This paper is a degree project on the C-level, 15 points at University West, Department of Business and IT dept. Informatics. This study is about agile methodology and its impact on IT projects. Requirements management is a process within an IT project, where customer has certain requirements that must be met by an IT system. The difference between the traditional and agile development is in the requirements management process and it can cause problems in a project. Requirements change during IT projects and to manage requirements, agile principles apply. Specification and planning in the waterfall model is time consuming. Working agile means to have close contact with the client. This minimizes the risk of project failure. With agile methods, functions can be developed at a faster rate and the customer receives prompt delivery. There are currently several different methods for systems development and project management. Some are based on research, others are new and some have been around a long time in the IT world. This work has identified customer involvement; Risk Reduction and Delivery which contribute to several projects fail under traditional systems. Agile methods are flexible, agile and welcome change and the customer will be able to steer the project. Agile methods have however provided the opportunity for developers to more quickly deliver functionality to the customer. / Detta arbete är ett examensarbete på C-nivå, 15 poäng vid Högskolan Väst, Institutionen för ekonomi och IT avd. informatik. Denna studie handlar om agila metodiken och dess inverkan på IT-projekt. Kravhantering är en process inom ett IT-projekt, där kund har vissa krav som måste uppfyllas av ett IT-system. Skillnaden mellan det traditionella och agila utvecklingsmetoder ligger i kravhantering process och det kan orsaka problem i ett projekt. Krav förändras under IT-projekt och för att hantera kraven bör agila principer tillämpas. Kravspecifikation och planering inom vattenfallsmodellen är tidskrävande. Att jobba agilt innebär att ha nära kontakt med beställaren. Därmed minimerar det risken för projektets misslyckande. Med agila metoder, kan funktionerna utvecklas i en snabbare takt och kunden får snabb leverans. Det finns idag flera olika metoder för systemutveckling och projektledning. Vissa är baserade på forskning, andra är nya och vissa har funnits en lång tid i IT-världen. Arbetet har identifierat kundinvolvering, Riskreducering och Leveranstid vilka bidra till att flera projekt misslyckas under traditionell systemutveckling. Agila metoder är flexibla, smidiga och välkomnar förändring och kunden kommer att kunna styra projektet. Agila metoder har däremot gett möjlighet för utvecklarna att på ett snabbare sätt leverera funktioner till kunden.

Esta dissertação de mestrado fez parte do projeto Qualipso (Quality Platform for Open Source Software) que teve como principal objetivo melhorar a confiabilidade de sistemas de software livre. Nesse contexto, o enfoque desta pesquisa é um dos atributos de qualidade de software: usabilidade. As práticas de usabilidade no desenvolvimento de software livre, são aplicadas na maioria das vezes, em projetos patrocinados por grandes empresas ou que possuam especialistas em usabilidade como membros da equipe. Mas, em projetos menores da comunidade, compostos geralmente por desenvolvedores, raramente ela é considerada. Porém, a usabilidade é um atributo fundamental para a qualidade durante o uso de um sistema. Com base em valores compartilhados entre as comunidades de métodos ágeis e de software livre, esta dissertação propõe a adaptação de práticas de usabilidade no contexto de métodos ágeis para o contexto de comunidades de software livre. Por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica, levantamos as principais práticas de usabilidade tanto no âmbito de métodos ágeis, quanto no âmbito de software livre, e as classificamos de acordo com as fases do Design Centrado em Usuário, descrevendo cada uma com o formato nome-contexto-problema-solução-exemplos. As práticas foram exploradas em projetos de software livre, o que possibilitou maior entendimento de problemas enfrentados em contextos reais. Essa experiência resultou na proposta de adaptação de práticas de usabilidade ágil no contexto de comunidades de software livre. Dessa forma, descrevemos a realização de uma pesquisa-ação no projeto Arquigrafia-Brasil, um estudo de caso no projeto Mezuro e a aplicação de práticas de usabilidade em quatro projetos do Centro de Competência em Software Livre do IME-USP. / This Masters thesis was part of the Qualipso project (Quality Platform for Open Source Software) whose main objective was to improve the reliability of free and open source software systems. Within such context, the focus of this research is one of the attributes of software quality: usability. The usability practices in free and open source software development are applied most often in projects sponsored by large companies or employing usability experts as team members. But on smaller projects in the community, generally composed by developers, it is rarely considered. However, usability is an essential attribute to the quality in use of a system. Based on values shared between the communities of agile methods and free and open source software, this thesis proposes the adaptation of usability practices in the context of agile methods to the context of free and open source software communities. Through the study of the literature in the field, we gathered the main usability practices both within agile methods, as in free and open source software, and we classified according to User-Centered Design phases, describing each one with the format name-context-problem-solution-examples. The practices were explored in free and open source software projects, which enabled greater understanding of problems faced in real contexts. This experience resulted in the adaptation proposal of agile usability practices into the context of free and open source software communities. We describe the implementation of an action research in the Arquigrafia-Brazil project, a case study in the Mezuro project and the application of usability practices in four projects of the IME-USP FLOSS Competence Center.

