges faced by patients and clinicians and what they would want to see in a web-based app. In phase II (ideation), our multidisciplinary team discussed approaches to capture, display, and make sense of user data. Then, we prototyped a series of mock-ups to solicit feedback from clinicians and people with MS. In phase III (implementation), we incorporated all concepts to test and iterate a minimally viable product. We then gathered feedback through an agile development process. The design and development were cyclical—many times throughout the process, we went back to the drawing board.ResultsThis human-centered approach generated an openly available, web-based app through which patients with MS, their clinicians, and their caregivers can access the site and create an account. Users can enter information about their MS (basic level as well as more advanced concepts), visualize their data longitudinally, access a series of algorithms designed to empower them to make decisions about their treatments, and enter data from wearable devices to encourage realistic goal setting about their ambulatory activity. Agile development will allow us to continue to incorporate precision medicine tools, as these are validated in the clinical research arena.ConclusionsAfter engaging intended users into the iterative human-centered design of the Open MS BioScreen, we will now monitor the adaptation and dissemination of the tool as we expand its functionality and reach. The insights generated from this approach can be applied to the development of a number of self-tracking, self-management, and user engagement tools for patients with chronic conditions.

Ensuring transparency and traceability of food local products: A blockchain application to a Smart Tourism Region

SummaryThis article proposes a blockchain oriented platform to guarantee the origin and provenance of food items in a Smart Tourism Region context. Local food and beverage, in fact, can become a good combination to attract tourist and to promote the area provided that their provenance is clearly certified. We designed and developed a blockchain‐based system to manage an agri‐food supply chain for tracking food items. By using smart contracts the platform guarantees transparency, efficiency and trustworthiness. Our system is particularly suitable to manage cold chain since the system interfaces with IoT network devices providing detailed information about data monitoring food such as storage temperature, environment humidity, and GPS data. All involved actors can share data and information in a more efficient, transparent, and tamper proof way than traditional systems. The final consumer can access with transparency to all the agri‐food chain of the purchased product and verify provenance by retrieving all detailed information registered in the blockchain public ledger. The proposed system has been designed according to the ABCDE method, an agile development process recently conceived, to obtain a higher software quality to design a general blockchain system by means software engineering practices. A real case study applied to local products from Sardinia, Italy, is proposed at the end of the article.

Agile product development process transformation to support advanced one-of-a-kind manufacturing

ABSTRACT Increased competition in the global market has forced companies to diversify their product ranges to meet the customers’ changing needs and adopt product development strategies for mass customization or even one-of-a-kind production, which inevitably requires designing modular products. Product modularity is achieved via platform-based systems, in which various combinations of different modules are assembled within a common platform. The smart factories that are already beginning to appear to employ a completely new approach to product creation. In smart industry, dynamic business and engineering processes enable last-minute changes to design and production, delivering the ability to respond flexibly to disruptions and failures on behalf of suppliers. This paper presents a case study of product development and design process renovation according to agile and lean principles in one-of-a-kind industrial environments. It defines how changeability integrates with robust, concurrent and smart design strategies. Introduction of agility to highly individualized production environments is mostly about enhancing the robustness of new product development processes. Product development and manufacturing processes are interconnected therefore they need to be re-engineered together. The presented work aims to deliver a generalized conceptual framework that demonstrates how companies in such specific environments can improve smartness and profitability through the utilization of agility concepts.

A Web- and App-Based Connected Care Solution for COVID-19 In- and Outpatient Care: Qualitative Study and Application Development.

BackgroundFrom the perspective of health care professionals, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) brings many challenges as well as opportunities for digital health care. One challenge is that health care professionals are at high risk of infection themselves. Therefore, in-person visits need to be reduced to an absolute minimum. Connected care solutions, including telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and secure communications between clinicians and their patients, may rapidly become the first choice in such public health emergencies.ObjectiveThe aim of the COVID-19 Caregiver Cockpit (C19CC) was to implement a free-of-charge, web- and app-based tool for patient assessment to assist health care professionals working in the COVID-19 environment.MethodsPhysicians in Argentina, Germany, Iran, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, and the United States explained their challenges with COVID-19 patient care through unstructured interviews. Based on the collected feedback, the first version of the C19CC was built. In the second round of interviews, the application was presented to physicians, and more feedback was obtained.ResultsPhysicians identified a number of different scenarios where telemedicine or connected care solutions could rapidly improve patient care. These scenarios included outpatient care, discharge management, remote tracking of patients with chronic diseases, as well as incorporating infected physicians under quarantine into telehealth services.ConclusionsThe C19CC is the result of an agile and iterative development process that complements the work of physicians. It aims to improve the care and safety of people who are infected by COVID-19.

