HICSS 2011 Agile Papers – Need Reviewers!

We need good reviewer for a series of Agile papers submitted to the HICSS Conference. Reviews are due by 14 August. If you are interested, send email to jeff@scruminc.com and let me know which papers you would like to review. You must set up an account for yourself at the HICSS submission site before emailing me: https://precisionconference.com/~hicss/

Abstract: Agile development methods continue to enjoy widespread use, with more and more companies transitioning to agile methods. Current literature suggests that most of those companies are successful in making the transition, but others are not so successful. This paper examines one such company – referred to within as the ‘ABC Company’ to maintain their privacy – and analyzes and discusses their struggles with implementing agile methods. In short, it appears that lack of firm leadership commitment to agile, absence of a clearly defined customer to provide clearly defined requirements or push for additional software capabilities, failure to provide adequate initial or ongoing training and support to the organization as a whole, and underestimating the change management requirements were contributing factors to ABC’s struggles with implementing agile methods. These conclusions were reached based on a series of interviews with company employees, review of the relevant literature, and comparisons with other similar case studies.

Abstract: This paper explores critical issues and challenges that might arise in Scrum agile software development processes and provides management guidelines to help organizations avoid and overcome barriers in adopting the Scrum method as a future software development method. A qualitative research method design was used to capture the knowledge of practitioners and scrutinize the Scrum software development process in its natural settings. An in-depth case study was conducted in two organizations where the Scrum method was fully integrated in every aspect of two organizations’ software development processes. One organization provides large-scale and mission-critical applications and the other provides small- and medium-scale applications. Differences between two organizations provided useful contrasts for the data analysis.

Abstract: Agile practices integrate software quality attributes into the development process. Earned Value Management (EVM) includes cost management while Agile processes do not. Integrating Agile and EVM provides a more comprehensive management capability for software development. Operating in an environment without integrating software quality puts entire portfolios and programs at high risk. Schedule slips from quality problems, such as late integration often become known when it is too late to react and resolve without significant impact.

AgileEVM is a robust integration of Agile and traditional earned value that integrates quality with cost, scope and schedule management. Because each item in a Scrum product backlog is sorted according to highest value, claiming done with established quality levels enables AgileEVM to truly measure outputs of value.

AgileEVM supports all 32 EVMS guidelines directly or relies on external systems like financial accounting. AgileEVM scales and can integrate multiple control accounts, including the portfolio level.

Abstract: Agile software development processes are widely adopted in software engineering projects. Their low organizational overhead and iterative nature make them ideal choices for small development teams. The application of those methods in software projects that require collaboration between multiple sub-teams, however, is a challenging task. Especially the initial phases of such projects are crucial for project success and a problem-free inception period generates a basis for efficient development later in the process.

We introduce a testbed that allows analyzing the collaboration processes during those early stages of software development within a low-risk, educational environment. Participants of a software engineering lecture form development teams of considerable size and develop real-life applications within a realistic, yet controlled, environment. By combining manual observations with the computational analysis of digital collaboration artifacts we are able to gain insights into distinctive patterns of collaboration activity and reason about their triggers within the process setup.

Abstract: This paper is a descriptive case study of how one company, Paf.com, introduced portfolio management to help support scaling agile software development. Paf.com had experienced problems with long time-to-market due to thrashing, which was caused by frequently changing priorities due to an ad-hoc prioritization process. Also, there was lack of visibility into projects entering and progressing in the development pipeline. No structured way of starting projects was enforced company-wide, and too many parallel projects got started. As a result of introducing a structured portfolio management process, the number of ongoing projects has dramatically reduced, from over 200 to 30. Listing all projects in priority order in the Paf.com backlog provides visibility into what is currently ongoing. The portfolio follow-up function provides progress data on the projects in the Paf.com backlog, which helps managers make more informed decisions, considering the whole portfolio.

Embracing or Constraining Change: An Exploration of Methodologies for Maintaining Software

Abstract: This study uses a grounded theory research method to explore how IT professionals define and select a methodology to maintain existing software. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how standard methodologies are applied in software practice and the critical factors used by professionals when choosing an appropriate methodology for software maintenance activities. This research underscores the need for incorporating the full software life cycle in information systems development research as well as highlighting the need for more comprehensive education in software methodologies.

Abstract: This paper posits that Implementing a balanced portfolio of Agile and formal project practices will strongly support the cognitive trust-building processes necessary to promote good development and O&M decision making for information systems, programs, and projects. The mechanisms enhance decision making by moderating the potentially negative effects of executive, managerial, development team, and end user distrust. Research has shown that establishing and maintaining an environment of trust can be improved by using effective trust supporting and trust building practices in appropriate situations.

