The concept of workforce agility has become increasingly popular in recent years as agile individuals are expected to be better able to handle change and uncertainty. However, agility has rarely been ...studied in a systematic way. Relations between agility and positive work outcomes, such as higher performance or increased well-being, have often been suggested but rarely been empirically tested. Furthermore, several different workforce agility measures are used in the literature which complicates the comparison of findings. Recognizing these gaps in the literature, we developed a new workforce agility measure, compared this measure to established workforce agility measures, and empirically tested the relations of workforce agility with work outcomes. For this purpose, we surveyed participants from two samples (
= 218,
= 533). In a first step, we used Sample 1 to examine the factor structure of the measure for item selection. In a second step, we used Sample 2 to confirm the 10-factor structure and to compare the predictive validity of our measure along with two other agility measures. Findings demonstrate predictive validity for all three workforce agility scales, especially in relation to innovative performance. Furthermore, workforce agility related positively to task and innovative performance, organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, and well-being.
Agile teams are not meant to have project managers. Instead, agile methods such as Scrum and XP define roles such as product owner, scrum master, and coach. Studies have uncovered the existence of ...the project manager in agile projects, pointing to disconnect between theory and practice. To address this gap, a Grounded Theory study with a mixed methods approach was conducted using multiple sources of data including over 45 h of interviews with 39 software practitioners and quantitative data from 57 questionnaire respondents. We present and describe the project manager’s role in agile projects in terms of (a) everyday activities: facilitating, mentoring, negotiating, coordinating, and protecting, performed by the project manager using; (b) three management approaches: hard, moderate, and soft; (c) four traditional project management activities continued to be performed by them, including: tracking project progress, reporting on project status, budgeting and forecasting, and managing personnel; and (d) the influence of the presence of the project manager on the frequency with which agile activities are carried out by the teams. Our study highlights the continued presence of the role of the project manager in agile software projects as a part of the transition from traditional to agile ways of working.
•Everyday activities such as facilitating, mentoring and negotiating.•The three management approaches: hard, moderate, and soft.•Four traditional project management activities.•The influence of the presence of the project manager on the frequency of agile.
ABSTRACT
This research paper presents evidence from an exploratory survey on the use of agile project management (APM) practices and the presence of APM enablers in 19 medium‐ and large‐sized ...companies from different industry sectors considering innovative projects. The results show that these companies are possibly struggling to use their current management practices in the face of different project challenges. Additionally, the presence of some APM enablers indicates opportunities to adapt the APM theory for different companies other than those in software development. Future research should explore the correlation between APM practices and enablers in order to develop “hybrid” management models for different industries.
The agility construct on project management theory Conforto, Edivandro Carlos; Amaral, Daniel Capaldo; da Silva, Sergio Luis ...
International journal of project management,
05/2016, Volume:
34, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Definitions of agility found in the project management (PM) and agile project management (APM) disciplines are inconsistent, incomplete and lack clarity. This paper presents a complete definition of ...the agility construct, built from a combination of systematic literature review and frame semantics methodology. A survey with 171 projects with different innovation levels and industry sectors combined with factor analysis was used to first validate the construct. The results show that the agility construct is cohesive and useful in different PM contexts. The implications for advancing the PM theory and practice are threefold: i) agility should be considered a team's performance, rather than a mere adjective for practices and methods; ii) agility, as a performance, might be dependent upon a combination of organization, team and project factors; and iii) the agility performance level can be measured within two main factors: rapid project planning change and active customer involvement.
•A new and complete definition of agility was built based on frame semantic analysis.•Agility combines rapid project planning change and active customer involvement.•Agility is a team's ability not only an attribute of “agile methods or practices”.•Agility performance may not be a direct result from adopting “agile methods”.•Agility has different intensities and depends on multiple organization factors.
The main problem associated with designing buildings and structures is the poor flexibility of such projects. Designing is a long-term process that takes place long before the actual construction ...begins. Depending on project complexity, it can last from a few to several months, during which it is frequently changed and updated. A design project usually follows a top-down pattern where subsequent steps succeed each other. Given all this, it seems justified to say that designing buildings and structures is a process marked by little flexibility, meaning that any response to changes is long, complicated, or sometimes unfeasible. And so the following question arises: how to improve the process of designing buildings and structures so that the very project more easily adapts to changes arising inside and outside the organization? The solution may be the implementation of selected parts of agile project management methodologies.
The aim of the paper is to select elements from agile methodologies in order to streamline the work of a design project team. Section one deals with the analysis of different project management methodologies, focusing mainly on agile. This is followed by a description of project management in construction, with particular emphasis on the design process. Section three highlights the opportunities for implementing the elements of agile project management methodologies in construction by using an example of the mpiBIM student project that is held by Warsaw University of Technology. The research delivers ready-to-use forms that may be useful for a team that would like to implement agile work in building design projects.
The role of the Product Owner in agile software development is critical being accountable for maximising the value, although becoming proficient in this role is a complex process. The Product Owner’s ...responsibilities vary between different industries. The literature has not fully explained the role of a Product Owner. We shed light on the factors that influence the role at levels of organisation, team, stakeholder, and the individual. We conduct a systematic literature review in combination with a focus group consisting of practitioners to better understand the problem and to address the persistent gaps in theory and practice. Rather than exposing generic competencies associated with the role of Product Owner, our findings show that the role is tailored to fit the unique organisational context, including at the team level, and involves managing the organisational environment, including the institutional culture and politics. We also find an inherent tension arising from the fact that although the role of Product Owner is affected by the organisational level, the performance of the role is strongly influenced by attributes at the individual level. In particular, the individual’s ability to establish and manage networks and relationships within the organisation is mediated by his or her communication skills.
•This research provide a new view on the Product Owner role in Scrum Teams.•The PO role extends into a meta-role as plentitudes of obligations and dimensions.•The role is stretched out between organisational, team/stakeholder and individual levels.•This paper suggests formative processes as critical in the Product Owner driven by tailoring and context.•Determinants of the formative process are presented and the balance discussed.
The concept of “Agile Project Management” has gained significant traction in various sectors, beyond its origins in software development. However, a coherent, universally accepted definition remains ...elusive, prompting this study to embark on a systematic exploration of agile practices and their implications in broader contexts. Employing a systematic literature review across three major academic databases on business and management studies in the past two decades, this research scrutinizes a final selection of 80 high-quality academic papers. The principal contribution of our research is the articulation of a nuanced definition of Agile Project Management, which demarcates it from traditional project management frameworks and those agile practices specific to software development. This study not only sheds light on the prevailing ambiguities in the understanding of Agile Project Management but also sets the stage for future research into the emerging organizational dynamics engendered by the adoption of agile practices.
With a need to implement an agile software development methodology in government programs, this study was conducted to explore how organizations transitioned from a traditional waterfall software ...development method to agile methods. To accomplish this study, a case study research was utilized. A multimillion-dollar government-contracted program in the US was studied. The research findings reveal key challenges faced by organizations during the transition and the lessons learned that can be applied to future programs. Propositions for future research are also presented.
•This research investigated the transition from a waterfall approach to agile software development.•Key challenges during the transition were identified.•Lessons learned were highlighted for future agile implementation.•Propositions for future research regarding agile implementation are presented.
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.
