The aim of the study is to compare traditional and agile approaches to project management, analyze particular projects in selected company and propose recommendations for t for implementing agile and traditional approaches. Thesis is focused on IT project management, specifically in in the field of developing software products and services. The theoretical part is devoted to project management and the characteristics of the basic concepts. Furthermore it deals with the traditional methods and agile approach to project management and differences between them. Theoretical knowledge is then applied in the practical part in a corporate environment. Major differences between traditional waterfall and agile approach are compared using the examples of real projects. In conclusion, there are basic problems in implementation of agile methods in corporations and recommendations for their implementation.

Only a small number of projects of information system development succeed. Agile methodologies have contributed to a higher level of success of specific projects developed by small teams. Nevertheless, most IT companies still refuse this approach with large-scale projects. This paper comments on the conditions that must be fulfilled for agile adoption, analyzes the limitation of such processes, and describes the approaches for the solutions of such problems with the focus on projects in a complex environment. By means of a case study, the next part of the paper shows the advantages of adopting an agile approach in a real project in a complex environment, which is in conflict with the so far presented limitations of this methodology. The project was evaluated as a success, primary, due to the implementation of the agile methodology during the development phase. This implementation helped meet all the project deadlines, accelerate bug-fixing, and especially deliver functionalities which brought an additional value to the customer. Based on the findings of the case study, the procedures and practices extending the chosen agile methodology are defined. Such procedures and practices can be used in other projects in complex environments in the future. Thus, the paper shows more options for the use of these methodologies, which may help its wider use in the future and hence increasing the success of projects focused on the development of information systems. Such situation would lead to an effective interconnectedness of ICT and business strategies, especially due to the flexible delivery of currently needed ICT services.

The aim of this study is to analyse available tools and strategic management theories dealing with the growth of the company, to apply the theory in the form of case study on the fast growing small business and propose recommendations for the management of similar companies. The theoretical part is focused to the issue of the strategic management tools. Furthermore it deals with comparison of rigorous and agile approach to managing and planning the growth of the company. The analytical part of the work is written as a case study of company, which is growing by hundreds of percent per year. It describes the situations and decisions in company during its growth. Different approaches to the management are shown on specific examples of the company situations. At the end, there are recommendations for companies at a similar stage. Description of new management tools and methods implemented in company is also a part of study. This is particularly the delegation at higher level, reporting, focusing on the core business and managing business transformations while preserving its identity.

This master's thesis deals with the topic of designing an agile methodology for Business Intelligence projects. The thesis presents the topic of Business Intelligence, methodologies for managing projects and methodologies for data warehouse development. It presents Scrum, BEAM* and Data Vault methodologies as well as approaches like pomodoro, Action Centered Leadership and a 40-hour work week. Based on synthesis of presented methodologies and approaches this thesis defines the methodology for managing Business Intelligence projects. The newly designed methodology HooBI is a minimal methodology for agile management of Business Intelligence projects based on data warehouse, containing Business Intelligence elements and approaches for effective work. The usage of methodology is double verified; firstly, by comparison of managing a completed past project with its alternative of eventual usage of the designed methodology HooBI, secondly by expert review. The Methodology should simplify the development and management of Business Intelligence projects and can be used by professionals in the field of Business Intelligence.

This thesis is aimed to evaluate if the current SaaS market is able to meet functional re-quirements of web design in order to appropriately support web design's activities. The theoretical part introduces the web design model which describes web design's functional requirements. The next section presents a research concept that describes model assessment (i.e. solutions delivered as SaaS that support web design) and evaluation process. The results show that the current SaaS market is able to meet the requirements of web design in areas where SaaS solutions are able to provide an essential added value to customers in comparison to on-premise software.

The Information technologies are becoming a key element in achieving an advantage above your competitors. Therefore, it is as important coming up with new and original ideas as well as having the ability to enforce those ideas by current management. The chances of enforcing new ideas are higher if you manage to implement the changes within set up forecast. The lack of flexibility and a low percentage of successful projects within these limits were the main motivation for composing this Master Thesis. There is an introduction to the agile project management in the first part of this paper and a specific implementation example of this method in the second part.

