Tools, Processes, and Models for Enabling Efficient and Agile Projects, Teams, and Organizations
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Item Overcoming Multi-legacy Application Challenges through Building Dynamic Capabilities for Low-code Adoption(2025-01-07) Naqvi, Syed Asad Ali; Zimmer, Markus; Syed, Rehan; Drews, Paul; Basole, RahulIncumbent organizations face challenges in managing multiple legacy applications. Legacy applications limit the integration of new applications and hinder the use of modern application development technologies such as cloud and AI. We present a case study of an incumbent organization that developed dynamic capabilities (DC) to leverage low-code for effectively tackling these challenges. By conducting 18 expert interviews, our work identifies key capabilities such as legacy application sensing, seizing low-code opportunities, and orchestrating transformative shifts in software development practices. Our study makes two key contributions. First, we demonstrate how organizations develop DC to use low code as a new option to overcome challenges stemming from siloed legacy application. Second, we develop a process model that explains how organizations can develop DC to use low-code for achieving end-to-end process coverage, advance software development practices, and the flexibility of the IT infrastructure.Item Agile and InnerSource: A Match made in Heaven and in Hell!(2025-01-07) Dillon, Clare; Fitzgerald, Brian; Ferreira Ribeiro, J. Eduardo; Izquierdo-Cortazar, DanielInnerSource, the use of open source methods inside organizations, is gaining momentum. However, there is limited research available on how InnerSource may be adopted in tandem with Agile. The main objective of this paper is to examine areas of congruence and friction between Agile and InnerSource, so that practitioners may chart an optimal path to adopting InnerSource. Our analysis draws on a framework from previous studies which compared agile and open source. We find that InnerSource complements and diverges from Agile in many of the same ways open source does. Based on InnerSource practitioner feedback, we also identify an additional seven areas of potential friction that were not examined in previous Agile open source comparison studies. Our findings will help Agile practitioners assess when and how to adopt InnerSource for maximum positive impact in their organizations. Furthermore, we have identified a number of areas for follow-on research, investigating the adoption of both methods in diverse organizational contexts.Item Bridging Gaps in Software Development: The Role of Mediated Sensemaking in Fostering Citizen Development(2025-01-07) Alguera Kleine, Rebecca; Lorenz, Felix; Clauß, ThomasLow-code development enables business professionals without programming skills to develop software through citizen development. Yet, to establish citizen development, business professionals must adopt a new mindset turning them from requestors of software to developers of software. By applying a mediated sensemaking perspective, we explore how mediators shape the conceptualization of low-code and citizen development. Our findings indicate that mediators bridge the gap between traditional and low-code development by disconnecting the method from the medium and connecting the method with the citizen developer role. By contrasting cases with extensive and limited mediated sensemaking, we illustrate how mediated sensemaking fosters a proactive approach among business professionals, enhancing their ability to independently develop applications and adjust to their novel responsibilities. Our study provides a theoretical view of how mediated sensemaking shapes low-code and citizen development and extends our understanding of the citizen developer role and the facilitation of IT-enabled organizational transformation through low-code.Item How Agile Software Development Teams are Led and Lead Themselves – A Literature Review on the Duality of Agile Leadership(2025-01-07) Weidlich, MareikeAgile software development (ASD) methods are widely applied today as organizations expect to gain flexibility and foster innovation. Since one of the basic problem-solving mechanisms of ASD is a cross-functional, self-organizing, and empowered team at its core, the shift from traditional to ASD approaches requires fundamental changes to management and governance processes and structures. Especially among practitioners, the term “agile leadership” is popular to describe the new demands for formal and informal leaders in an agile environment. In research, the concept is increasingly prevalent and connected to a variety of established leadership theories, but it is not yet consistently conceptualized. This study seeks to integrate existing definitions into a comprehensive model that comprises both a team-internal and team-external perspective of agile leadership. Therefore, a systematic literature review is performed to gather and assess prior literature on how agile leadership materializes in practice. A first iteration of the concept is developed and future research directions are summarized.Item Towards Achieving Organizational Agility in Software Development: Identifying Issues and Organizational Alignment Strategies(2025-01-07) Messerschmidt, Nils; Schlauderer, Sebastian; Overhage, SvenDespite the popularity of agile software development and the existence of agile frameworks that provide methodological support for conducting development projects, companies still often lack an understanding of the changes necessary to achieve organizational agility. This poses the risk that the benefits of agile software development cannot be fully exploited. Building upon Socio-Technical Systems (STS) Theory as analytical lens and the results of 13 semi-structured expert interviews, we identify 13 organizational issues that occur frequently in agile software development. We assign them to categories considering the involved people, technologies, tasks, and structures as constituents of STS, as well as the relationships between them. The resulting scheme of issues provides numerous avenues for the development of additional organizational support that goes beyond the scope of existing agile frameworks. Contributing to this goal, we derive three practical strategies to improve the alignment between the constituents of development organizations from the interviews.Item How Can CoPs in Scaled Agile Settings Look Like? Toward a Taxonomy for CoPs in Large-Scale Agile Software Development(2025-01-07) Tobisch, Franziska; Schmidt, Johannes; Matthes, FlorianFast-changing business environments and customer needs require organizations to react quickly and adapt to changes. While agile software development methods can support organizations in achieving this goal, applying these methods in a large context, like multi-team projects, entails high complexity. Several scaling agile frameworks recommend Communities of Practice (CoP), groups of people with a shared interest that exchange with each other on a regular basis, to support the application of agile at scale, as they can foster, e.g., inter-team collaboration and alignment. Still, no clear overview of aspects that must be considered when establishing and cultivating CoPs in scaled agile settings exists. Therefore, we propose a taxonomy for CoPs in this context, building on literature and findings of an interview study. The taxonomy can support practitioners and researchers, offering a structured overview of aspects relevant to establishing and cultivating CoPs in large-scale agile settings and future research directions.Item Objectives and Key Results in Large-Scale Agile Organizations: Challenges and Enablers(2025-01-07) Barbala, Astri; Moe, Nils Brede; Stray, Viktoria; Aamo, Hedda; Uthus, Mina; Tkalich, Anastasiia; Nygaard, Thomas AllanObjectives and Key Results (OKRs) have emerged as a prevalent strategic management tool in large-scale agile development organizations, aiming to enhance operational alignment and performance. This study investigates the implementation of OKRs within a fintech organization that specializes in developing and managing solutions for over one million customers. We identify six key challenges and six enablers experienced in large-scale agile contexts when adopting OKRs as an organization-wide goal-setting framework. Our findings reveal that employees encounter challenges related to goal-setting and the compatibility of OKRs with their work tasks. However, factors such as sufficient training and concrete tasks, like "Monday Commitments," facilitate the successful adoption of OKRs in large-scale organizations. The study offers valuable insights for leaders and managers aiming to maximize the potential of OKRs, particularly within the dynamic and rapidly evolving fintech sector.Item Introduction to the Minitrack on Tools, Processes, and Models for Enabling Efficient and Agile Projects, Teams, and Organizations(2025-01-07) Sutherland, Alex; Saltz, Jeffrey; Anderson, Edward; Stray, Viktoria