Globally distributed software development has become an important topic for small and medium enterprises. However, the distinct requirements of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still not fullyunderstood. To contribute to this growing discussion, I will present an ethnographical field study of a Swedish software company engaged in a distributed development practice with its American branch. By applying a theoretical view based on communication, coordination and control over time, space and socio/cultural difference, I show to what extent a distributed software development model affects SMEs. Whereproblems related to formal and informal communication, knowledge sharing, articulation work and programming methodologies are discussed. My findings suggest that organizational adjustments are needed for SMEs in order to take advantage of distributed software development (DSD), that specialized tools supporting coordination and articulation work is not so common in practice and that certain adjustment to agile methodologies could be made in order to better support DSD.

De flesta metoder, verktyg och arbetssätt som används vid traditionell projektledning har använts under en lång tid trots att de yttre förutsätt-ningarna har förändrats. Systemutvecklingsbranschen upplevde de traditionella metoderna att driva projekt som oerhört statiska och tröga, därför utvecklades mer lättrörliga metoder som kom att kallas agila systemutvecklingsmetoder. Fram till år 2007 fanns inte en strukturerad process för hur valet och implementeringen av en agil systemutveckl-ingsmetod bör gå till. Det finns idag några ramverk som beskriver hur val och implementering av en agil metod kan bedrivas. Inget av dessa ramverk tar dock i beaktande eller utgår ifrån en organisations strategi eller vikten av strategisk passform. Syftet med denna rapport har varit att undersöka hur en agil systemutvecklingsmetod kan väljas utifrån strategisk passform. Undersökningen har även syftat till att studerade förändringar som kan krävas i en organisations projektstyrningsmodell för att införa en agil systemutvecklingsmetod. För att besvara syftet har en fallstudie utförts på Statens tjänstepensionsverk. På SPV har en ut-värdering med TS-metoden genomförts för att bedöma olika agila systemutvecklingsmetoders strategiska passform. Med hjälp av TS-metoden har agila systemutvecklingsmetoder bedömts mot en organi-sations strategiska mål. Resultatet från utvärderingen var att de agila systemutvecklingsmetoderna DSDM och Scrum ansågs ha den bästa strategiska passformen. Då DSDM till stor del är ett ramverk är en kom-bination av dessa båda systemutvecklingsmetoder möjlig. TS-metoden har resulterat i en relativ bedömning mellan de agila systemutveckl-ingsmetoderna. Utifrån denna bedömning har de agila systemutveckl-ingsmetoderna kunnat rangordnas utifrån ett strategiskt perspektiv. Införandet av en kombination av metoderna har inneburit att arbetet kommer att utföras iterativt istället för sekventiellt och detta har inneburit att beslutspunkterna i projektstyrningsmodellen har förändrats. Även styrning efter TKQ har försvunnit. / Most of the methods, tools and approaches used in traditional project management come from the Cold War days. System development sector experienced the traditional methods of managing projects as extremely static and slow and therefore developed more agile methods, agile sys-tem development methods. By the year 2007 there was not a structured process for the selection and implementation of an agile method. There is currently some framework that describes how the selection and im-plementation of an agile method can be conducted. None of these frameworks will be considered or assume an organization strategy and the importance of strategic fit. The purpose of this report was to investi-gate how an agile software development method can be chosen based on strategic fit. The survey also aimed to study the changes that would be required in an organization's project management model in order to introduce an agile system development methodology. To answer the question, an evaluation with TS-method was performed. In the TS-method has agile software development methodologies assessed against an organization's strategic goals. The result from the evaluation was that the agile software development methods DSDM and Scrum were con-sidered to have the best strategic fit. When the DSDM largely is a framework a combination of the two agile software methods is possible. TS-method gave a relative assessment between the agile software devel-opment methods. Based on this assessment, the agile software devel-opment methods could be ranked from a strategic perspective. The in-troduction of a combination of methods has meant that the work will be performed iteratively rather than sequentially, and this has meant that the decision points in the project management model have changed. Although control with TKQ has disappeared.