Agile software development methods, characterized by delivering customer value via incremental and iterative time-boxed development processes, have moved into the mainstream of the Information Technology (IT) industry. However, despite a growing body of research which suggests that a predictive manufacturing approach, with big up-front specifications, detailed estimates, and speculative plans applicable to manufacturing domains, is the wrong paradigm for software development, many IT organizations are still hesitant to adopt agile approaches (Larman, 2004). This study extends research based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003) into the domain of business processes. Specifically, processes related to the `behavioral intent' to adopt agile software development methods. Further, it investigated relationships between adoption and the impact on project performance attributes. A sample was obtained from a population of IT practitioners from within the IT industry. The sampling frame consisted of members from the global Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) chapters, Agile User Groups, and I.T. industry conference promoters and presenters. Independent variables included performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions, with the dependant variable being behavioral intent to adopt agile software development methods. The independent variable of agile software development adoption and dependent variables of project performance were also included as well as predictive models relating adoption to on-time delivery of project functionality and stakeholder satisfaction. The variables in the study were measured via a 65-item questionnaire based on previous scales, and tested to ensure validity and reliability. The research questions were developed to identify correlations between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and the behavioral intent to adopt agile software development methods. Additional questions measured the correlation between adoption and key project performance attributes. The research found positive correlations between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and behavioral intent to adopt agile software development methods, positive correlations between adoption and on-time delivery of project functionality and stakeholder satisfaction, and weak positive correlations with post delivery defects and project success rates.

Drawing upon configurational theory, work group design research, virtualness concepts, and the software agility literature, the purpose of this study was to provide a starting point for theorizing about the successful configuration of globally distributed agile teams by exploring the dimensions of team structure, virtualness, and agility. Due to the complex nature of this topic, the need to examine the phenomenon within its natural setting, and the limited amount of research that has been conducted in this particular area, this study adopted an embedded multiple-case research design. The primary data collection method consisted of semi-structured interviews involving members of globally distributed agile teams within three U.S. based organizations with members located in distributed sights in multiple countries. Additional data were collected from archival records. Within-case and cross-analysis was conducted using qualitative data analysis software. This study provides a starting point for answering the question of how the configuration of globally distributed agile teams differs from the configuration of other types of globally distributed teams; it synthesizes past research and findings into a comprehensive theoretical framework; it provides a starting point for theorizing about the successful configuration of globally distributed agile teams; it helps practitioners to identify and address the challenges related to the configuration of globally distributed agile teams; and it presents a set of best practices which will inform organizations on how to configure their globally distributed agile teams.

This study set out to determine various aspects of the agile approaches to software development. These included an investigation into the principles and practices driving these methodologies; determining the applicability of these approaches to the current software development needs; determining whether these methodologies can comply with software engineering standards (as set out for example by ISO); investigating the feasibility of these approaches for the telecommunication industry; establishing whether practitioners are reaping the benefits that are advertised by agile proponents; and attempting to discover short-comings of the agile paradigm. This dissertation examines the aforementioned issues and tries to provide answers to them. It is argued that: Agile software development is suited to projects where the system evolves over the life cycle of the project. These methodologies are intended to seamlessly handle changing requirements. Thus, using an agile approach might provide a competitive advantage in developing e-business solutions which are tightly coupled with the business strategy and needs. It is shown that agile methodologies can comply with software engineering standards such as ISO 12207:1995 and ISO 15288:2002. Furthermore diligent application of certain agile methodologies may result in a level 3 Capability Maturity Model (CMM) grading. Evidence from the feedback of a case study conducted on an XP project team, supports the view that XP, and agile in general, does indeed live up to its 'promises'. However, some potential problem areas were identified that should be kept in mind when implementing these methodologies. Finally, an in situ investigation suggests that there are a number of projects in the telecommunication industry that will benefit from the agile approach and its practices. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Computer Science / unrestricted

