A Case Study: Moving from ad hoc to agile software development

Abstract

A small, young and rapidly growing software company will be investigated throughout this paper using the interpretive case study method. The company has desiderated support in structuring daily work, contemporaneously the company has an objective; desires of following agile development principles. The company has realized that a change is necessary to become a functional company, producing high quality software. The goal is to help the company with the transition between their ad hoc approaches towards agile development. To meet the company wishes, this paper presents a brief walkthrough of some agile best practices. It also describes how different interview techniques and belonging findings and results may help the company see the problem from a new perspective. By using the media synchronicity theory, the company’s communication channels are identified and analyzed. The repertory grid technique helps the company identifying their big spawn of various customer types. The results from both interviews will be taken under consideration while discussing how the company can start following agile work practices and what must be done for a successful transition from ad hoc to agile development. At the end of this study it is supposed that the existing gap between theoretical models and actual ways of performing work is reduced and that the company can use provided material being this paper and findings from the collaboration during their transition period on their transformation road towards agility.