Software startups face a very demanding market: they must deliver high innovative solutions in the shortest possible period of time. Resources are limited and time to reach market is short. Then, it is extremely important to gather the right requirements and that they are precise. Nevertheless, software requirements are usually not clear and startups struggle to identify what they should build. This context affects how requirements engineering activities are performed in these organizations. This work seeks to characterize the state-of-practice of requirements engineering in software startups. Using an iterative approach, seventeen interviews were conducted during three stages with founders and/or managers of different Brazilian software startups operating in different market sectors and with different maturity levels. Data was analyzed using grounded theory techniques such open and axial coding through continuous comparison. As a result, a conceptual model of requirements engineering state-of-practice in software startups was developed consisting of its context influences (founders, software development manager, developers, business model, market and ecosystem) and activities description (product team; elicitation; analysis, validation and prioritization; product validation and documentation). Software development and startup development techniques are also presented and their use in the startup context is analyzed. Finally, using a bad smell analogy borrowed from software development literature, some bad practices and behaviors identified in software startups are presented and solutions to avoid them proposed. / Startups de software enfrentam um mercado muito exigente: elas devem entregar soluções altamente inovativas no menor período de tempo possível. Recursos são limitados e tempo para alcançar o mercado é pequeno. Então, é extremamente importante coletar os requisitos certos e que eles sejam precisos. Entretanto, os requisitos de software geralmente não são claros e as startups fazem um grande esforço para identificar quais serão implementados. Esse contexto afeta como as atividades de engenharia de requisitos são executadas nessas organizações. Este trabalho procura compreender o estado-da-prática da engenharia de requisitos em startups de software. Usando uma abordagem iterativa, dezessete entrevistas foram realizados em três diferentes estágios com fundadores e/ou gestores de diferentes startups de software brasileiras operando em diferentes setores e com diferentes estágios de maturidade. Os dados foram analisados usando técnicas de teoria fundamentada como codificação aberta e axial através da comparação contínua. Como resultado, um modelo conceitual do estado-da-prática da engenharia de requisitos em startups de software foi desenvolvido consistindo da suas influências do contexto (fundadores, gerente de desenvolvimento de software, desenvolvedores, modelo de negócio, mercado e ecossistema) e descrição das atividades (time de produto; levantamento; análise, validação e priorização; e documentação). Técnicas oriundas de metodologias de desenvolvimento de software e desenvolvimento de startups também são apresentadas e seu uso em no contexto de startups é analisado. Finalmente, a partir de uma analogia de maus cheiros presente na literatura de desenvolvimento de software, algumas más práticas e maus comportamentos identificados em startups de software são apresentados e algumas sugestões de solução são propostas.

Software startups face a very demanding market: they must deliver high innovative solutions in the shortest possible period of time. Resources are limited and time to reach market is short. Then, it is extremely important to gather the right requirements and that they are precise. Nevertheless, software requirements are usually not clear and startups struggle to identify what they should build. This context affects how requirements engineering activities are performed in these organizations. This work seeks to characterize the state-of-practice of requirements engineering in software startups. Using an iterative approach, seventeen interviews were conducted during three stages with founders and/or managers of different Brazilian software startups operating in different market sectors and with different maturity levels. Data was analyzed using grounded theory techniques such open and axial coding through continuous comparison. As a result, a conceptual model of requirements engineering state-of-practice in software startups was developed consisting of its context influences (founders, software development manager, developers, business model, market and ecosystem) and activities description (product team; elicitation; analysis, validation and prioritization; product validation and documentation). Software development and startup development techniques are also presented and their use in the startup context is analyzed. Finally, using a bad smell analogy borrowed from software development literature, some bad practices and behaviors identified in software startups are presented and solutions to avoid them proposed. / Startups de software enfrentam um mercado muito exigente: elas devem entregar soluções altamente inovativas no menor período de tempo possível. Recursos são limitados e tempo para alcançar o mercado é pequeno. Então, é extremamente importante coletar os requisitos certos e que eles sejam precisos. Entretanto, os requisitos de software geralmente não são claros e as startups fazem um grande esforço para identificar quais serão implementados. Esse contexto afeta como as atividades de engenharia de requisitos são executadas nessas organizações. Este trabalho procura compreender o estado-da-prática da engenharia de requisitos em startups de software. Usando uma abordagem iterativa, dezessete entrevistas foram realizados em três diferentes estágios com fundadores e/ou gestores de diferentes startups de software brasileiras operando em diferentes setores e com diferentes estágios de maturidade. Os dados foram analisados usando técnicas de teoria fundamentada como codificação aberta e axial através da comparação contínua. Como resultado, um modelo conceitual do estado-da-prática da engenharia de requisitos em startups de software foi desenvolvido consistindo da suas influências do contexto (fundadores, gerente de desenvolvimento de software, desenvolvedores, modelo de negócio, mercado e ecossistema) e descrição das atividades (time de produto; levantamento; análise, validação e priorização; e documentação). Técnicas oriundas de metodologias de desenvolvimento de software e desenvolvimento de startups também são apresentadas e seu uso em no contexto de startups é analisado. Finalmente, a partir de uma analogia de maus cheiros presente na literatura de desenvolvimento de software, algumas más práticas e maus comportamentos identificados em startups de software são apresentados e algumas sugestões de solução são propostas.

