Agility in an inter-organizational context Investigating inter-organizational cooperation in software companies
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Software engineering and technology (MPSOF), MSc
Management and economics of innovation (MPMEI), MSc
Management and economics of innovation (MPMEI), MSc
Publicerad
2023
Författare
Bonnedahl, Johan
Persson, Henry
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
As a response to the fast paced changes required in recent years, agile software de-
velopment methods have become increasingly popular. To achieve the increased size
and complexity needed for today’s software systems to be competitive, organizations
have also started working together. As the number of actors and dependencies in-
crease, so does the need for stability and clear structure, which goes against the core
values of agility.
This thesis examines which conditions are most suitable for the use of agile methods.
It also examines which problems are faced by agile organizations working together
with other organizations and which solutions could mitigate these problems. This
is done through a review of current literature on the subject and through interviews
with 11 people working with agile methods in cooperating organizations.
Problems are found within 5 key areas: Team autonomy, Communication, Organi-
zational alignment, Culture and people, and Flexibility and contracts. The found
solutions are to utilize joint teams with people from both organizations to align and
evaluate the direction of the work, shorten the communication paths, work contin-
uously with integration and foster a sense of unity. The organizations should align
and customize their work methods, and continuously evaluate these methods to en-
sure that they are best suited for the project. All teams within the organizations
should also be given autonomy to a predefined extent. Through this, many of the
problems arising from the collision between the stability needed for cooperation and
the flexibility needed for agility should be mitigated.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
agile , inter-organizational agility , arge-scale agile , cooperation , team autonomy , communication , organizational alignment , culture , flexibility