This thesis seeks to better understand how a combination of different project management approaches could lead organisations to cope with project closure in more effective ways. More specifically, a coexistence of Waterfall and Agile project management is examined and presented as positive contribution to insurance and investment organisations for more effective transitions from project management to business-as-usual. A comprehensive framework combines within the theoretical chapters the hybrid approach between Agile and traditional project management for successfully closing projects. It represents the lens through which the empirical material can be analysed.The empirical work is based on a single-holistic case study of Intesa Sanpaolo Life dac, incorporating seven semi-structured interviews with the most authoritative individuals of this company in relation to the topic of this paper. This case study provides a deep insight on project closure management which is addressed by investigating challenges and highlighting effective practices of the company in question. Throughout the analysis of the data gathered, the authors managed to highlight findings which provide managerial and theoretical contributions.The originality and the value of this research is given by the fact that this work expects to enrich project-based organisations which use a combination between Agile and traditional project management and struggle to get a proper project closure and transit to the operation phase. Consequently, this represents a completely new point of view in the literature related to project management, which sees project closure as the most understudied phase of the project life-cycle.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera agila metoders möjligheter att spridas, och projektledares erfarenheter avseende motivering och implementering av agila metoder. Teori: Denna studie tillämpar Røviks teorier om institutionaliserade organisationsrecept. Teorin om receptens spridning har använts för att analysera om agila metoder har egenskaperna för att spridas. För att undersöka motiveringen till användning av agila metoder har motiveringsfasen använts. Därtill har införingsfasen med fokus på översättning av recept använts för att analysera implementeringen av agila metoder. Metod: En kvalitativ metod med en deduktiv ansats har använts vid denna studie då dessa ansågs vara lämpliga för att uppfylla studiens syfte. Primärdatan har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med projektledare som valdes genom ett bekvämlighetsurval. Studien har även berikats med sekundärdata i form av konceptlitteratur om agila metoder. Slutsatser: Utifrån den valda teorin förefaller spridningsmöjligheterna för agila metoder vara svag. Projektledarnas berättelser om implementering av agila metoder visar på att metoderna har anpassats, översatts utifrån projektens förutsättningar. De metoder som har använts och kombinerats är Scrum och Kanban. Begreppen iteration, kommunikation, kunden och flexibilitet var återkommande argument för användning av metoderna. / Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the diffusion possibilities of agile methods, and project managers' experiences regarding the motivation and implementation of agile methods. Theory: The following study has been done using Røvik's theories of institutionalized organization recipes. The theory of the diffusion of recipes has been used to analyze whether agile methods have the properties in order to spread. To investigate the motivation for using agile methods, the motivation phase has been used. In addition, the adoption phase with focus on translation of recipes has been used to analyze the implementation of agile methods. Method: A qualitative method with a deductive approach has been used in this study, as these were considered appropriate for the purpose of the study. The primary data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with project managers chosen through a convenience sample. The study has also been enriched with secondary data in the form of conceptual literature on agile methods. Conclusions: Based on the chosen theory, the possibilities for diffusion of agile methods appear to be weak. The stories told by the project managers regarding the implementation of agile methods show that the methods have been adapted, translated according to the circumstances of the projects. The methods that have been used and combined are Scrum and Kanban. The concepts of iteration, communication, customer and flexibility were recurring arguments for using the methods.

Abstract 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.

L'objectif de cette thèse est d'étudier la faisabilité et les performances d'un synthétiseur de fréquences agile pour les transmissions multi-bandes multi-utilisateurs destinées aux systèmes de transmission fournissant un très grand débit tout en répondant aux exigences de faible consommation et d'intégration facile. Dans ce contexte, les solutions classiques de synthétiseur de fréquences ne sont pas applicables et il est nécessaire de développer de nouvelles structures qui génèrent les fréquences centrales en permanence. La commutation d'une fréquence à l'autre peut se faire alors très rapidement par simple modification de la configuration des multiplexeurs. Dans la première partie de ce travail nous nous consacrons à l'analyse d'une telle architecture à fort potentiel. Une partie de sa structure est réalisée en technologie conventionnelle BiCMOS afin de valider sa faisabilité ainsi que le fonctionnement des solutions schématiques développées. Grâce à la caractérisation des composants, une analyse de la structure complète est réalisée. Cependant, la complexité de la structure du synthétiseur proposé fait de sorte qu'il existe pour les fréquences générées un grand nombre de fréquences parasites qui induisent des interférences entre utilisateurs. La réduction de leurs effets sur la transmission est l'objet de la deuxième partie de notre travail. Deux solutions numériques de réduction des interférences sont proposées. Elles permettent de rendre le design de la partie analogique moins contraignant en allégeant le cahier des charges et nous ont ainsi permis de simplifier l'architecture du synthétiseur. / The aim of this thesis is to study the feasibility and the performances of a fast switching frequency synthesizer designed for high debit multi-band multi-user transmission and used in transmission systems requiring a low consumption and an easy IC integration. In this context, the use of the classical synthesizer structures does not apply and there is a need to develop new architectures capable of generating all the frequencies permanently. Thus, the switching between frequencies can be easily done by changing multiplexors' state.In the first part of this study, we focus on the analysis of such high potential OL architecture. The main part of the proposed structure is implemented in a conventional BiCMOS technology in order to validate its feasibility and the operation of the developed blocks. Thanks to the measurements of the OL components, a complete analysis of the synthesizer is made. However, the complexity of the architecture of the proposed synthesizer induces the generation of large number of parasitic frequencies, creating interferences between the active users. The reduction of their effect on the transmission is the subject of the second part of the manuscript. Two digital methods are proposed to reduce the interferences. Lowering the requirements on the analog part, they allow a simplified design. This property was used to reduce the complexity of the frequency synthesizer.