This paper argues for employing a set of trust building practices and processes from both formal and Agile methodologies that varies depending upon three factors: the need to develop a new or full replacement system, the experience of the user/purchasing organization with the development team, and the O&M status/working capabilities of the solution in use by the target organization.

Abstract: Scrum teams use lightweight metrics like story points, the burndown chart, and team velocity. The inventor of Scrum was a fighter pilot and used the Scrum burndown chart to help teams land a sprint properly. Recent work with hyperproductive teams shows they are like modern jet fighters in multiple ways. They have two engines that produce velocity--alignment of the team and team spirit. A hyperproductive team uses careful measurement of aspects of performance and prioritization to make slight adjustments in flight. Just as modern jet fighters are inherently unstable without computers to fine tune flight parameters, hyperproductive teams require daily adjustment based on key metrics. Careful attention to the metrics described--velocity, work capacity, focus factor, percentage of found work, percentage of adopted work, original commitment, final commitment, commitment accuracy, estimate accuracy, and target value contribution increase can develop and sustain hyperproductive teams.

Abstract: Over the past several years scrum has grown to become the most commonly used product development method at Adobe Systems. Large desktop software products like Premiere Pro and After Effects, Platform tools like Adobe AIR, and Software as a Service products like Omniture SiteCatalyst are using scrum to become more effective at delivering the right solutions to customers with higher quality. This paper discusses the methods used to measure the impact scrum has had on these teams.

Abstract: Although the application of agile approaches in distributed development is expected to be beneficial, the mechanics of combining agile approaches with distributed development is not well understood. There has been little research to identify which agile practices are identified as effective in different distributed software development environments. This paper investigates effective agile development and management practices for distributed software development project success. We report on our initial efforts to identify to what extent these agile practices are related to project success in co-located, not colocated or in offshore/ outsourcing software development. Our analysis into effective agile practices agrees with existing experience reports although some agile practices surprisingly did not appear to be as effective as expected. We conclude with future research directions.

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HICSS-44 PAPERS FOR REVIEW - reviews due 14 Aug 2010

January 4-7, 2011

The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa

Kaloa, Kauai, Hawaii

HICSS-44 offers a unique, highly interactive and professionally challenging environment that attendees find "very helpful -- lots of different perspectives and ideas as a result of discussion." HICSS sessions are comprised primarily of refereed paper presentations; the conference does not host vendor presentations. All papers are peer reviewed and accepted papers are published in the IEEE Digital Library.

Track: Software Technology

Minitrack: Agile Software Development: Lean, Distributed, and Scalable

Co-Chairs: Jeff Sutherland and Gabrielle Benefield

Agile software development processes have been influenced by best practices in Japanese industry, particularly by lean product development principles implemented at companies like Honda and Toyota, and knowledge management strategies developed by Takeuchi and Nonaka, now at the Hitotsubashi Business School in Japan, and Peter Senge at MIT.

This minitrack will focus on advancing the state of the art or presenting innovative ideas related to agile methods, individual practices and tools. Accepted papers will potentially enrich the body of knowledge and influence the framework of thought in the field by investigating Agile methods in a rigorous fashion.

The track is open to research papers on multiple aspects of agile methods, particularly those that bring best practices in knowledge management and lean development to scalable, distributed, and outsourced Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP), and other agile practices.

Papers of interest include these topics:

*Research on existing or new methodologies and approaches: informal modeling techniques and practices, adapting/trimming existing methods, and new product/project planning techniques.

*Research on existing or new techniques or practices: pairing, war-rooms, test-first design, paper-based prototyping, early acceptance test driven development, exploratory testing, refactoring, or others.

*Research on special topics or tools: configuration and resource management, testing, project steering, user involvement, design for agility, virtual teams or others.

*Research on integrating ideas from other fields, e.g. interaction design, requirements engineering, cognitive science, organizational psychology, usability testing, software security, into agile processes.

*Research studies of development teams using ethnographic or social research techniques.

*Research on agile software engineering economics.

*Quantitative and qualitative studies of agile methods, practices, and tools.

*Research on agile compliance and cost benefits within CMMI, ISO 9000, and FDA certified development projects.

Papers are particularly relevant when agile processes are shown to produce quantitative and qualitative benefits across multiple implementations.

Jeff Sutherland

Scrum Training Institute

Boston, MA USA

jeff@scruminc.com

+1 617 606-3652

Gabrielle Benefield

Scrum Training Institute

London, UK

gbenefield@gmail.com