Towards Agile Standardization: Testbeds in Support of Standardization for the IIoT

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) poses multiple challenges to traditional standardization, due to the complexity, dynamics, and accelerating speed of technological progress. The need for a timely availability of standards calls for new approaches and tools to enhance standardization processes for smart manufacturing. Industry and standards development organizations worldwide are seeking new solutions. Testbeds have been acknowledged in innovation policy as a powerful tool for knowledge transfer and the further development of emerging technologies. Lately, they have also attracted increasing attention from the standardization perspective as a promising tool for a more agile standards development process. Proponents of such testbeds expect them to support standardization by providing validated solutions and accelerating the processes to meet the growing demands for faster standardization without any detriment to quality. In an explorative, qualitative approach this article is the first to investigate the operation and impact of testbeds in standardization processes based on a multiple case study on testbeds implemented worldwide in the context of the IIoT.

Agile Development of a Custom-Made Vocabulary Mobile Application: A Critical Qualitative Approach

There have been some observed studies and developed applications (apps), with a concentration on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), and no consideration of communicative needs of the learners; besides, these studies focused on either the theoretical aspects or the utilization of the available apps in the market (Burston & Athanasiou, 2020). Hence, Vocabulary Guru (VG), a custom-made mobile application, was developed based on a critical framework and an agile approach to fill out the gap. To tackle the issue, after carrying out a qualitative needs analysis via interviews, the first version of the app was developed and released to the target intermediate EFL university students. The next iterations were developed interactively and creatively, in congruence with the feedback received from the target learners. This cycle of incrementing and re-coding of the app continued until the attractor basins superseded. In the current paper, to shed light on how dynamically the interaction between learners and developers can yield in applications, which are more user-friendly and appropriate for a unique pedagogical setting, the life cycle of VG has been discussed. The agile app development processes of the current study may be useful for vocabulary specialists, teachers, educators, app developers, and pedagogical foundations involved in or considering the design and development of mobile apps by critically analyzing the unique needs of the target population in an interactive dynamic, agile life cycle. The developed app (i.e., VG) may also be utilized by EFL learners who would like to learn academic vocabulary in an educational context.

Revisiting agile software development process based on latest software industry trends

In today’s software development process, we have reached a tipping point in time where being agile is equally important to having, the ability to release quality assured software at our discretion. This has been made possible by following the agile process that we have known since it came into existence in the early 2000s. Agile process provides us a way to streamline our product management, engineering and testing teams to work closely and efficiently in iterative cycles. By following agile processes, we are today able to achieve rapid software development as per our product requirements. Nowadays having competitive advantage is deemed essential for business, as is having the ability to release software products at will. Inf order to achieve this goal agile software development process has improved over the last 2 decades. In this paper we aim to highlight how this agile process function in the present-day software industry.

Case Study on Non-Functional Requirement Change Impact Traceability for Agile Software Development

Currently, it is crucial to develop a complex software on time. Agile software development methodologies provide methods to develop a system in term of time and cost-saving but it has been criticized for software quality management. In this paper, a case study is used to find out the need of NFR change impact traceability approach in most of Agile software methodology. This case study was conducted in an undergraduate course that trained the students on how to develop software using Agile process model.This case study has been conducted for 4 months in an undergraduate-level course, Application Development. The samples of this case study are among Year 3 undergraduate students. The case study shows the lack of traceability techniques in the existing Agile process model (SFDD- Secured Feature Driven Development) that result to non-awareness of NFR change impact during development. Based on the case study mentioned the main objective of the case study conducted in survey is to empirically test the theoretical constructs and the hypothesized relationships of the research issues that concern on the lack of change impact management towards NFR in Agile Software Methodology. TANC (Traceability for Agile Non-Functional Requirement Change Impact) model offered techniques in tracing change impact during the agile development process. Therefore, the result of the case study, a traceability process model needs to design in order to tackle the NFR change impact issues in Agile software development.

