M.Sc. (Computer Science) / The process that involves creating and altering software systems can be defined as the software development lifecycle. People often use methodologies and methods in order to develop these systems with success factors such as people, processes and technology. The lifecycle is comprised of the following stages: • Planning • Requirements definition • Design • Development • Integration and testing • Installation • Acceptance. The underlying issue in such a lifecycle is that project defects are identified late within the lifecycle and therefore, the process of rectifying these problems becomes costly. Ultimately, an ideal product is one with minimal or zero defects which can be achieved with a software project that prevents or detects defects earlier within the cycle. Release management can be described as the process involving decision-­‐making regarding the implementation and releasing of a software product. A conceptual framework exists which stipulates the stages involved in the development process of a software application. Several models exist that describe the SDLC in different approaches. A philosophy is adopted within the RAD model, known as Agile and is beneficial since it minimises future scope creep and scope changes. Development occurs in shorter intervals. Over and above the stages and values in this methodology, the Agile methodology includes incremental changes which are then captured in the scheduled software releases. The purpose of the research presented in this dissertation is to incorporate findings where large companies with global IT projects can adopt the Agile conceptual framework and to testify whether all types of IT projects will benefit from a frequent release approach to the delivery of the project. Three different projects across a large South African financial institution that specialises in corporate organisation banking and core-­‐banking functionality will be studied and presented as case studies. Release management will also be studied from an organisational perspective with the following banking institution in context. Data will be retrieved by carrying out interviews and surveys with appropriate stakeholders, and therefore, analysed to generate a valid conclusion.

Many big organizations who are in existence since before the term agile came into existence are pursuing agile transformations and trying to integrate it with their existing structure. It has been an accepted fact that agile integrations are difficult in big organizations and many of such organizations fail the transformations. This is especially true for multisite software organizations where a traditional mix of old and new ways of working ends up creating issues. The result of such failure is the implementation of a hybrid way of working which ultimately leads to lower output and higher cost for the organizations.This paper looks at the integration challenges for multisite software engineering organizations and correlates with the theoretical findings by earlier with practical findings using survey and interviews as data collection tools. This paper specifically focusses on integration challenges involving self-organizing teams, power distribution, knowledge hiding and knowledge sharing, communications and decision making. The paper also has empirical evidence that shows that there is a communication and understanding gap between the employees and management in basic understanding of agile concepts.

Software development methodologies provide guidelines and practices for developing information systems. They have evolved over time from traditional plan-driven methodologies to incremental and iterative software development methodologies. The Agile Manifesto was released in 2001, which provides values and principles for agile software development. Over the last few years, agile software development has become popular because its values and principles focus on addressing the needs of contemporary software development. IT and Business teams need agility to deal with changes that can emerge during software development due to changing business needs. Agile software development practices claim to provide the ability to deal with such changes. Various research studies have identified many factors/variables that are important for agile software development such as team autonomy, communication, and organizational culture. Most of these empirical studies on agile software development focus on just a few variables. The relationships among the variables is still not understood. The dimensions of agility and the relationship between agility and other variables have not been studied quantitatively in the literature. Also, there is no comprehensive framework to explain agile software development. This research study addresses these research gaps. This study analyzed a comprehensive research model that included antecedent variables (team autonomy, team competence), process variables (collaborative decision making, iterative development, communication), delivery capability, agility, and project outcomes (change satisfaction, customer satisfaction). It presents key dimensions of agility and quantitatively analyzes the relationship between agility and other variables. The PLS analysis of one hundred and sixty survey responses show that process variables mediate the relationship between antecedent variables and delivery capability and agility. The findings show that the delivery capability of the teams contributes to agility, antecedents and process variables contribute to agility, and delivery capability for better customer satisfaction. These results will help IS practitioners to understand the variables that are necessary to achieve agility for better project outcomes. Also, these quantitative findings provide better conceptual clarity about the relationship between various key variables related to agile software development.

M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / The Bull survey of 1998 [1]; conducted by Spike Cavell in the UK was used to identify major causes of IT project failures. The survey showed that failures due to missed deadlines accounted for 75% and the inability to meet project requirements accounted for 37% of the failures. The failures were mainly due to requirement changes during the project. Project requirements are laid out during scope planning phase of project management life cycle and all risks are assumed to be known during the planning phase of the project [2], [3], [13]. The project management process involves a finite number of key life cycle management phases from initiation to closure [2]. The project management body of knowledge (PMBoK) states that every project is managed by the project management triangle the relationship between scope, time and cost [43]. Changes in the project management triangle may cause failure to the project [15]. Projects are considered to be unique endeavours [43]; and using a “one size fits all” approach to find a solution to solve project failure will be impossible [39]. This presents a significant challenge; developing a framework to limit project failures which will widely be applicable to projects. The research study will apply a well-developed concept of agile project management to an organisation that is experiencing high project failure rates to determine if agile principles may be used to reduce project failures. The research will also look at the factors affecting the adoption of agile principles in large organisations. Specifically the research will look at the effects of the environment that the organisation operates in and the effects of the organisational structure. Action research is chosen as the research methodology in order to understand and improve the inefficiencies within the organisation. This gives a practical account for any organisation and adds to the project management body of knowledge.

