1,721,015 research outputs found
Strengthening Large-Scale Agile Teams : The Interplay of High-Quality Relationships, Psychological Safety, and Learning From Failures
No full textAgile methods have become a standard practice within software industry, with organizations increasingly adopting large-scale agile (LSA) frameworks. However, as these frameworks are implemented across multiple teams and organizational functions, new challenges emerge, particularly in maintaining alignment, coherence, and collaboration across teams. One crucial element in addressing these challenges is fostering of a culture of continuous learning and psychological safety, with the objective of optimizing team performance and ensuring project success. Despite the importance of this topic, there is a significant gap in existing literature regarding antecedents of psychological safety and its impact on team learning and performance in LSA environments. This study aims to investigate impact of high-quality relationships and psychological safety on learning from failures and, consequently, on team performance in LSA context. An online survey of 167 software professionals in Sweden was conducted to test a conceptual model that is developed based on existing literature. The hypotheses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results demonstrate strong positive correlation between the presence of high-quality relationships, psychological safety, and capacity to learn from failures and team performance. Specifically, the formation of high-quality relationships has been demonstrated to significantly enhance psychological safety, which in turn facilitates learning from failures and leads to improved team performance. These findings offer valuable insights for both practitioners and researchers, highlighting the importance of cultivating relational dynamics and a psychologically safe environment in LSA projects. Furthermore, the study offers guidance for future research, regarding the scalability and generalizability of these findings
5G Secure Solution Development and Security Master Role
No full textThis paper explores the relationship between self-organisation and tailored roles in large agile software development teams. The case study examines a Swedish IT company that has introduced the role of "Security Master"in Scrum teams. The teams are developing a very large and secure 5G solution. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted and deductively analysed. The results shed light on the Security Master role, its need, responsibilities and impact on secure coding. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and recommendations for future research in the context of large, security-sensitive projects
Performance analysis of compiler support for parallel evaluation of C++ Constant expressions
Full text linkMetaprogramming, the practice of writing programs that manipulate other programs at compile-time, continues to impact software development; enabling new approaches to optimisation, static analysis, and reflection. Nevertheless, a challenge associated with metaprogramming techniques, including C++ constexpr functionality, is an increase in compilation times. This paper presents ClangOz, a novel Clang-based research compiler that addresses this issue by evaluating annotated constant expressions in parallel, thereby reducing compilation time.By evaluating constant expressions in parallel, ClangOz significantly reduces compilation times for metaprogramming-intensive codebases, enhancing developer productivity and iterative software development processes. To control this, ClangOz includes novel compiler intrinsics allowing developers to take full advantage of constexpr language features.New i9-13900K benchmark results here demonstrate the performance advantage of ClangOz over traditional compilers, including a decrease in compile times across more benchmarks; and 100% parallel efficiency in two cases. Also introduced here is the C’est library, which provides a subset of the C++ standard library, with extended constexpr support.We highlight applications of the constexpr language feature, and emphasise the relevance of ClangOz, a compiler tailored for parallel evaluation of relevant constant expressions. Developers can now utilise modern metaprogramming, while minimising compile times parametrically
The Pandora's box of social, process, and people debts in software engineering
No full textIn software engineering, technical debt (TD) has been widely investigated, but debt regarding social issues, people, and processes has not been explored as much. It should be noted here that we use nontechnical debt (NTD) as an umbrella term to cover social, process, and people debts. Although the number of studies on NTD in software is increasing, the majority of them are descriptive rather than rigorous, and there is no systematic development of cumulative knowledge. As a result, identifying the fundamental causes of NTD and the associated mitigation techniques in software engineering is challenging. Therefore, this study investigates the scientific evidence regarding NTD till date by conducting a systematic mapping review of software engineering research between January 2000 and October 2021. The search strategy resulted in 175 studies, 17 of which were identified as unique and relevant primary papers. The primary studies show that NTD and TD are inextricably linked. In addition, this study also captured a plethora of causes and mitigation strategies for managing NTD and thus makes four important contributions: (i) highlighting state-of-the-art NTD research; (ii) identification of the reported causes and mitigation strategies in the primary papers; and (iii) determination of opportunities for future NTD research
Social Sustainability and Large-Scale Agile Software Development
Full text linkLarge Scale Agile (LSA) projects present unique challenges in maintaining a positive and sustainable work environment. This study examines the social sustainability factors that influence the LSA project. A multiple case study approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with software professionals working in three Swedish IT companies. Thematic analysis revealed a network of interrelated eight factors that impact social sustainability in LSA projects, including trust and communication, learning culture, self-organisation, decision-making, leadership behaviour, and psychological safety. This study emphasises the human-centred aspects that are crucial for the successful implementation of LSA projects and the enhancement of social sustainability