Context. With the rapid development of the software industry, innovative software products become the mainstream of the software market. Because software startups can use a few resources to quickly produce and publish innovative software products, more and more software startups are launched. Software testing is important to ensure the quality of product in software companies. Software testing is costly in software development, but if software testing is avoided, it could be costlier. Many different regular software companies spend up to 40-50% of development efforts on software testing [1] [2]. Compared with other regular software companies, time and money are finite and need to be allocated reasonably in software startups. Unreasonable allocation of time and money could lead to the failure of software startups. We don’t know how much software startups spend for testing, and few research studies have investigated the testing practices in software startups. Therefore, we decided to conduct an exploratory study to know about the testing practices in software startups. Objectives. The aim of the research is to investigate testing practices in software startups. In this study, we investigate software startups’ structure and how to manage their test team. The test processes and test techniques used in software startups have been researched. And the main testing challenges in software startups have been investigated as well. Methods. We mainly conducted a qualitative research for the study. We selected literature review and survey as the research method. The literature review method is used to get in-depth understanding of software testing practices in software companies. Survey is used to answer our research questions. We used interview as our data collection method. And in order to analyze data from interviews, we selected descriptive statistics method. Results. A total of 13 responses were obtained through interviews from 9 software startups. We got results from 9 investigated software startups to structure and manage their test teams. We analyzed the common steps of test processes and classified the techniques they used in the 9 software startups. At last, we analyzed and listed the main testing challenges that are occurred in the 9 software startups. Conclusions. The research objectives are fulfilled. The research questions have been answered. We got the conclusion based on 9 software startups. The 9 companies cannot represent all software startups, but we can know about test practices in software startups initially through the 13 interviews. We also found some differences about testing practice between 9 software startups and regular software companies. Our study is a primary research to explore testing practices in 9 software startups, we provided some data and analysis results of the 9 companies to the researchers who want to research some related area. In addition, our research could help someone who plans to set up a software company. They can use the data we collected to think about the testing practice in their own company. Then find out the best way to prevent and resolve the problem in testing.

Canvases gelten als leichtgewichtiges Werkzeug für die Darstellung komplizierter Sachverhalte. Die Arbeit „Organisierte Software-Startups mit kollaborativen Canvases" beschäftigt sich mit der Konzeption eines Canvas-Frameworks für die Unterstützung von Softwareprojekten. Ein Überblick über die Eigenschaften des Werkzeugs sowie existierende Canvases aus den Bereichen der Geschäftsmodellierung und der Softwareprojektsteuerung bilden die Einführung in das Thema. Im Anschluss werden zwei weitere Canvases für Projektplanung und Kundengespräche eingeführt, deren Eignung im Rahmen einer universitär durchgeführten Studie evaluiert wird. Aus den Feldern der insgesamt drei Canvases für den Kontext der Softwareentwicklung werden in einer Variabilitätsanalyse Kriterien herausgearbeitet, die die Anpassung des Werkzeugs für den individuellen Projektkontext ermöglichen. Den Abschluss bildet die Diskussion möglicher Ansätze zur Vollständigkeitsbewertung ausgefüllter Canvases.

