Almost all companies struggle with software systems that are getting increasingly complex. Therefore, in particular large companies often use software product lines, which provide an efficient way to manage software reuse as well as the high complexity. However, software product lines seem to be too slow to react to changes. Agile development approaches promise to meet this demand. At the same time, integrating an agile approach is not always easy. Consequently, there is a need for a transformation model that supports the agile transformation without harming the benefits of software product lines.
In this paper, we present the results of a literature review regarding agile transformation in large software companies. Our results summarize the insights from 85 papers and present a list of 20 tasks and tasks that are recommended by several researchers to be considered during the transformation. On the basis of these results, we create an agile transformation model—the so‐called “agile hamburger”—that contains these tasks and preserves software product lines. Since the model is rather coarse grained and generic, we also support the adaption to different teams by presenting an assessment model tailored to the demands of the automotive domain.
The number of companies that use agile methods increases steadily. However, these companies often do not implement a pure agile approach but combine agile and plan‐based methods to so‐called hybrid development approaches. However, the development of these approaches is rather difficult for the companies, since agile and plan‐based approaches often follow opposite concepts. To benefit from agile and plan‐based approaches at the same time, the companies have to identify and address the conflicts between agile and plan‐based methods. The conflicts depend on the goals that are pursued with the implementation of agile and plan‐based methods. However, there is no overview of the exact goals that are pursued in hybrid approaches and which challenges and conflicts arise with them. Therefore, we conducted a systematic mapping study to gather and analyze the goals and challenges in hybrid development approaches. The mapping study is focused on literature that presents the actual needs and goals of companies and projects. Based on our results, we present the influence factors that cause conflicts in hybrid approaches and discuss how these conflicts can be addressed.
Since the publication of the agile manifesto in 2001, many companies implement an agile-or at least more agile-software development process. However, only including agile methods or practices in the overall process does not guarantee being agile. The mindset of the people involved in the process, including the development team, the customers, and the management, is of particular importance. As such an agile mindset cannot be enforced, the process of creating a suitable mindset needs to be handled with care. In an interview study with nine agile coaches, we analyzed which aspects they perceive being of particular importance during an agile transformation. One of these aspects is the agile mindset. We figure out how they support the creation of such a mindset. We identify 12 categories related to the process of creating an agile mindset. These categories include the collaboration between the coach and the management as well as the necessity to internalize the agile values. The main factor for succeeding with the creation of an agile mindset, however, can be hardly influenced:The success strongly depends on the personal prerequisites and attitudes of the individuals involved in the process, mainly the development team. We synthesize the results of our study into a timeline describing the process of how an agile coach can support the development team creating an agile mindset as part of the transformation towards an agile development process.
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