Os Métodos Ágeis surgiram no final da década de 90, como uma alternativa aos métodos prescritivos de desenvolvimento de software. Eles propõem uma nova abordagem de desenvolvimento, eliminando gastos com documentação excessiva e burocrática, enfatizando a interação entre as pessoas e as atividades que efetivamente trazem valor ao cliente. Nos últimos anos, diversos princípios e práticas baseados na indústria de manufatura foram incorporadas pelos Métodos Ágeis de desenvolvimento de software. Um dos princípios absorvidos é o de melhorar a eficácia de uma organização através de melhorias globais. Embora este princípio seja bem difundido nos Métodos Ágeis, utilizá-lo não é uma tarefa fácil. Nem sempre é fácil ter uma visão global do processo de desenvolvimento. Além disso, para realizar melhorias globais é necessário descobrir a causa para possíveis problemas, o que também pode ser uma tarefa difícil. Esse trabalho investiga duas abordagens da indústria de manufatura que enxergam uma organização como um sistema no qual todas as partes são inter-relacionadas. Com base nelas, três abordagens de desenvolvimento de software existentes são analisadas. Finalmente, um estudo comparativo foi feito para avaliar as principais características dos métodos de desenvolvimento estudados. Esse estudo estende o trabalho feito por Abrahamssom et al., no livro Agile Software Development: Current Research and Future Directions, avaliando o desempenho dos métodos seguindo o arcabouço proposto pelos mesmos autores. / Agile methods appeared in the late 90\'s as an alternative approach to the classic prescriptive planning approaches to software development. They propose a new style of development, eliminating excessive and bureaucratic documentation, and emphasizing the interactions between people collaborating to achieve high productivity and deliver high-quality software. In the last few years, several principles and practices based on the manufacturing industry were incorporated by Agile software development. One of the principles absorbed is to improve the effectiveness of an organization through an overall improvement. Although this principle is quite widespread in Agile Methods, using it is not an easy task. It is not easy to get the big picture of the development process. Moreover, to achieve overall improvements is necessary to discover the cause of possible problems, which can also be a difficult task. This work investigates two approaches in the manufacturing industry that shares the assumption that the whole organization is focused on overall throughput, not on micro-optimization. Based on then, three approaches to existing software development are analyzed. Finally, a comparative study was done to assess the main characteristics of the studied methods. This study extends the work done by Abrahamssom et al. In the book Agile Software Development: Current Research and Future Directions, evaluating the performance of the methods following the framework proposed by the same authors.

The adoption of Continuous Development presents many challenges to users and organizations. The complexity of Continuous Development adoption is partially attributable to the diversity of the challenges faced, including technical challenges, cultural challenges, compliance regulations, and lack of understanding. In this thesis, I worked with industry partner IBM to improve their Continuous Delivery Pipeline offering to overcome adoption challenges faced by their users. Following Hevner’s Three Cycle Design Science Methodology, my research had two distinct stages: Characterizing Continuous Development Adoption Challenges and Creating Design Requirements to Aid Organizations Offering Continuous Development Services. Both stages necessitated involvement from both academic literature and industry collaboration with IBM. Industry collaboration included interviews, surveys, developer forum analysis, and collaboration with IBM’s “Continuous Delivery” teams. The design requirements I developed in this thesis addressed cultural, technical, compliance, and knowledge gap adoption challenges that were identified during the problem characterization stage. When tested within the Continuous Development community, feedback indicated that my design requirements would add value to users’ development process, enabling their Continuous Development adoption. This thesis provides a foundation of empirical research for future study and a set of guidelines for industry practitioners. / Graduate

Zur Realisierung individualisierter Produkte halten agile Arbeitsweisen vermehrt Einzug in Prozesse von produzierenden Unternehmen. Dabei ist die Durchdringung agiler Arbeitsweisen durch die etablierten Prozesse in den Entwicklungsabteilungen produzierender Unternehmen aktuell sehr gering; ein Großteil der Unternehmen beginnt jedoch die punktuelle Einführung agiler Arbeitsweisen in ausgewählten Pilotprojekten. Die Anwendung agiler Arbeitsweisen führt in den Prozessen der Entwicklung physischer Systeme zu neuen Herausforderungen und unbekannten Entwicklungsrisiken, die den Vorteilen von Agilität gegenüberstehen. Deswegen ist die Einführung agiler Vorgehensweisen in die Prozesse der Entwicklung physischer Systeme ein Problemlösungsprozess. Die Art, nach der Agilität für einen Anwendungsfall gestaltet wird und in diesen eingeführt wird muss demnach zum Anwendungsfall passen und ist stets individuell. Um diese Individualität in der Einführung agiler Arbeitsweisen zu ermöglichen wurden in Vorarbeiten bereits 228 Faktoren identifiziert, die Einfluss auf die agilen Arbeitsweisen verschiedener Organisationeinheiten haben. Die gezielte Beeinflussung ausgewählter Einflussfaktoren durch geeignete agile Methoden führt zu einer Anwendungsfall-spezifischen Gestaltung und Einführung agiler Vorgehensweisen und erhöht die Eignung des Ansatzes im Vergleich zu einer Anpassungs-freien Einführung. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird eine Verknüpfung der Faktoren erarbeitet, um Schlüsselfaktoren abzuleiten. Durch die gezielte Beeinflussung dieser soll die Veränderung durch die Einführung agiler Methoden hinsichtlich ihrer Ausbreitung in den Entwicklungskontext gezielt verstärkt werden. Analog zum Szenario Management werden bezüglich der Faktoren mittels einer Vernetzungsanalyse verschiedene Kennzahlen ermittelt. Basierend auf der Analyse kann die Tragweite der Einführung von agilen Methoden genauer eingeschätzt werden und die zielgerichtete Auswahl von agilen Methoden für die Einführung in die Prozesse der physischen Produktentwicklung unterstützt werden.