Canvases gelten als leichtgewichtiges Werkzeug für die Darstellung komplizierter Sachverhalte. Die Arbeit „Organisierte Software-Startups mit kollaborativen Canvases" beschäftigt sich mit der Konzeption eines Canvas-Frameworks für die Unterstützung von Softwareprojekten. Ein Überblick über die Eigenschaften des Werkzeugs sowie existierende Canvases aus den Bereichen der Geschäftsmodellierung und der Softwareprojektsteuerung bilden die Einführung in das Thema. Im Anschluss werden zwei weitere Canvases für Projektplanung und Kundengespräche eingeführt, deren Eignung im Rahmen einer universitär durchgeführten Studie evaluiert wird. Aus den Feldern der insgesamt drei Canvases für den Kontext der Softwareentwicklung werden in einer Variabilitätsanalyse Kriterien herausgearbeitet, die die Anpassung des Werkzeugs für den individuellen Projektkontext ermöglichen. Den Abschluss bildet die Diskussion möglicher Ansätze zur Vollständigkeitsbewertung ausgefüllter Canvases.:Abbildungsverzeichnis VII Tabellenverzeichnis IX 1 Einführung 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.2 Verwandte Literatur 2 1.3 Konzept 3 2 Das Canvas als kollaboratives Werkzeug 5 2.1 Was ist ein Canvas? 5 2.2 Welche Vorzüge bietet die Verwendung eines Canvas als Werkzeug? 6 3 Einsatz von Canvases in Geschäftsmodellentwicklung und Softwareprojektsteuerung 9 3.1 Canvases für die Entwicklung von Geschäftsmodellen 9 3.1.1 BusinessModel Canvas 9 3.1.2 Lean Canvas 11 3.1.3 BusinessModel Canvas for User Experience 13 3.2 Canvases für die Steuerung von Softwareprojekten 14 3.2.1 Lean Software Engineering Canvas 15 4 Erarbeitung von Kundenwünschen mit Canvases 17 4.1 Die Einteilung von Kundenwünschen nach dem Kano-Modell 17 4.2 Das Customer Interview Canvas 19 5 Iterationsplanung im Softwareprojekt mit Canvases 21 5.1 Das Planning Game 21 5.2 Das Iteration Planning Canvas 22 6 Studie zum Einsatz von Canvases in Softwareprojekten 25 6.1 Entwicklung eines Fragebogens 25 6.2 Durchführung der Studie 27 6.3 Auswertung der Studie 28 6.4 Fazit 31 7 Variabilitätsanalyse 33 7.1 Feature-Modelle 33 7.2 Kategorisierung der Canvas-Felder im Zusammenhang mit Softwareprojektsteuerung 36 7.2.1 Felder für eine erste Vorstellung des Produkts 36 7.2.2 Felder für die Projektplanung in Iterationsschritten 39 7.2.3 Felder für separate Kundengespräache 42 7.3 Konfigurationsmöglichkeiten von Canvases im Softwareentwicklungskontext 43 7.4 Konfigurationsbeispiel 45 8 Möglichkeiten zur Bewertung der Vollständigkeit von Canvases 49 8.1 Bewertungsansätze 49 8.2 Diskussion geeigneter Bewertungskriterien 50 9 Schlussbetrachtung 55 9.1 Zusammenfassung 55 9.2 Bewertung und Ausblick 56 Anhang 59 Literaturverzeichnis 71

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to research the environment in which the IT-artifact exist, rather than the IT-artifact itself. Researching how founders of software startups manage their growth strategies, by researching essential internal and external factors and how they are represented in the founder’s growth strategy. This thesis is interested in the growth journey of startups, therefore we will study both software startups and software SMEs (small medium size enterprise). Research question: How does strategic management choices in the internal and external environment affect growth for software startups? Method: In this research we use a deductive approach, furthermore a qualitative research method was applied in order to gain a deeper understanding about the companies researched to answer our research question. We applied a comparative case study design as we wanted to analyze different cases/ companies and compared them both to each other using more or less identical methods. Semi-structured interviews were used as our preliminary data collection method as it allowed for flexibility. Conclusion: There is no perfect management strategy for software startups to achieve growth. The software industry is complex and rapidly changing, therefore the need to adapt and change the strategy to internal and external environment is essential to achieve growth. This research shows that the three most important factors affecting management strategies for growth in software startups are; (1) customers, (2) competitive advantage and (3) culture. Talented employees influence all the internal and external factors though the entire growth journey, both startups and SMEs. As the startup grows into being an SME, the internal organization factors become more important as well as scalability to achieve growth. / Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka den miljö i vilken IT-artefakten existerar, snarare än själva IT-artefakten. Denna studie syftar vidare till att undersöka hur grundare av software startups hanterar sina tillväxtstrategier, detta genom att undersöka viktiga interna och externa faktorer och hur de representeras i tillväxtstrategin. Denna studie syftar vidare till att studera tillväxt-resan för software startups, därför kommer vi studera både software startups och software SME:s (små och medelstora