This thesis aims to design an effective solution of supportive tool in field of the informal specification. Solution is based on the application for mobile devices with touch screens, Apple iPad. Design of the final product is supported by many studies, in particular those analyzing field of the informal specification, technical features, user interfaces, implementation methods and user experience testing. Thesis defines functional requirements for application development accompanied by design and the implementation of three different graphical user interfaces. Important in this thesis is the evaluation of the user experience testing, which defines future development.

Agila arbetssätt och den agila filosofin har över de två senaste decennierna blivit ett självklart element I det flesta IT-systemutvecklingsprojekt. Fördelarna som följer med den agila filosofin (exempelvis ökad kundanpassning och snabbare leveranser) har bidragit till att större företag börjat att införa agila arbetssätt i hela organisationen – det vill säga inte bara i enskilda projekt. Denna idé har lett till att olika generella ramverk som benämns för Skalade agila ramverk (Scaled Agile Framework) har introducerats på marknaden. Ett par exempel på befintliga ramverk är Scrum of Scrums, LeSS, Scaled Agile Framework och Lean Scalable Agility. Av existerande ramverk är “Scaled Agile Framework” (SAFe) den mest implementerade och väletablerade. Det finns emellertid flera utmaningar med att införa SAfe i stora verksamheter. En utmaning är att skalade agila ramverk är komplexa och tar lång tid att införa. En annan utmaning är att det saknas verktyg som stöttar organisationer i deras försök att implementera ramverket. Detta är problematiskt eftersom det kan leda till en ineffektiv implementeringsprocess, högre kostnader och att vinsterna med den agila filosofin reduceras. Detta har lett oss till det problem som vi adresserar i studien; det saknas kunskap om hur bedömningsmodeller för SAFe skall designas. Problemet har sporrat oss att utföra en studie där vi, tillsammans med en organisation i näringslivet, har designat och utvärderat ett användbart och icke-komplext verktyg för bedömning av skalade agila ramverk. Syftet är med verktyget är att det skall effektivisera implementeringsprocessen av SAFe. Problemet har också legat till grund för vår forskningsfråga som lyder: Hur bör ett verktyg för bedömning av SAFe implementationer designas? För att finna svar på forskningsfrågan har vi valt att följa forskningsmetoden Action Design Research (ADR). ADR metoden vill bidra IS-forskning genom att 1) den adresserar ett problem i en specifik organisatorisk kontext genom design av en IT-artefakt samtidigt som den 2) stödjer identifiering av designprinciper. Studiens resultat visar att bedömningsmodellen fungerar, att den bidrar till att lösa det adresserade problemet samt att de designprinciper som presenteras är korrekta. / Agile methods and the agile manifesto has been for the last two decades a central focus point of software development in the world. The benefits that come with the usage of the agile philosophy (for example, increased customer adaptation and quicker deliveries) has led larger companies to try to adopt the principles on their entire organization - not only on smaller projects. This adoption has translated to the emergence of various frameworks that are generally labeled as Scaled agile frameworks. A few examples of these frameworks are Scrum of Scrums, LeSS, Scaled Agile Framework and Lean Scalable Agility. These frameworks are being widely adopted by large companies, with SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) being the most adopted on the market. However, these frameworks have become a pinnacle of complexity due to the large size of the frameworks which proves to be a challenge for the company that is using them. This is problematic because there are no real tools to evaluate the implementation of scaled agile frameworks. With no tools to use, there is a risk of having an inefficient implementation process which constitutes to higher costs and that the general benefits of Agile manifesto are lost on the way. This has led us to the problem that we’re addressing in this study: There is a lack of knowledge on how to design assessment models for the SAFe framework. This problem has spurred us into conduct a study where we, together with an organization within the IT-industry, have designed and evaluated a tool that effectively assesses the implementation of SAFe. The problem set the groundwork for our science and the question we seek to answer in this study is: How should a tool for assessment of SAFe implementation be designed? Consequently, to find answers to this question, we have chosen to use the research method Action Design Research (ADR). The method of ADR wants to contribute to IS-research by 1) To design an uncomplex tool that can help IT industry to evaluate their scaled agile framework implementation and 2) provide theoretical knowledge translated into design principles that will contribute to other design efforts in similar contexts. The result provided in this study will help show that the design knowledge works, provide rigor to the study, help solve the given problem of the study and show that the design knowledge is correct