Kanban ohjelmistotuotannossa
No full textAbstractTo gain competitive advantage and thrive in the market, companies have introduced Kanban in software development. Kanban has been used in the manufacturing industry for over six decades. In the software engineering domain, Kanban was introduced in 2004 to increase flexibility in coping with dynamic requirements, bring visibility to workflow and related tasks, improve communication, and promote the pull system. However, the existing scientific literature lacks empirical evidence of the use of Kanban in software companies.This doctoral thesis aims to improve the understanding of the use of Kanban in software engineering. The research was performed in two phases: 1) analysis of scientific literature on Kanban in software engineering and industrial engineering and 2) investigation of Kanban implementation trends in software companies. The data was collected through systematic literature reviews, survey and semi-structured interviews. The results were synthesized to draw conclusions and outline implications for research and practice.The results indicate growing interest in the use of Kanban in software companies. The findings suggest that Kanban is applicable to software development, software maintenance, and portfolio management in software companies. Kanban brings visibility to task and offering status, limits work in progress at any given time gives people greater control over their work and limit task switching. Although Kanban offers several benefits, as reported in this dissertation, the findings show that software companies find it challenging to implement Kanban incrementally.TiivistelmäOhjelmistoteollisuudessa Kanbanin käyttö on yleistynyt vuodesta 2004 alkaen. Sillä pyritään tuomaan joustavuutta muuttuvien vaatimusten hallintaan, tuomaan näkyvyyttä työnkulkuun ja toisiinsa liittyviin tehtäviin, parantamaan kommunikaatiota sekä edistämään imuohjauksen hyödyntämistä. Kanbania on käytetty valmistavassa teollisuudessa jo yli kuuden vuosikymmenen ajan. Olemassa olevassa tieteellisessä kirjallisuudessa on kuitenkin esitetty hyvin vähän empiirisiä tutkimustuloksia Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistoyrityksissä.Väitöskirjan tavoitteena on parantaa ymmärrystä Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa. Tutkimus toteutettiin kahdessa vaiheessa: 1) Kirjallisuusanalyysi Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa ja tuotantotekniikassa ja 2) Empiirinen tutkimus Kanbanin käyttöönoton trendeistä ohjelmistoyrityksissä. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin systemaattisten kirjallisuuskatsausten, kyselytutkimuksen ja puolistrukturoitujen teemahaastattelujen kautta. Tutkimustulosten synteesin pohjalta tehtiin johtopäätöksiä Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa sekä niiden merkityksestä alan tutkimukselle ja Kanbanin käytölle yrityksissä.Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat kasvavaa kiinnostusta Kanbanin käyttöä kohtaan ohjelmistoyrityksissä. Tulosten perusteella Kanban soveltuu käytettäväksi ohjelmistokehityksessä, ohjelmistojen ylläpidossa sekä tuoteportfolion hallinnassa. Kanban tuo näkyvyyttä ohjelmistokehitykseen, niin meneillään olevien tehtävien kuin portfoliotarjoaman osalta. Se myös auttaa rajoittamaan työtehtävien ruuhkautumista ja antaa kehittäjille paremman tavan hallita työtään rajoittamalla työtehtävien vaihtoa. Vaikka Kanbanin käytöllä on mahdollista saavuttaa väitöskirjatutkimuksessa esitettyjä hyötyjä, tulokset osoittavat, että ohjelmistoyrityksillä on haasteita Kanbanin inkrementaalisessa käyttöönotossa.Academic dissertation to be presented, with the assent of the Doctoral Training Committee of Technology and Natural Sciences of the University of Oulu, for public defence in the Wetteri auditorium (IT115), Linnanmaa, on 25 November 2016, at 12 noonAbstract
To gain competitive advantage and thrive in the market, companies have introduced Kanban in software development. Kanban has been used in the manufacturing industry for over six decades. In the software engineering domain, Kanban was introduced in 2004 to increase flexibility in coping with dynamic requirements, bring visibility to workflow and related tasks, improve communication, and promote the pull system. However, the existing scientific literature lacks empirical evidence of the use of Kanban in software companies.
This doctoral thesis aims to improve the understanding of the use of Kanban in software engineering. The research was performed in two phases: 1) analysis of scientific literature on Kanban in software engineering and industrial engineering and 2) investigation of Kanban implementation trends in software companies. The data was collected through systematic literature reviews, survey and semi-structured interviews. The results were synthesized to draw conclusions and outline implications for research and practice.
The results indicate growing interest in the use of Kanban in software companies. The findings suggest that Kanban is applicable to software development, software maintenance, and portfolio management in software companies. Kanban brings visibility to task and offering status, limits work in progress at any given time gives people greater control over their work and limit task switching. Although Kanban offers several benefits, as reported in this dissertation, the findings show that software companies find it challenging to implement Kanban incrementally.Tiivistelmä
Ohjelmistoteollisuudessa Kanbanin käyttö on yleistynyt vuodesta 2004 alkaen. Sillä pyritään tuomaan joustavuutta muuttuvien vaatimusten hallintaan, tuomaan näkyvyyttä työnkulkuun ja toisiinsa liittyviin tehtäviin, parantamaan kommunikaatiota sekä edistämään imuohjauksen hyödyntämistä. Kanbania on käytetty valmistavassa teollisuudessa jo yli kuuden vuosikymmenen ajan. Olemassa olevassa tieteellisessä kirjallisuudessa on kuitenkin esitetty hyvin vähän empiirisiä tutkimustuloksia Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistoyrityksissä.
