Distributed Agile Projects Research Articles

Genetic algorithm based probabilistic model for agile project success in global software development

Software development organizations implement agile methods in global software development (GSD) to leverage benefits in terms of low development cost, continuous project delivery, and high-quality product. Despite the benefits, using the agile process in the GSD organizations is not a straightforward task due to inhibit additional risk factors that could lead agile projects to failure. GSD organizations are continuously improving their process management activities to improve the rate of agile project success. Project success could be improved if the project manager or organization management has preliminary information about the derailment of the project features. This work aims to investigate the most influential agile project features in determining the project outcomes and develop a cost-effective, and effort-based prediction model to improve the probability of successful completion in the globally distributed environment. To do so, a nature-inspired optimization algorithm i.e., genetic algorithm (GA), has been employed to achieve these goals. In the proposed model, GA considers the probability of success with respect to cost to determine probable project outcomes. An efficacy measure is formulated as a fitness function in GA which maximizes the success of agile project outcomes relative to cost. The optimization model has been tested with two different prediction models i.e., Naive Bayes classifier (NBC) and logistic regression (LR). We performed the experiment on data gathered through the survey administered from the globally distributed agile projects. The results demonstrate that prediction models calculate the efficacy for best solutions as 0.531 and 0.5850 for NBC and LR, respectively. Moreover, the ranking of each project feature based on their relative cost identified using NBC and LR have more similarities. The t test results are significant, i.e., t = 6.068, p = 0.001 < 0.005, which indicates that no significant differences have been observed between the ranking assigned by two different methods ( NBC and LR). The results reveal that the developed prediction model based on identified eight agile project features that the GSD organization management and agile team need to focus more on to facilitate cost-effective successful implementation of agile projects.

Formulation and development of a novel framework to overcome communication challenges in agile distributed teams

Nowadays, many organisations have combined agile methodology with global software development due to the numerous benefits they offer such as faster time to market, cheaper and skilled labour, 24-hour development and better project control. However, agile methods prefer team members to be co-located to promote effective communication between team members and this lack of face-to-face communication in a distributed setting result in various communication challenges due to distance, time and cultural differences. This research proposes a framework to overcome communication challenges such as language barriers, time-zone differences and trust issues. A mixed-method research choice combining both qualitative and quantitative design was opted for this research where for the initial stage of the study, a systematic literature review (SLR) was performed. The analysis of the survey data collected demonstrated that the majority of respondents have rated the framework components as effective, hence making the latter viable for adoption by distributed agile projects.

Developing a framework to overcome communication challenges in agile distributed teams – Case study of a Mauritian-based IT service delivery centre

Nowadays, many organisations have combined Agile Methodology with global software development due to the numerous benefits they offer such as faster time to market, cheaper and skilled labour, 24-hour development and better project control. However, agile methods prefer team members to be co-located to promote effective communication between team members and this lack of face-to-face communication in a distributed setting results in various communication challenges due to distance, time and cultural differences. This research proposes a framework to overcome communication challenges such as language barriers, time-zone differences and trust issues. A mixed-method research choice combining both qualitative and quantitative design was opted for this research where for the initial stage of the study, a systematic literature review was performed. The analysis of the survey data collected demonstrated that the majority of respondents have rated the framework components as effective, hence making the latter viable for adoption by distributed agile projects.

Distributed software development in agile projects: a model for the promotion of social interactions

Agile methods address the challenge of an unpredictable world, relying on people and their creativity, flexible team self-organization with incentives for participation, social cooperation and less formalization being increasingly used in larger projects. The issues related to communication, trust, coordination, and social interactions among project stakeholders impact Information Technology team dynamics. This article investigates what the constructs are that lead to the promotion of social interaction in DSD environments. We conducted this qualitative and exploratory research using an interpretative approach to interview 35 project professionals. This paper contributes to the theory by delivering a model for the promotion of social interactions in distributed agile projects. We introduced the interaction coordination variable that emerged from the field, aiming to encourage and direct relationships between team members so that they are aligned with the mutual benefits of the project. These benefits include improving communication, knowledge sharing, and a sense of responsibility for the product. The study also draws the attention of practitioners to the promotion of social interactions in agile DSD environments.

Quality requirements challenges in the context of large-scale distributed agile: An empirical study

[Context and Motivation] Focusing single-mindedly on delivering functional requirements while neglecting quality requirements has been a point of criticism of Agile software development methods since their introduction. [Question/problem] Empirical evidence on the challenges that organizations currently face when dealing with quality requirements in Agile, is however scant. [Principle ideas/results] We performed a qualitative exploratory multiple case study in the context of real-life large-scale distributed Agile projects, in order to understand the challenges Agile teams face regarding quality requirements. Based on 17 semi-structured, open-ended, in-depth interviews with Agile practitioners from six organizations in the Netherlands, we collected and analysed data, revealing 13 quality requirements challenges classified in five categories: (1) team coordination and communication, (2) quality assurance, (3) quality requirements elicitation, (4) conceptual definitions, and (5) software architecture. We found an incongruity in the way QRs are conceptualized by Agile practitioners and in RE textbooks. [Contribution] The main contributions of the paper are the explication of the challenges from practitioners’ perspective and the comparison of our findings with previously published results.

