Agile Team Measurement to Review the Performance in Global Software Development

This chapter is aimed at studying the key performance indicators of team members working in an agile project environment and in an extreme programming software development. Practitioners from six different XP projects were selected to respond to the survey measuring the performance indicators, namely, escaped defects, team member's velocity, deliverables, and extra efforts. The chapter presents a comparative view of Scrum and XP, the two renowned agile methods with their processes, methodologies, development cycles, and artifacts, while assessing the base performance indicators in XP setup. These indicators are key to any agile project in a global software development environment. The observed performance indicators were compared against the gold standard industry benchmarks along with best, average, and worst-case scenarios. Practitioners from six agile XP projects were asked to participate in the survey. Observed results best serve the practitioners to take necessary course corrections to stay in the best-case scenarios of their respective projects.

Identifying the Critical Factors in Software Development Methodology Fit

<p>In software development, one size does not fit all. Contingencies shape the alignment between the project and its environment, and between software development and project success. Yet the conditions favouring a particular software development methodology (e.g., waterfall or scrum) are not well understood. The current research aims to answer two questions: (1) What are the important factors in software development methodology (SDM) fit? (2) What is the role of SDM fit in project success? A review of the IT literature revealed two kinds of SDMs. On the one hand, there are traditional, plan-driven methodologies that seek compliance to a pre-established plan and existing processes. On the other hand, there are agile methodologies that seek to embrace the increasing changes and uncertainty involved in software development projects. The literature review established that there is no agreement on the contingencies associated with the use of each methodology, nor agreement on how to measure project success. Exploratory research was undertaken to identify contingencies in software development. Preliminary interviews of projects workers, using a card sort procedure, helped to identify key constructs and to generate and refine a set of measurement items. Then an international survey of software development project workers was conducted. Data analysis revealed two factors that are important in SDM fit: one is organizational culture; and the other is empowerment of the project team. The first factor encapsulates variables related to the project environment such as the level of entrepreneurship and methodology supported by top management. The second factor is related to the characteristics of the project and includes variables such as procedural empowerment and project uncertainty. No support was found for factors such as project size, criticality and the need for personnel supervision that are generally considered important contingencies. The current study also demonstrates that SDM fit is one of the predictors of project success, and affirms prior claims that one methodology does not fit all projects. The current research contributes to the SDM fit literature a contingency model that includes the impact of factors associated with the project and the project environment, on SDM fit and project success. The contingencies identified and evaluated by this research may assist practitioners to select the most appropriate methodology, and to achieve higher project success rates.</p>

Identifying the Critical Factors in Software Development Methodology Fit

<p>In software development, one size does not fit all. Contingencies shape the alignment between the project and its environment, and between software development and project success. Yet the conditions favouring a particular software development methodology (e.g., waterfall or scrum) are not well understood. The current research aims to answer two questions: (1) What are the important factors in software development methodology (SDM) fit? (2) What is the role of SDM fit in project success? A review of the IT literature revealed two kinds of SDMs. On the one hand, there are traditional, plan-driven methodologies that seek compliance to a pre-established plan and existing processes. On the other hand, there are agile methodologies that seek to embrace the increasing changes and uncertainty involved in software development projects. The literature review established that there is no agreement on the contingencies associated with the use of each methodology, nor agreement on how to measure project success. Exploratory research was undertaken to identify contingencies in software development. Preliminary interviews of projects workers, using a card sort procedure, helped to identify key constructs and to generate and refine a set of measurement items. Then an international survey of software development project workers was conducted. Data analysis revealed two factors that are important in SDM fit: one is organizational culture; and the other is empowerment of the project team. The first factor encapsulates variables related to the project environment such as the level of entrepreneurship and methodology supported by top management. The second factor is related to the characteristics of the project and includes variables such as procedural empowerment and project uncertainty. No support was found for factors such as project size, criticality and the need for personnel supervision that are generally considered important contingencies. The current study also demonstrates that SDM fit is one of the predictors of project success, and affirms prior claims that one methodology does not fit all projects. The current research contributes to the SDM fit literature a contingency model that includes the impact of factors associated with the project and the project environment, on SDM fit and project success. The contingencies identified and evaluated by this research may assist practitioners to select the most appropriate methodology, and to achieve higher project success rates.</p>

A. W. Schlegels Korrespondenz – kollaborativ!

The paper appeals for a re-examination of the digital scholarly edition of letters informed by a ‘theory of practice’ appropriate to a project environment. The genre letter seen as a means of communication and the use of digital media tools are emphasised, the use of which in no way precludes keeping with established scholarly critical edition standards. The ‘behind the scenes’ of the project The Digital Edition of August Wilhelm Schlegel’s Correspondence is discussed, as are, in a more universal sense, Bourdieu’s critical ideas of theory and practice as applied to digital letter edition projects and their interests.

A Multi-criteria Approach in the Project Selection Process in Multi-Project Context

In a multi-project environment, organizational complexity refers to the difficulties that organizations often face in choosing projects to build their portfolios, since they do not aim to achieve the same strategic business objectives. It is for this reason that the project selection process requires the implementation of an effective decision-making tool when composing a project portfolio. The objective of this paper is to propose an adapted framework for a better project selection procedure inspired by the approaches of strategic relevance, profitability criteria, uncertainty, and risk analysis, the ability to dispose of scarce resources, and the determination of interdependencies between different projects.&nbsp;

Influence of agrometeorological component of the project environment on the duration of works in chemical protection projects of agricultural crops

The analysis of the state of science and practice of making managerial decisions in agricultural production projects is performed. The expediency of substantiation of the influence of the agrometeorological component of the project environment on the duration of works in the projects of chemical protection of agricultural crops is substantiated. The approach to the definition of fund of works time performance in projects of chemical protection of crops taking into account changing events of an agrometeorological component of the project environment is offered. It is based on the use of statistical data of agrometeorological stations in the regions where these projects are implemented. The peculiarity of this approach is that it provides for the formation of databases and knowledge for planning work in projects of chemical protection of agricultural crops based on the characteristics of a given project environment. To do this, computer simulation is used, which provides a systematic consideration of many variable agrometeorological components of the design environment and their impact on the limitation of the time allocated for work. This improves the quality of the database for forecasting the events of the components of the project environment, as well as gaining knowledge that underlies the acceleration of management decisions in projects of chemical protection of crops. It is established that the duration of agrometeorological determined daily fund of time for work in projects of chemical protection of agricultural crops is variable both during the life cycle of the project and in certain periods of its implementation, which is reflected by the relevant distribution laws. Further research on the planning of chemical protection projects for agricultural crops should be conducted to justify new methods and models of management decisions that will take into account the impact of changing events of the agrometeorological component of the project environment on the time and content of work in these projects.

The Challenges of Training Policy in Project Environment: Case of Tunisia

Since the 1980s, the project has become an essential management approach for contemporary companies that require profound organizational transformations, hence the need for more in-depth studies on human resources development in this new environment. The present work aimed to recognize the different challenges of the training policy in the project environment. To this end, we conducted 31 semi-structured interviews with Tunisian project managers. The results showed that the training policy is a conducive context for skills development in the project environment. Project-based organizations are called upon to promote their employees’ skills through training programs encompassing mainly two kinds of skills: interpersonal and technical. The results also revealed that the temporary and unstable nature of the projects leaves little room for training due to time pressure, lack of budget, and work overload.