Väitöskirjan tavoitteena on parantaa ymmärrystä Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa. Tutkimus toteutettiin kahdessa vaiheessa: 1) Kirjallisuusanalyysi Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa ja tuotantotekniikassa ja 2) Empiirinen tutkimus Kanbanin käyttöönoton trendeistä ohjelmistoyrityksissä. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin systemaattisten kirjallisuuskatsausten, kyselytutkimuksen ja puolistrukturoitujen teemahaastattelujen kautta. Tutkimustulosten synteesin pohjalta tehtiin johtopäätöksiä Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa sekä niiden merkityksestä alan tutkimukselle ja Kanbanin käytölle yrityksissä.
Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat kasvavaa kiinnostusta Kanbanin käyttöä kohtaan ohjelmistoyrityksissä. Tulosten perusteella Kanban soveltuu käytettäväksi ohjelmistokehityksessä, ohjelmistojen ylläpidossa sekä tuoteportfolion hallinnassa. Kanban tuo näkyvyyttä ohjelmistokehitykseen, niin meneillään olevien tehtävien kuin portfoliotarjoaman osalta. Se myös auttaa rajoittamaan työtehtävien ruuhkautumista ja antaa kehittäjille paremman tavan hallita työtään rajoittamalla työtehtävien vaihtoa. Vaikka Kanbanin käytöllä on mahdollista saavuttaa väitöskirjatutkimuksessa esitettyjä hyötyjä, tulokset osoittavat, että ohjelmistoyrityksillä on haasteita Kanbanin inkrementaalisessa käyttöönotossa
Effective handling of large scale agile secure solution development teams
No full textThis experience report explores the implementation of two specialized roles, Product Guardian and Security Master, within Alpha, a telecommunications solution provider. These roles were introduced to address challenges related to knowledge gaps, code quality, and security integration in Large Scale Agile (LSA) development. A qualitative case study was conducted with experienced LSA software professionals. The results highlight how Alpha cultivated a culture of continuous learning, team growth, and psychological safety, which proved instrumental in enhancing overall team outcomes. The report provides in-depth reflections on the role of leadership practices in fostering team autonomy, risk-taking, and double-loop learning, and it shares key lessons that offer practical insights for other organizations seeking to scale agile in complex, high-security projects. The report provides actionable recommendations for integrating security, fostering team collaboration, and managing complexity in LSA teams. These findings will be of interest to academics and practitioners seeking to optimize decisions and leadership strategies in LSA environments
Antecedents To Achieve Kanban Optimum Benefits In Software Companies
No full textIn 2004, Kanban successfully entered the Agile and Lean realm. Since then, software companies have been increasingly using it in software development teams. The goal of this study is to perform an empirical investigation on antecedents considered as important for achieving optimum benefits of Kanban use and to discuss the practical implications of the findings. We conducted an online survey with software professionals from the Lean Software Development LinkedIn community to investigate the importance of antecedents of using Kanban for achieving optimum benefits. Our study reveals that subjective norm, organizational support, ease of use, Kanban use experience and training are the antecedents for achieving expected benefits of Kanban. The potential benefits of Kanban use can only be realized when the key antecedents are not only identified, but also infused across an organization. When managing the transition to or using Kanban, practitioners need to adapt their strategies on the extent of various antecedents, a few identified in this study.</p
Preliminary Citation and Topic Analysis of International Conference on Agile Software Development Papers (2002-2018)
No full textThis study utilizes citation analysis and automated topic analysis of papers published in International Conference on Agile Software Development (XP) from 2002 to 2018. We collected data from Scopus database, finding 789 XP papers. We performed topic and trend analysis with R/RStudio utilizing the text mining approach, and used MS Excel for the quantitative analysis of the data. The results show that the first five years of XP conference cover nearly 40% of papers published until now and almost 62% of the XP papers are cited at least once. Mining of XP conference paper titles and abstracts result in these hot research topics: “Coordination”, “Technical Debt”, “Teamwork”, “Startups” and “Agile Practices”, thus strongly focusing on practical issues. The results also highlight the most influential researchers and institutions. The approach applied in this study can be extended to other software engineering venues and applied to large-scale studies.</p
Business Analytics Continuance in Software Development Projects : A Preliminary Analysis
No full textThis paper investigates factors affecting business analytics (BA) in software and systems development projects. This is the first study to examine business analytics continuance in projects from Pakistani software professional’s perspective. The data was collected from 186 Pakistani software professionals working in software and systems development projects. The data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling techniques. Our structural model is able to explain 40% variance of BA continuance intention, 62% variance of satisfaction, 69% variance of technological compatibility, and 59% variance of perceived usefulness. Technological compatibility and perceived usefulness are the significant factors that can affect BA continuance intention in software and systems projects. Surprisingly the results show that satisfaction does not affect BA continuance intention. </p
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