Effort estimation in large-scale software development: An industrial case study

Context: Software projects frequently incur schedule and budget overruns. Planning and estimation are particularly challenging in large and globally distributed agile projects. While software engineering researchers have been investigating effort estimation for many years to help practitioners to improve their estimation processes, there is little empirical research about effort estimation in large-scale distributed projects involving agile teams.Objective: The objective of this paper is three-fold: i) To identify how effort estimation is carried out in large-scale distributed agile projects; ii) to analyze the accuracy of the effort estimation processes in large-scale distributed agile projects; and iii) to identify and investigate the factors that impact the accuracy of effort estimates in large-scale distributed agile projects.Method: We performed an exploratory longitudinal case study. The data collection was operationalized through archival research and semi-structured interviews.Results: The main findings of the studied case are: 1) A two-stage estimation process, with re-estimation at the analysis stage, improves the accuracy of the effort estimates; 2) underestimation is the dominant trend; 3) less mature teams incur larger effort overruns; 4) requirements with larger size/scope incur larger effort overruns; 5) requirements developed in multi-site settings incur larger effort overruns as compared to requirements developed in a co-located setting; 6) requirements priorities impact the accuracy of the effort estimates.Conclusion: A two-stage effort estimation process can improve effort estimation accuracy and seems to address some of the challenges in large-scale agile software development. To improve effort estimates one needs to consider team maturity, distribution as well as requirements size and priorities.

A risk management framework for distributed agile projects

ContextDistributed agile development (DAD) approach has been adopted by the software companies for cost and time benefits. However, it causes significant challenges considering the contradicting nature of the agile and distributed development. ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to develop a risk management framework that comprises the perceived risks in DAD projects, their causes and the methods used in industry for managing those risks. MethodThis work is an extension of an exploratory study, wherein, DAD practitioners reported the risks they face in projects and the methods they use for managing those risks. The identified risks were further categorized based on their relevance to different aspects of DAD projects. In this extension, industry practitioners ranked the risks for their impact on DAD projects and rated the methods for the frequency of their use in projects. As the number of risks under each category was large for ranking, they were grouped under the risk areas within each category. The ranking of risk categories, risk areas and risk factors for their impact on DAD projects manifests their importance. The framework includes ranked risks, their causes and the risk management approaches. It was partially implemented in live projects in three different companies and was found to be beneficial. ResultsThe perceived impact of the risk categories, ‘Group Awareness’, ‘External Stakeholder Collaboration’ and ‘Software Development Life Cycle’ on DAD projects has been found to be high and caused by the properties of Distributed Software Development (DSD). The partial validation of the framework in three companies reported the elimination of majority of risk factors and/or reduction in their impact. ConclusionDAD projects provide significant benefits but hold substantial risks due to the contradiction between distributed development and agile practices. The reported framework could effectively minimize the DAD risks in practice.

Categorization of risk factors for distributed agile projects

ContextOrganizations combine agile approach and Distributed Software Development (DSD) in order to develop better quality software solutions in lesser time and cost. It helps to reap the benefits of both agile and distributed development but pose significant challenges and risks. Relatively scanty evidence of research on the risks prevailing in distributed agile development (DAD) has motivated this study. ObjectiveThis paper aims at creating a comprehensive set of risk factors that affect the performance of distributed agile development projects and identifies the risk management methods which are frequently used in practice for controlling those risks. MethodThe study is an exploration of practitioners’ experience using constant comparison method for analyzing in-depth interviews of thirteen practitioners and work documents of twenty-eight projects from thirteen different information technology (IT) organizations. The field experience was supported by extensive research literature on risk management in traditional, agile and distributed development. ResultsAnalysis of qualitative data from interviews and project work documents resulted into categorization of forty-five DAD risk factors grouped under five core risk categories. The risk categories were mapped to Leavitt’s model of organizational change for facilitating the implementation of results in real world. The risk factors could be attributed to the conflicting properties of DSD and agile development. Besides that, some new risk factors have been experienced by practitioners and need further exploration as their understanding will help the practitioners to act on time. ConclusionOrganizations are adopting DAD for developing solutions that caters to the changing business needs, while utilizing the global talent. Conflicting properties of DSD and agile approach pose several risks for DAD. This study gives a comprehensive categorization of the risks faced by the practitioners in managing DAD projects and presents frequently used methods to reduce their impact. The work fills the yawning research void in this field.

Raising the Awareness of Development Progress in Distributed Agile Projects

This article discusses a computer-based holistic approach to raise the awareness of development progress in distributed agile projects. The approach analyses how the technical activities (i.e. source code versioning, unit testing, acceptance testing, integration and releasing) affects development progress and provides automatic mechanisms that help co-ordinate progress change with distributed team members. The approach has been evaluated through practical scenarios and has validated these through a research prototype. The result shows that the use of the holistic approach can provide better awareness of progress to team members than the traditional approach that relies on informal communications.

Distributed Agile, Agile Testing, and Technical Debt

Agile teams create business value by responding to changing business environments and delivering working software at regular intervals. While doing so, they make design tradeoffs to satisfy business needs such as meeting a release schedule. Technical debt is the result of such decisions or tradeoffs. When this happens, agile teams must pay off the accumulated debt by improving designs during subsequent iterations in order to improve maintainability. This must happen in a systematic way so that technical debt does not swell up and damage the project. Accomplishing this is one of the major challenges in distributed agile projects. The scope of technical debt in software projects is spread across all areas including architecture, design, code, and test scripts.

Managing Versioning Activities to Support Tracking Progress of Distributed Agile Teams

Development Progress in agile methods is based on the amount of “working software” completed by team members. Changes to the source code might be introduced that affect the working software. Team members face difficulties in understanding and sharing changes that affect development progress especially in distributed projects. They may not recognise that there is an effect, or may not know who is affected by a change. In addition, changes are not perceived by the current tracking systems and hence if these changes affect development progress, they will not be discovered. This may lead to weak awareness of development progress and extra defects and delays. In this paper, we attempt to support tracking distributed agile projects by identifying and coordinating the impact of versioning activities on development progress, thereby ensuring that progress information is more consistent with the current software state. This will provide distributed agile teams with improved transparency of the actual progress.