företag). Forskningsfråga: Hur påverkar strategiska managementval i den interna och externa miljön tillväxten för software startups? Metod: I denna forskning använder vi en deduktiv ansats, även en kvalitativ forskningsmetod användes för att få en djupare förståelse om de företag som studerades för att kunna besvara forskningsfrågan. Vi använde en komparativ design av fallstudier eftersom vi ville analysera olika fall/företag och jämföra dem med/mot varandra med mer eller mindre identiska metoder. Semistrukturerade intervjuer användes som vår preliminära metod för insamling av data eftersom det möjliggjorde flexibilitet i intervjuerna. Slutsats: Det finns ingen perfekt managementstrategi för software startups för att uppnå tillväxt. Programvaruindustrin (software) är komplex och förändras snabbt, därför är behovet av att anpassa och ändra strategin till intern och extern miljö avgörande för att uppnå tillväxt. Denna forskning visar att de tre viktigaste faktorerna som påverkar förvaltningsstrategier för tillväxt i software startups är; (1) kunder, (2) konkurrensfördel och (3) kultur. Talangfulla anställda påverkar alla dessa interna och externa faktorer genom hela tillväxtresan, både startups och små och medelstora företag (SME). När startups:en växer till att bli ett SME blir de interna organisations faktorerna viktigare samt skalbarhet för att uppnå tillväxt.

Resulting from the technological revolution over the last few decades, many software startup ecosystems have emerged around the globe. Boosted by the Internet, the omnipresence of mobile devices, and the abundance of cloud-based services, software companies with scalable business models, known as startups, became all the hype. With tech entrepreneurs as their main agents, some of these ecosystems have existed for over 50 years, while others are newly born. This difference in evolution and maturity makes comparing tech hubs a challenge. Moreover, if they are to evolve towards fruitful and sustainable environments, nascent ecosystems need a clear vision of how to develop their community. This thesis presents a multiple-case study research in three different ecosystems, and it was divided in three phases. During the first phase, we analyzed the Israeli entrepreneurship ecosystem and, using grounded theory, created a conceptual generalized framework to map ecosystems. We also developed a methodology and a systematic interview protocol to be used to analyze any ecosystem. The second phase was performed in São Paulo, with the objective of refining and validating both the methodology and the conceptual framework. The second phase resulted in the discovery of how important it is to analyze ecosystem dynamics and evolution process, leading us to create a maturity model for software startup ecosystems. The maturity model was based on the conceptual model we created, mapping the most important factors that define an ecosystem. To validate and refine the Maturity Model created in the second phase, we ran a third case-study iteration in New York City. Based on the feedback from over a dozen experts, we generated the final model and a practical guide to determine an ecosystems maturity level. With this model, it is possible not only to compare different ecosystems, but also to identify gaps and propose customized practical actions that can yield meaningful improvements and lead ecosystems to the next level of development. / Resultado da revolução tecnológica das últimas décadas, vários ecossistemas de startups de software surgiram ao redor do globo. Acelerados pela Internet, pela onipresença dos dispositivos móveis e pela abundância de serviços de nuvem, empresas de software com modelos de negócio escalável, conhecidas como startups, se tornaram o assunto da moda. Com empreendedores de tecnologia como seus principais agentes, alguns desses ecossistemas já existem há mais de 50 anos, enquanto outros são apenas recém-nascidos. Essa diferença no grau de evolução e maturidade torna a comparação de aglomerados de tecnologia um desafio. Mais ainda, se alguns ecossistemas querem evoluir para um estágio próspero e sustentável, ecossitemas nascentes precisam de uma visão clara de como desenvolver suas comunidades. Esta tese apresenta nossa pesquisa baseada em um estudo de caso múltiplo em três diferentes ecossistemas, e foi dividade em três fases. Durante a primeira fase, nós analisamos o ecossistema empreendedor de Israel e, utilizando teoria fundamentada em dados, criamos um arcabouço conceitual que provê uma versão generalizada para mapear ecossistemas. Desenvolvemos, também, uma metodologia e um protocolo sistemático para entrevistas a serem usadas na análise de ecossistemas específicos. A segunda fase da pesquisa foi realizada em São Paulo, com o objetivo de refinar e validar a metodologia e o arcabouço conceitual. Esta fase resultou na descoberta de como é importante analisar a dinâmica e o processo de evolução dos ecossistemas, nos levando a criar um modelo de maturidade para ecossistemas de startups de software. O modelo de maturidade foi baseado no modelo conceitual que criamos, mapeando os fatores mais importantes que definem as características de um ecossistema. Para validar e refinar o modelo de maturidade criado na segunda fase, realizamos um terceiro estudo de caso em Nova Iorque que contou com o feedback de mais de uma dezena de especialistas. Geramos um modelo de maturidade final, um guia prático para determinar o nível de maturidade de cada ecossistema. Com esse modelo, é possível não somente comparar diferentes ecossistemas, como também identificar lacunas e propor ações práticas e personalizadas que podem resultar em melhorias significativas e levar ecossistemas ao próximo nível de desenvolvimento.