Meshing agile and plan-driven development in safety-critical software: a case study

Organizations developing safety-critical software are increasingly seeking to create better practices by meshing agile and plan-driven development processes. Significant differences between the agile and the plan-driven processes make meshing difficult, and very little empirical evidence on using agile processes for safety-critical software development exists. There are four areas of concern, in particular, for meshing the development of safety-critical software concerning: documentation, requirements, life cycle and testing. We report on a case study of a pharmaceutical organization in which a Scrum process was implemented to support agile software development in a plan-driven safety-critical project. The purpose was to answer the following research question: For safety-critical software, what can a software team do to mesh agile and plan-driven processes effectively? The main contribution of the paper is an elaborated understanding of meshing in the four areas of concern and how the conditions for safety-critical software influence them. We discuss how meshing within the four areas of concern is a contribution to existing research.

Biography work in in long-term residential aged care with tablet support to improve the quality of life and communication – study protocol for app development and evaluation / Biografiearbeit in Senioreneinrichtungen mit Tablet-Unterstützung zur Verbesserung der Lebensqualität und Kommunikation (BaSeTaLK) – Studienprotokoll zur App-Entwicklung und Evaluation

Abstract Background Older adults in care facilities face a high risk of experiencing depression. The impact that early interventions like biographical work have on the quality of life for older adults in such facilities is unknown. Aim To develop and evaluate a tablet-supported intervention for biographical work in long-term residential aged care to increase the quality of life for older adults. Design The study will be conducted in a randomized pretest–posttest control group design with follow-up testing in group and single settings. Participants will be randomized to the experimental intervention (tablet-supported biographic work) or the control intervention (planned tablet-supported game playing), each guided by senior volunteers. A total of 80 residents and 16 volunteers will be recruited. The primary outcome for the residents and volunteers will be quality of life as measured with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-for older adults. Secondary measures will be self-esteem and life satisfaction. In addition, we will examine residents’ ability to communicate and their functional independence. Method The first stage of the project involves developing an app. The app is developed in a user-centered, agile development process. It will use multimedia to prepare life history topics and links them to key questions. Next, a workshop is developed for the volunteers who accompany the use of the app in the institutions. During the second phase, biographic work stimulated by the app will be conducted in groups or individually with residents. Discussion This is the first known program tailored to older adults in care facilities and senior volunteers that aims to prevent depression by providing digitally supported biographic work.

Measuring and Improving Agile Processes in a Small-Size Software Development Company

Context: Agile software development has become commonplace in software development companies due to the numerous benefits it provides. However, conducting Agile projects is demanding in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), because projects start and end quickly, but still have to fulfil customers’ quality requirements. Objective: This paper aims at reporting a practical experience on the use of metrics related to the software development process as a means supporting SMEs in the development of software following an Agile methodology. Method: We followed Action-Research principles in a Polish small-size software development company. We developed and executed a study protocol suited to the needs of the company, using a pilot case. Results: A catalogue of Agile development process metrics practically validated in the context of a small-size software development company, adopted by the company in their Agile projects. Conclusions: Practitioners may adopt these metrics in their Agile projects, especially if working in an SME, and customise them to their own needs and tools. Academics may use the findings as a baseline for new research work, including new empirical studies.

Towards successful agile development process in software outsourcing environment: a systematic literature review

Towards successful agile development process in software outsourcing environment: a systematic literature review

Systematic Testing in the Agile Development Process

Systematic Testing in the Agile Development Process

Small Modular Reactor Control Room Workstation Demonstration

A control room simulator was designed to model the operation of a NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant and provide enough fidelity to perform staffing validation studies for Nuscale’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission Design Certification Application. The simulator serves as a simulated control room with work stations to mimic the operation of an SMR module, turbine generator, and support systems using a proprietary human system interface (HSI) software package. The simulator, which includes all HSI screens, was designed by a team of Human Factors and Plant Operations staff to capitalize on best practices, lessons learned, and operating experience using the Agile development process. Finally, the design process included the development of plant operating procedures and training material as well as a training platform for future plant operators at an SMR nuclear power plant.

