Understanding Factors that Influence On-Time Delivery: A Case Study at Volvo GTT

Abstract

In large organizations applying agile methods or frameworks, delays in delivery remain a recurring issue despite structured approaches. To better understand this challenge, this study investigates factors influencing on-time delivery, and how these factors relate to each other. To address this, a qualitative case study was conducted within a department at Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT), which applies the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). The collection of data where through semistructured interviews, observations, and informal conversations. The study points to 28 factors that influences on-time delivery, categorized into four themes: organizational prerequisites, team prerequisites, communication and information sharing, and project prerequisites. Nineteen of these factors are supported by literature, such as defining work, dependencies, and team size. Nine are based on empirical findings not emphasized in the literature, including side tasks and information flow, and three were found in the literature but not in the empirical finings, for example personal characteristics. Furthermore, a visualization has been created to illustrate how the factors are related, based on the empirical findings. This aims to contribute to a holistic understanding of factors influencing on-time delivery through four main areas: dependencies, planning, side tasks, and execution of work. However, the study focuses solely on time as a success criterion, meaning that other key dimensions, such as cost and quality, fall outside this scope.