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The nine papers in this special section focus on new developments in agile software and reports on applications for its use. A key aspect for the extensive use of agile software is that it supports developers with coping with the growing uncertainty and turbulence in technological and market environments. Feedback and change are at the core of Agile for a dynamic, evolving, and organic, rather than static, predefined, and mechanistic development process advocated by waterfall management. To create timely, high-quality, cost-efficient, and innovative solutions, Agile developers organized in small, colocated, autonomous teams, build and test software in rapid iterative cycles, actively involving users to gather feedback, updating the project scope, and plan "on-the-fly," using face-to-face communication as opposed to documentation. These papers contribute to the state-of-the-art of agile research by offering a rich, up-todate account of the dynamics occurring when expanding Agile into "not-just-software" contexts of the key challenges and perils related to the scaling and of the possible solutions to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to increase the ability to build complex, software-intensive systems, as well as to decrease time-to-market for new functionality, automotive companies aim to scale agile methods beyond individual teams. This is challenging, given the specifics of automotive systems that are often safety-critical and consist of software, hardware, and mechanical components. In this article, we investigate the concrete reasons for scaling agility beyond teams, the strategies that support such scaling, and the foreseeable implications that such a drastic organizational change will entail. The investigation is based on a qualitative case study, with data from 20 semistructured interviews with managers and technical experts at two automotive companies. At the core of our findings are observations about establishing an agile vehicle-level feedback loop beyond individual teams. First, we find that automotive original equipment manufacturers aim to decrease the lead time of development. Second, we also identify seven strategies that aim to enable scaled-agile beyond teams. Finally, we extract six foreseeable implications and side effects of scaling agile beyond teams in automotive. By charting the landscape of expected benefits, strategies, and implications of scaling agile beyond teams in automotive, we enable further research and process improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural component of the project team is recognized as one of the most critical factors in the implementation of agile project management (APM), especially in nonsoftware industries, where the diffusion of APM still involves several challenges. Particularly, the successful implementation of scrum—the most diffused APM methodology—seems related to the project teams’ subculture, which may differ from the overall organizational culture of the company. This article contributes to the APM literature in nonsoftware contexts by studying the cultural values that develop inside agile teams and the scrum principles and practices that are particularly relevant for fostering these values. Using interview data collected from seven manufacturing and service organizations, we use the competing value framework as the theoretical model to understand the cultural profiles of their organizations, how they deploy into the project teams’ subculture, and what, if any, connections exist with the adoption of scrum principles and practices. We find that clan and market values are the dominant subcultures in agile teams. These cultural values are fostered at a strategic level by a subset of scrum values (i.e., courage, openness, and respect) and pillars (i.e., transparency and adaptation). At an operational level, retrospective meetings and the definition of particular artifacts also contribute to develop these dominant cultural values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agile practices present one approach for firms to adapt to an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. Although prior studies have investigated performance outcomes of agile projects, agile practices’ consequences on a project team's collaborative processes have not yet been thoroughly analyzed. It also remains unclear whether practices on a higher organizational level, such as project portfolio management (PPM), support or constrain agile practices’ benefits, especially if a firm simultaneously conducts traditionally managed and agile projects. Therefore, this article investigates the role of agile practices for a project's teamwork quality (TWQ) and project success and examines the influence of organizational contingencies. Specifically, we conceptually and empirically analyze the moderating impact of PPM practices on the relationship between agile practices, TWQ, and project success. A multi-informant analysis of 378 projects nested in 100 portfolios shows that agile practices positively relate to project success through TWQ. We find that traditional PPM practices such as business case existence, strategic clarity, and operational control constrain this relationship. Our article contributes to the literature on project teams and portfolio management by providing empirical insights on the interaction between project and portfolio management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As software products increasingly become part of larger ecosystems, research and development (R&D) units of software producers organize themselves around projects to become more responsive to the environment. Organizations participating in software ecosystems must continuously adapt and adjust their software development and maintenance processes to drive both medium-term and long-term innovation. Agile methods and practices are widely adopted to guide the collaboration within and between project teams in software development. Moreover, when successfully attained, agility can drive innovation by enabling software development organizations to cope with technological changes and exploit emerging opportunities in software ecosystems. In this article, we focus on how organizations attain agility in the maintenance and development of software products. To answer this question, we conduct a longitudinal case study of Agile Scrum implementation in the R&D unit of a major supplier of telecommunication equipment. We investigate the emerging tensions and highlight practices used to balance these tensions in the Agile Scrum implementation. We identify four capabilities and ten practices that support effective collaboration and coordination in the development and maintenance of software products. The study offers practical guidance for R&D managers to attain agility in software ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing with an uncertain and dynamic environment when facing multiple and fast-paced challenges forces professionals to adopt agile practices in different environments, resulting in the use of hybrid project management models. However, identifying the right practice to adopt can be challenging, given the variety of project types and environmental factors. In this article, a recommendation method that would allow for the identification of patterns of project management practices for different environments—using an agility indicator—is proposed. The proposed method is tested with a dataset of 856 projects. A cluster analysis is applied to divide the projects into three groups according to environmental characteristics, called scenarios: waterfall, agile, and hybrid. Then, we apply the association rule technique for each group separately, identifying specific patterns of practice for each group. Through a comparative analysis, we verify the consistency between the recommendations of the proposed method for each scenario and the literature on project management. The results indicate the feasibility of the proposed method, thus opening up new research opportunities for hybrid models that can be customized for different projects. This article can help project management professionals apply the agile method beyond its use in software development and improve the process of combining project management practices. We also suggest directions for new research to advance the knowledge of useful decision support tools for hybrid model customization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]