No contexto da gestão de projetos surgiram novas abordagens com o objetivo de acompanharem mudanças no ambiente de negócio com agilidade e gerando assim resultados inovadores no desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias, produtos e serviços. O Gerenciamento Ágil de Projetos (GAP) surgiu a partir da união de alguns princípios e valores, os quais têm como principal diferencial das demais abordagens em gestão de projetos o foco nos indivíduos. Considerando esse foco, é necessário evidenciar quais fatores podem estar associados ao sucesso de implementação do GAP para a obtenção da agilidade e de resultados inovadores. Dessa forma, o objetivo geral do presente estudo é identificar os fatores de sucesso do gerenciamento ágil de projetos e de que maneira podem contribuir, através das práticas do gerenciamento ágil, na obtenção da agilidade e resultados inovadores em projetos. Os objetivos específicos são: (i) identificar as práticas, fatores de sucesso, indicadores e ferramentas do gerenciamento ágil de projetos evidenciados na literatura; (ii) identificar a importância desses fatores de sucesso para determinar a agilidade e facilitar a inovação; (iii)identificar as práticas associadas aos fatores de sucesso evidenciados no presente estudo entre profissionais da área; (iv) caracterizar e estruturar uma estrutura de implementação do gerenciamento ágil de projetos com base nos fatores de sucesso identificados em uma empresa de serviços. Para responder a cada um dos objetivos apresentados, o presente trabalho foi estruturado na forma de três artigos, associados a cada um dos objetivos específicos apresentados. Assim, o trabalho foi composto por uma revisão sistemática de literatura (Artigo 1), uma pesquisa do tipo survey (Artigo 2) e um estudo de caso (Artigo 3). O primeiro artigo identificou os fatores de sucesso, assim como as práticas, indicadores e benefícios do GAP. No segundo artigo, selecionou-se seis fatores de sucesso relacionados ao foco nos indivíduos (autonomia, coordenação, colaboração, comunicação, flexibilidade e aprendizado contínuo) e após verificou-se a importância de cada um deles para a determinação da agilidade e facilitação para a geração de resultados inovadores. Já no terceiro artigo foi realizado um estudo de caso, composto por entrevistas em profundidade com profissionais com experiência em GAP para obter um diagnóstico da área de projetos de uma empresa de serviços. O resultado final foi a caracterização e estruturação de uma estrutura de implementação para a empresa em estudo. Os resultados da presente dissertação não podem ser generalizados, entretanto, procuram esclarecer alguns elementos associados ao sucesso do Gerenciamento Ágil de Projetos, servindo como um guia para próximos estudos. / In the context of project management, new approaches emerged aiming to monitor changes in the business environment with agility and generating innovative in developing new technologies, products and services results. The Agile Project Management (APM) arose from the union of some principles and values, which have in the focus on individuals the main difference from other approaches in project management. Given this focus, it is necessary to show which factors may be associated with successful implementation of GAP to obtain the agility and innovative results. Thus, the overall goal of this study is to identify the success factors of agile project management and how they can contribute, through the practices of agile management in achieving results in agility and innovative projects. The specific objectives are: (i) identify practices, success factors, indicators and agile management tools highlighted projects in the literature, (ii) identify the importance of these success factors to determine the speed and facilitate the generation of innovation results; (iii) identify practices associated with the success factors highlighted in this study between professionals; (iv) characterize a format and structure for implementation of agile project management based on the success factors identified in a service company. To answer each of the objectives presented, this paper was structured as three items associated with each of the specific objectives presented. Thus, the work was composed of a systematic literature review (Article 1), a research -type survey (Article 2) and a case study (Article 3) . The first article identified the success factors as well as the practices, indicators and benefits of GAP. In the second article, we selected six success factors related to the focus on individuals (autonomy, coordination, collaboration, communication, flexibility and continuous learning) and after it was found the importance of each in determining the agility and facilitation for generating innovative results. In the third article, a case study, consisting of interviews with professionals with experience in GAP for a diagnosis of the project area of a service business was conducted. The end result was the characterization and structure of a format implementation for the company under study. The results of this dissertation can’t be generalized, however, seek to clarify some elements associated with successful Agile Project Management, serving as a guide for future studies.