Coordination artifacts in Agile Software Development. Issue 2 (June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zaitsev, Anna; Gal, Uri; Tan, Barney
• Is Part Of: Information and organization. Volume 30:Issue 2(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-06
• Subjects: Agile Software Development -- Artifacts -- Coordination -- Case study; Information resources management -- Periodicals; Organizational change -- Periodicals; Information technology -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Accounting -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Management information systems -- Periodicals; Comptabilité -- Informatique -- Périodiques; Systèmes d'information de gestion -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 658.4
• DOI: 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2020.100288
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-7727

Abstract

Abstract: Agile Software Development is characterized by collaborative social interactions and fast-paced and iterative changes in project requirements. Much of the extant Agile development literature focuses on team and organizational aspects of Agile development projects. However, coordination mechanisms used within Agile projects have received less attention. Particularly, existing research lacks a discussion on how artifacts are applied in Agile software development to support project coordination, and how their potential for information richness and mutability impact their ability to support coordination. To address these issues, we conducted a case study of an Agile development project that involved customer and vendor organizations. Our case follows the interactions between the two organizations, identifies the different types of artifacts that they utilized to coordinate their joint activities throughout the various phases of the project, and traces the enactment of these artifacts' informational potential. Our study reveals that the organizations applied four different types of coordination artifacts - Foundational, Projective, Exposition and Indicative artifacts – to address different coordination challenges that arose throughout the project. The four types of artifacts were characterized by varying levels of information richness and mutability, which were shaped to support the Agile activities within which they were used. Our study enriches the understanding of the role of coordination artifacts in Agile projects, provides insights on the informational potential of the artifacts, and highlights some of the pitfalls than can result from misunderstanding object use. Highlights: Application of Coordination Theory in the context of Agile Software Development Discussion on how coordination artifacts were applied to mitigate coordination challenges Identification of four different types of coordination artifacts Discussion on informational potential of coordination artifacts