I denna uppsats analyseras fem mjukvaruverksamheter om hur de tolkar och hur de skapar värde i sina mjukvaruprocesser. Analysen tar upp hur modellen Software Value Map kan användas som hjälpmedel för olika besluttaganden vid värdeskapande. Syftet är att förstå hur olika beslutstagande påverkar värde utfallet i varje leverans och produkt. I uppsatsen söks svaret på hur de lokala företagen tolkar och levererar värde idag. Genom att studera ekonomi- och beslutsteorier förstår vi vilken betydelse och påverkan dessa har i värdeskapandet när produkter utvecklas. Resultatet av denna studie visar att de lokala företagen prioriterar kundbaserade värdeaspekter för att generera värde. Det visar sig även finnas likheter och skillnader om företagens personal och hur företagen värdesätter olika aspekter som genererar värde. / This thesis searches for the answer of how five companies interpret and deliver value in their software processes. The analysis uses the Software Value Map model that can be used as a tool for decision making in value creation. The purpose is to understand how different decisions affect the value of each delivery and product. By studying economics and decision theories, we understand the importance and impact they have in value creation when products are developed. The result of this study shows that local businesses prioritize customer-based value aspects to generate value. There are also similarities and differences in staff and how companies value different aspects that generate value.

The study   investigates how social presence and different tools of communication used by   the students at the IT-distance programme Informatics with Focus on Systems   Development at Mid Sweden University affects the quality of communication and   how the quality of communication can be improved. The data for the study is   collected from six semistructured interviews, the participants are students   taking the sixth and last term at the programme. Parts of the questions used   during interviews derive from the framework Community of Inquiry (CoI) by   Randy Garrison, Terry Anderson and Walter Archer. CoI is a framework for   measuring three types of presence: Cognitive presence, Teaching presence and   Social presence. The purpose of the framework is to measure when deep and   meaningful learning arise in education. What quality of   communication is, is described by the students participating in the   interviews, which means that a certain breadth of different interpretations   are explained and summarized. The result of the study consists partly of   quantitative data that comes from the questions received from the CoI-survey   and qualitative data from questions where students responded freely. Through   interviews and analysis, a number of proposals are presented on how the   quality of communication can be improved. / Denna studie   behandlar hur Scrum som utvecklingsmetodik påverkar kunskapsdelning mellan   studenter på högre nivå i ett virtuellt lärandecommunity. Studien jämför   studenternas upplevelse av ett utvecklingsprojekt utfört med Scrum och övriga   utvecklingsprojekt de utfört i grupp samt undersöker vilka aktiviteter och   artefakter inom Scrum som de uppfattar har en positiv inverkan på   kunskapsdelning inom gruppen. Detta har undersökts genom att studenter vid Mittuniversitetet   i Östersund som gått kursen Distribuerad Systemutveckling vid   programmet Informatik med Inriktning Systemutveckling svarat på ett   webbformulär om deras uppfattning kring kunskapsdelning. Resultatet visar   inte på några skillnader i deras upplevelser kring kunskapsdelning Scrum   kontra övriga utvecklingsprojekt men vissa aktiviteter inom Scrum har kunnat   identifieras som viktiga för studenterna och rekommendationer för anpassning   av dessa aktiviteter till övrig undervisning ges.

The thesis discusses research on a selected international team that incorporates agile methodology framework. The team is distributed among multiple European states and has off-shore members in India. The research questions include cross-cultural aspects of teamwork, organizational viewpoint as well as other key areas of team cooperation. Analysis is performed based on questionnaire distribution and a series of structured interviews with members of the researched team. Research findings include a list of recommended changes to team organization and evaluation of cross-cultural and factors of cooperation and their impact. Research has provided an action plan and a set of research observations that include deep analysis of teamwork, the area has proven to be attractive for further research, hence the thesis is concluded with suggestions in this area.

Agila arbetsmetoder bygger på iterativ utveckling och snabba leveranser. Dennakandidatuppsats har genomförts mot praktiserande som har erfarenhet av att arbeta enligt agila arbetsmetoder. Då IT-projekt misslyckas i stor omfattning och kritik riktas mot Scrum är temat för denna uppsats aktuell. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka utmaningar praktiserande står inför när dearbetar enligt den agila arbetsmetoden Scrum. För att undersöka detta genomfördes enkvalitativ datainsamling i form av intervjuer på fem deltagare som har erfarenhet av att arbeta med Scrum. Kategoriseringar gjordes utifrån empirin och teorin har sedan förstärktdessa kategoriseringar. Undersökningen kom fram till att praktiserande av Scrum stod inför utmaningar inom Agil definition och Scrum, att samarbeta enligt Scrum samt resultat och målbild. / Agile methods are based on iterative development and fast delivery. This essay has beenconducted against practitioners who have experience working in accordance with agilemethods. As IT projects fail to a large extent and criticism is directed against Scrum,makes the topic of the essay relevant. The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges that practitioners face when they work according to the agile method Scrum. To investigate this, a qualitative data collection was conducted by interviewing five respondents who have experience working with Scrum. Categorizations were made based on empirical theory, and the theory has then reinforced these categorizations. The investigation found that practitioners face challenges that can be divided into agile definition and Scrum, cooperation according to Scrum, as well as results and goals.