This master's thesis is oriented on software development processes improvement techniques. It presents modern approaches of process development and analyses problems of their management and usage in various life cycle phases. In connection with these techniques it brings draft of support tool, which increases automatization of processes development with pertinent cooperation with other tools, as one of presumptions of improvement of their quality.

[pt] Atualmente a pesquisa com usuários vem ganhando projeção como diferencial no desenvolvimento de produtos e serviços de interface digital, incluindo atividades que envolvem análises e observações no contexto de uso, feedbacks e avaliações. O usuário, que anteriormente era um coadjuvante, passou a ter destaque como ator principal, tornando-se peça-chave no levantamento de requisitos de um produto, em meio a um mercado competitivo em constante transformação. Pela necessidade de adequação a frequentes mudanças, a agilidade se tornou um elemento essencial, como processo alternativo de desenvolvimento. Desse modo, uma metodologia ágil foi adotada como forma de suprir a demanda pela rapidez no lançamento dos produtos, modificando profundamente a maneira como eles são estruturados e desenvolvidos, influenciados principalmente pelo fator tempo. Consequentemente, as atividades que envolvem pesquisas, ideações e avaliações tem o tempo reduzido, comprometendo a pesquisa com usuários e a aplicação dos princípios do Design Centrado no Humano. Diante disso, a presente pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar a pesquisa com usuários em consonância com a aplicação de metodologias ágeis no desenvolvimento de produtos digitais. Através da pesquisa bibliográfica, foi permitido aprofundar os conceitos sobre o design centrado no usuário, seus princípios, as metodologias associadas e seus processos, e relacioná-lo às metodologias ágeis. Mediante as entrevistas, foi possível, também, o entendimento sobre os problemas enfrentados pelos profissionais de UX na aplicação das práticas de design centrado no usuário nas organizações, gerando insumos para aplicação de um questionário online que produziu uma compreensão e análise sobre as atividades relacionadas à pesquisa com usuários na aplicação das metodologias ágeis nas empresas do mercado brasileiro. Esta pesquisa revela como os profissionais de UX aplicam as atividades que envolvem a pesquisa com usuários em conjunto com as metodologias ágeis de acordo com a amostra coletada, evidenciando as influências no desenvolvimento dos produtos segundo as características organizacionais apresentadas. / [en] Currently, user research has been gaining a projection as a differentiator in the development of digital interface products and services, including activities that involve analysis and observations in the context of use, feedback and evaluation. The user, who was previously a supporting actor, has become a major player, key in the product requirements specification, in the midst of a competitive market in constant transformation.. Due to the need to adapt to frequent changes, agility has become an essential element as an alternative development process. This way, an agile methodology was adopted as a way of supporting the demand for speed in the launch of products, thus, deeply modifying the way they are structured and developed, influenced mainly by the time factor. Consequently, activities involving research, ideation, and evaluation are time-consuming, which compromises user research and the application of the principles of User-Centered Design. Therefore, the present research aims at investigating the research with users in consonance with the application of agile methodologies in the development of digital products. The literature review, allowed us to gain in depth knowledge about user-centered design, its principles, associated methodologies and its processes, and to relate UCD to agile methodologies. Through the interviews, it was also possible to understand the issues faced by UX professionals in the application of user-centered design practices in organizations, which generated inputs for the application of an online survey, which in turn enabled both the analysis of activities related to user research in the application of agile methodologies in the Brazilian market. This research reveals how UX professionals apply the activities that involve research with users along with agile methodologies according to the collected sample, the research findings also show what influences in the development of their products according to the presented organizational characteristics.