Resulting from the technological revolution over the last few decades, many software startup ecosystems have emerged around the globe. Boosted by the Internet, the omnipresence of mobile devices, and the abundance of cloud-based services, software companies with scalable business models, known as startups, became all the hype. With tech entrepreneurs as their main agents, some of these ecosystems have existed for over 50 years, while others are newly born. This difference in evolution and maturity makes comparing tech hubs a challenge. Moreover, if they are to evolve towards fruitful and sustainable environments, nascent ecosystems need a clear vision of how to develop their community. This thesis presents a multiple-case study research in three different ecosystems, and it was divided in three phases. During the first phase, we analyzed the Israeli entrepreneurship ecosystem and, using grounded theory, created a conceptual generalized framework to map ecosystems. We also developed a methodology and a systematic interview protocol to be used to analyze any ecosystem. The second phase was performed in São Paulo, with the objective of refining and validating both the methodology and the conceptual framework. The second phase resulted in the discovery of how important it is to analyze ecosystem dynamics and evolution process, leading us to create a maturity model for software startup ecosystems. The maturity model was based on the conceptual model we created, mapping the most important factors that define an ecosystem. To validate and refine the Maturity Model created in the second phase, we ran a third case-study iteration in New York City. Based on the feedback from over a dozen experts, we generated the final model and a practical guide to determine an ecosystems maturity level. With this model, it is possible not only to compare different ecosystems, but also to identify gaps and propose customized practical actions that can yield meaningful improvements and lead ecosystems to the next level of development. / Resultado da revolução tecnológica das últimas décadas, vários ecossistemas de startups de software surgiram ao redor do globo. Acelerados pela Internet, pela onipresença dos dispositivos móveis e pela abundância de serviços de nuvem, empresas de software com modelos de negócio escalável, conhecidas como startups, se tornaram o assunto da moda. Com empreendedores de tecnologia como seus principais agentes, alguns desses ecossistemas já existem há mais de 50 anos, enquanto outros são apenas recém-nascidos. Essa diferença no grau de evolução e maturidade torna a comparação de aglomerados de tecnologia um desafio. Mais ainda, se alguns ecossistemas querem evoluir para um estágio próspero e sustentável, ecossitemas nascentes precisam de uma visão clara de como desenvolver suas comunidades. Esta tese apresenta nossa pesquisa baseada em um estudo de caso múltiplo em três diferentes ecossistemas, e foi dividade em três fases. Durante a primeira fase, nós analisamos o ecossistema empreendedor de Israel e, utilizando teoria fundamentada em dados, criamos um arcabouço conceitual que provê uma versão generalizada para mapear ecossistemas. Desenvolvemos, também, uma metodologia e um protocolo sistemático para entrevistas a serem usadas na análise de ecossistemas específicos. A segunda fase da pesquisa foi realizada em São Paulo, com o objetivo de refinar e validar a metodologia e o arcabouço conceitual. Esta fase resultou na descoberta de como é importante analisar a dinâmica e o processo de evolução dos ecossistemas, nos levando a criar um modelo de maturidade para ecossistemas de startups de software. O modelo de maturidade foi baseado no modelo conceitual que criamos, mapeando os fatores mais importantes que definem as características de um ecossistema. Para validar e refinar o modelo de maturidade criado na segunda fase, realizamos um terceiro estudo de caso em Nova Iorque que contou com o feedback de mais de uma dezena de especialistas. Geramos um modelo de maturidade final, um guia prático para determinar o nível de maturidade de cada ecossistema. Com esse modelo, é possível não somente comparar diferentes ecossistemas, como também identificar lacunas e propor ações práticas e personalizadas que podem resultar em melhorias significativas e levar ecossistemas ao próximo nível de desenvolvimento.