AWOSE -\xa0A Process Model for Incorporating Ethical Analyses in Agile Systems Engineering

Ethical, legal and social implications are widely regarded as important considerations with respect to technological developments. Agile Worth-Oriented Systems Engineering (AWOSE) is an innovative approach to incorporating ethically relevant criteria during agile development processes through a flexibly applicable methodology. First, a predefined model for the ethical evaluation of socio-technical systems is used to assess ethical issues according to different dimensions. The second part of AWOSE ensures that ethical issues are not only identified, but also systematically considered during the design of systems based on information and communication technology. For this purpose, the findings from the first step are integrated with approaches from worth-centered development into a process model that, unlike previous approaches to ethical system development, is thoroughly compatible with agile methodologies like Scrum or Extreme Programming. Artifacts of worth-centered development called Worth Maps have been improved to guide the prioritization of development tasks as well as choices among design alternatives with respect to ethical implications. Furthermore, the improved Worth Maps facilitate the identification of suitable criteria for system evaluations in association to ethical concerns and desired positive outcomes of system usage. The potential of the AWOSE methodology has been demonstrated in the context of a technical system (smart glasses for cognitive assistance) that supports elderly and people with particular handicaps.

From Use Case to Use Case Slices

A use case has been widely adopted for requirements specification, which can be created on a high abstraction level or a very detailed level. A use case with a very detailed level can be a lot more useful for requirements elicitation, but such a model may become too complex and difficult to understand the whole context. A use case slice is introduced in order to simplify the requirements analysis and ensure the correctness of software incremental development process (e.g., the agile development process). However, a use case is usually divided into multiple use case slices in a manual way. Some errors may occur during this manual process. In this article, the authors present an automated approach for dividing a use case into use case slices. The approach first decomposes a use case into multiple use case stories, and then these stories can be composed into different use case slices according to different requirements. These use case slices cover all the functionality of the original use case. The authors give a decomposition theory and propose the corresponding algorithm. A case study demonstrates these results.

MBT in agile/lightweight processes: a process‐centred review

This study presents a process-driven view on the use of model-based testing (MBT) in agile/lightweight processes. It argues that process-related aspects of MBT and agile processes should be explicitly considered in any practical MBT approach intended for use in agile development (AD). It demonstrates that an effective MBT approach for lightweight processes has to specify how MBT activities are integrated into a development process, how and when MBT artefacts are generated in relation to other development artefacts, and who would carry out MBT activities. Accordingly, a set of integration criteria is introduced for complete incorporation of MBT into agile/lightweight processes. The integration criteria demonstrate the specific characteristics of an appropriate MBT process for AD processes, and help identify the benefits and shortcomings of existing methods on the use of MBT in such processes. Evaluation of existing works based on the proposed integration criteria shows that they have all focused on minimal modelling, and only one method has considered the ‘evolution’ of test models and the ‘reuse’ of test cases, whereas ‘evolution’ and ‘reuse’ are essential characteristics of agile processes, which have to be addressed in any MBT approach intended for such processes.

Generic model for production-related requirements and their interdependencies on the example of automotive chassis

In an era of rapidly changing trends and customer requirements, the necessity of agile product development processes has arisen. Currently used processes are not sustainable because they are not able to handle future volatility considering early phase requirements and would lead to late and expensive changes in product design. In the context of the automobile industry, the early phase of the product development has to deal with requirements, designing a modular vehicle architecture, which includes all models of a product family. An empirical research was conducted to generate a thorough list of production-related requirements for the chassis, between interacting departments and roles within an automotive OEM. The resulting generic model showed the interdependencies between the analysed requirements. Additionally, the aim is to measure the maturity level of the individual production-related requirements at specific phases. The first benefit of this model is to show through the interdependencies between existing production requirements, how a change would affect the system. Secondly, it is possible to measure the existing production-related issues through a maturity model, which specifies the level of completion of single components at specific phases, and thus give a value to the product development process.