Background: The Swedish Royal School of Technology (KTH) was hired to conduct a pilot study project on stress prevention, "Stress Prevention Project" in a Swedish high-tech global manufacturing company with headquarters in Sweden. The aim was to identify the root causes of stress among employees at the organizational level and to offer a way to prevent the root causes. The initiative to implement the project came from the HR department in the company. The occupational health department had not been able to lower the costs of sickness and rehabilitation. One of nine divisions was included in this evaluation study. The project was carried out during the years of 2012-2014, and three quantitative stress measurements were carried out using the modern working environment form “Modern Work Life” based of knowledge from KTH and designed by Metodicum. The present study has evaluated the root causes of the division's stress. In the division, it was stated that the risk areas that the division had to work with were: resources, demands, control, support but also leadership and reorganization with implementing the Agile methods (autonomous work) in the form of. The aim was to improve the psychosocial occupational health and to make the production work more efficient. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the effect of stress preventive measures in one of the nine divisions (that were included in the overall project) and the effect of implementing the Agile methods (autonomous work) in the organization. Limitations: The evaluation is restricted to one of the nine divisions. Method: The method is a quantitative and qualitative case study, with a narrative approach. The study includes a division with 200 employees of which data was collected from 18 of these employees in two focus groups interviews. Materials have also been collected from interviews with the division's HR director, section leader, head of unit and head of the organization's business health. The evaluation is based on qualitative data, which were obtained through 3 single interviews and 4 focus group interviews and participant observation. Quantitative data were obtained through three different measurements (between 2012-14). The quantitative data were compared and analyzed with the qualitative data in order to understand the results up to the final measurement 3 (2014). Results: The evaluation of the stress prevention – where the focus was to prevent risk areas including demands, develop resources, control, support and also leadership – showed that introducing and using the Agile working principles had had a significant positive effect on all the risk areas. Additionally, this change in the organization contributed to positive results regarding the efficiency of the production process; a reduction of working hours from 12 months to 2 weeks of action at the same result. The absence due to illness and rehabilitation has been decreasing from 4 % to 0,5-1% right after introducing the Agile methods in the division. However, the results also showed no improvement regarding some other working environment; as conflicts and bullying persisted. This may be due to how the reorganization of the groups was done. It should be clarified that the outcomes may be influenced by the extensive reorganization that took place in connection with the stress prevention project and the introduction of the agile approach. Conclusions - The stress prevention could not have been done efficiently due to other on-going reorganizations in the company and the staff has not been able to follow the recommendation for efficient stress-prevention due to lack of support from the headquarter. That created a crisis in the stress prevention-project group. The agile methods seem to have had a significant good result in all risk areas as resources, demands, control, support and also leadership and the absence has decreased from 4 to 0,5 %. Due to the agile methods have the productions process been shorter from 12 months to 2 weeks.