While face‐to‐face interaction is fundamental in agile software development, distributed environments must rely extensively on mediated interactions. Practicing agile principles in distributed environments therefore poses particular control challenges related to balancing fixed vs. evolving quality requirements and people vs. process‐based collaboration. To investigate these challenges, we conducted an in‐depth case study of a successful agile distributed software project with participants from a Russian firm and a Danish firm. Applying Kirsch's elements of control framework, we offer an analysis of how control was enacted through the project context and in the participants' mediated communication. The analysis reveals that formal measurement and evaluation control were persistently enacted through mediated communication. These formal control practices were, however, predominantly carried out in conjunction with informal roles and relationships such as clan‐like control inherent in agile development. Overall, the study demonstrates that, if appropriately applied, communication technologies can significantly support distributed, agile practices by allowing concurrent enactment of both formal and informal controls. The paper discusses these findings as they relate to previous research and concludes with their implications for future research.
Reminiscence therapy is beneficial for improving the quality of life for older adults living with dementia. However, it is difficult for caregivers in care homes to make this part of their daily practice because remembering a resident’s individual stories is difficult. Proximity-aware technologies can make rapid connections between residents, their histories, and nearby artefacts. Through a user-centred iterative design approach, we designed Memento, a prototype technology system that makes it easy and convenient for caregivers to connect residents with real stories from their past and engage them in meaningful conversations. Memento displays connections between a resident’s stories and their surroundings on a caregiver smartphone. Caregivers can then subtly use this information to start spontaneous reminiscences with residents, as they go about their everyday activities. Remembering their histories was highly enjoyable for residents, giving them a renewed sense of self-confidence and well-being.
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