DevOps, a portmanteau of Development and Operations, is the collection of principles and practices that try to improve cooperation between IT Development and IT Operations teams in the software development domain. The DevOps paradigm, thus, promises to overcome the traditional boundaries between development and operations teams and to improve collaboration across teams through a culture that is conducive to shared goals and accountability. Responding to the recent call for a better understanding of DevOps Knowledge Management (KM), this study aims to explore the role of knowledge management in advancing DevOps performance outcomes. Toward this, the study adopts a practice perspective of KM, and aims to answer the following research questions: 1) What are the enablers of KM practices in DevOps teams? 2) What are the distinctive characteristics of KM practices that underpin positive DevOps performance outcomes? Using an inductive research design and qualitative data collection and analysis procedures, this study followed a multiple case study approach, and collected and analyzed data from nine in-depth interviews with DevOps professionals across three organizations. Using grounded theory coding procedures, an emergent theoretical model of DevOps KM is presented and discussed, along with various propositions that outline how DevOps teams acquire, capture, share and apply knowledge, and how their KM practices can drive positive DevOps performance. Key insights from this study indicate that technology leaders need to foster greater awareness about the significance of KM in DevOps teams. This can be done by highlighting challenges associated with a lack of effective KM practices, and best practices followed by other companies. Furthermore, DevOps teams should adopt a mix of people-centered and technology-centered KM practices that enable effective personalization and codification of knowledge. Lastly, DevOps managers need to encourage alternative-bridging KM practices through regular use of KM tools and features within DevOps technologies while investing in dedicated knowledge sharing platforms. Through a discussion of the enablers of KM practices in DevOps; typical configuration of people-centered, technology-centered, and alternative-bridging KM practices in DevOps; and the linkages between KM practices and DevOps performance outcomes, this study aims to contribute to the extant research literature on DevOps KM, and provide practical guidelines for institutionalizing KM practices that can support the fast-paced nature of DevOps teams.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Currently, the construction industry is characterized by a high competition between its companies. Due to this, companies must guarantee that the performance of their projects is possible by using an appropriate management system which allows an adequate planning of activities, since selecting an inadequate system can cause serious inconveniences such as having rework and increase cost and time in projects. Therefore, the construction industry is constantly searching for management models that can minimize the previously mentioned inconveniences in order to differentiate themselves and take advantage of their competitors. Precisely, the Scrum framework, conceived in the software engineering industry, is an alternative to traditional projects management, offering an exponential improvement in communication for project teams and improving the planning of activities, through an iterative framework that allows flexibility for changing requirements, reduces uncertainty and creates reliability for what was planned. Thus, this research adapts and applies the Scrum framework within a construction project, optimizing considerably the execution time.

Den här studien har undersökt implementeringen av och transformationen mot agila förhållningssätt på ICA Gruppen, i syfte att ta reda på varför implementeringen görs, hur det agila förhållningssättet tolkas på företaget samt vilka effekter förändringarna har på de anställda. Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie med abduktiv ansats. Datainsamlingen har gjorts genom tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda på ICA Gruppen samt interna dokument om transformationen, vilka ICA Gruppen själva tillhandahållit. Materialet har analyserats med hjälp av termer som organisationsförändringar, trender, legitimitet och spridning av organisationsidéer. Resultatet visar att agila förhållningssätt implementerades hos ICA Gruppen som en respons på en föränderlig omvärld, med en förhoppning om en effektivare verksamhet och en ökad motivation hos företagets anställda. Studien visade även att implementeringen har resulterat i önskade effekter där de anställda upplever en stärkt motivation och en ökad effektivitet i arbetet, då de får utrymme att ta egna beslut i större utsträckning än innan transformationen. Utifrån studiens resultat kan slutsatsen dras, att implementeringen av agila förhållningssätt hos ICA Gruppen är väl grundad och förankrad i organisationens behov.