De senaste decennierna har digitalisering fått allt större betydelse i vårt samhälle och IT marknaden skriker efter kompetent arbetskraft. Media belyser ofta de framgångsrika IT företagen i sina artiklar och skapar avund och hopp. Medan IT marknaden skriker efter arbetskraft och media skriver om framgångsrika IT företag vänder entreprenörer, samt blivande entreprenörer, blicken mot att starta egna IT företag; ofta omedvetna om att vägen till storhet är mycket lång och svårbesegrad, och chansen att deras företag överlever är mycket liten. Denna studie har genomförts med hjälp av metoden ”strukturerad fallstudie” för att undersöka ett företag vilka inriktade sig mot mjukvaruutveckling som idag likvideras. Företagets sätt att arbeta och utveckla sitt företag har analyserats och jämförs mot två olika arbetssätt. Det ena arbetssättet baseras på en mer traditionell logik om företagande, och det andra baseras på en relativt ny logik som enligt nyare forskning identifierats som det föredragna arbetssättet hos framgångsrika entreprenörer. Studien har resulterat i en utförlig beskrivning av det undersökta företagets, näst in till, fulla livscykel. Baserat på företagets livscykel samt tidigare relevant forskning har det identifierat hur företaget arbetade och utvecklades. Potentiella anledningar till varför företaget idag är under likvidering presenteras och baserat på detta har råd tagits fram som blivande entreprenörer kan ta del av. / Over the last decades digitization has become more and more relevant in our society and the IT market is desperately screaming for new competence. Mainstream media often highlight the successful IT companies in their articles and with that, breeding envy and hope. While the IT market is screaming for new competence and mainstream media is writing about IT companies entrepreneurs, new and old, turn their heads toward the idea of making their IT companies, often unaware that the road to greatness is very long and hard to complete and that the chances of their company surviving is very minimal. This study was conducted using a “structured case study” methodology to investigate a software startup company that is currently being liquidated. The company’s way of working and business development has been analysed compared to two different logical ways of working. One of the ways of working is based on a more traditional logic of entrepreneurship, and the other is based on a relatively new logic that, according to recent research, has been identified as the preferred way of working with successful entrepreneurs. This study has resulted in a detailed description of the researched company’s, almost, full lifecycle. The detailed description, analysed along with relevant previous research, has resulted in the identification of the researched company’s ways of working and their approach to developing the company. Potential reasons as to why the company is currently under liquidation has been presented and some advice that future entrepreneurs can take part of are also presented.

Startups indeed play a pivotal role in society as agents of innovation and generators of employment. Despite this, a large proportion of startups fail. As a substantial amount of these temporary project-like companies called startups engage in software development and as application of project management has been correlated with project success, this research exploits a gap in the literature concerned with best practices as it pertains to project management methodologies for software development in startups. Given that a significant number of academic studies have already been conducted in the area of software development practices in startups spanning project management methodologies and software development methodologies, this research applies a strategy of systematic review as along with the application of thematic synthesis is appropriate for ascertaining the current state of knowledge and the search for some consensus. Consequently, this has been deemed to be an appropriate strategy for answering the research question: What are the best practices in applying Project Management Methodologies for software development projects in startups? The scope of the systematic review is the last decade (from 2012 to 2022) and the PRISMA framework has been used to facilitate the identification and screening of records. As a result, 17 studies with varying methods were deemed eligible and of high quality according to the quality assessment guidelines by Garousi et al. The main findings of this study identify three high-order themes for best practices in applying project management methodologies for software development in startups: Agility & Maturity, Empower & Value People, Tool Usage & Support.