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The competition in the software market demands that the time required for any software product to reach the market be reduced if the product is to survive competition from other developers. The pursuit of this goal has led to the adoption of agile software development methodologies. While other agile methodologies provide guidelines as to the software engineering (SE) practices to be used during the development lifecycle, Scrum does not. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to identify the usage and level of importance of software engineering practices in the Scrum development environment; and second, to investigate how Scrum teams adopt an appropriate set of SE techniques and whether a hybrid Scrum/Extreme Programming (XP) methodology is an appropriate approach to take. This research was conducted by examining sample data from five organizations using the Scrum methodology. The sample included a range of industries including communications and embedded systems, financial asset management, software development houses and consulting firms in South Africa. The study employed a mixed method approach. A key finding was that, regardless of the fact that Scrum does not explicitly recommend engineering practices, there was extensive use of these practices by all of the participating organizations. The study also found that the lack of software engineering practices in Scrum does not constitute a barrier to a successful adoption of Scrum, provided the 'inspect and adapt' principle inherent in Scrum is properly followed. The study discusses the findings, explains the implications and suggests future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve agility in software development, there is a need to ensure that the knowledge generated is seamlessly shared among the teams involved. Different contexts face unique contextual motivators and challenges towards achieving efficient knowledge sharing in software development firms. Overcoming these challenges starts from understanding the contextual nuances at play in the environment, in which knowledge sharing is desired. With increased need for ubiquitous and on-the-go information needs in agile software development projects, understanding the need for effective knowledge sharing platforms is important. The general scarcity of empirical studies has culminated into lack of in-depth global or local insights on knowledge sharing. This research investigates the different contours of knowledge sharing in a software development context in South Africa. Quantitative data collected using a questionnaire with closed-ended questions were analysed using an interpretive and deductive approach. Findings of this research reveal that job security, motivation, time constraints, psychological factors, communication, resistance to change, and rewards are core factors for knowledge sharing in software development projects. Compared with the global context, this research is aligned with other findings with new additions on the grouping of factors influencing knowledge sharing in software development projects. The study discusses the types of knowledge considered useful to share, presents appropriate ways of sharing such useful knowledge and articulates how different types of knowledge are shared in the South African context. This research contributes to the current debate on challenges in knowledge sharing within software development projects in developing world contexts and discusses how software development companies may ensure that triple constraints (time, cost and scope) are overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scrum, a form of agile project management methodology, comes with many benefits derived from the iterative form of software development. Various organisations within South Africa have implemented Scrum within their development teams and are fast receiving positive benefits from it. While Scrum, in many aspects of the methodology, is highly effective and successful within different organisations, there are always going to be pitfalls and negative attributes associated with the adoption and use of a new methodology. The purpose of this research is to determine the factors leading to interruptions in the middle of a sprint while using Scrum. Case studies were conducted which included 3 companies in Johannesburg and Cape Town that have implemented Scrum. In particular, data was collected through the following methods: 12 face-to-face, one-on-one interviews with participating Scrum team members; and 1 group discussion with 8 participating Scrum team members. After analysis, five theoretical statements were formulated pertaining to: poorly understood and defined objectives from clients, management's lack of understanding of Scrum processes, high workload, ad-hoc requests mid-sprint, and low interdepartmental communication. Results from this study reveal the need to conduct possible future research on: ways to prevent these forms of sprint interruption from having negative effects on the Scrum team and the project; and the effect that these interruptions have on the relevant stakeholders involved. The results of the study thus provide managers with the opportunity to take a deeper look into the sources of their Scrum problems and provide them with an understanding as to how they may prevent these interruptions from causing long term, negative effects on the project and the team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]