Zornitza Racheva

Do We Know Enough about Requirements Prioritization in Agile Projects: Insights from a Case Study

Requirements prioritization is an essential mechanism of agile software development approaches. It maximizes the value delivered to the clients and accommodates changing requirements. This paper presents results of an exploratory cross-case study on agile prioritization and business value delivery processes in eight software organizations. We found that some explicit and fundamental assumptions of agile requirement prioritization approaches, as described in the agile literature on best practices, do not hold in all agile project contexts in our study. These are (i) the driving role of the client in the value creation process, (ii) the prevailing position of business value as a main prioritization criterion, (iii) the role of the prioritization process for project goal achievement. This implies that these assumptions have to be reframed and that the approaches to requirements prioritization for value creation need to be extended.

Value Creation by Agile Projects: Methodology or Mystery?

Business value is a key concept in agile software development approaches. This paper presents results of a systematic review of literature on how business value is created by agile projects. We found that with very few exceptions, most published studies take the concept of business value for granted and do not state what it means in general as well as in the specific study context. We could find no study which clearly indicates how exactly individual agile practices or groups of those create value and keep accumulating it over time. The key implication for research is that we have an incentive to pursue the study of value creation in agile project by deploying empirical research methods.

A conceptual model and process for client-driven agile requirements prioritization

Continuous customer-centric requirements reprioritization is essential in successfully performing agile software development. Yet, in the agile RE literature, very little is known about how agile reprioritization happens in practice. Generic conceptual models about this process are missing, which in turn, makes it difficult for both practitioners and researchers to reason about requirements decision-making at inter-iteration time. This paper presents a Grounded Theory study on agile requirements prioritization methods to yield a conceptual model for understanding the inter-iteration prioritization process in terms of inputs and outcomes. The latter is derived by using qualitative empirical data, published earlier by other authors. Such a conceptual model makes explicit the concepts that are used tacitly in different agile requirements prioritization methods and can be used for structuring future empirical investigations about this topic.

A conceptual model of client-driven agile requirements prioritization: results of a case study

Requirements (re)prioritization is an essential mechanism of agile development approaches to maximize the value for the clients and to accommodate changing requirements. Yet, in the agile Requirements Engineering (RE) literature, very little is known about how agile (re)prioritization happens in practice. Conceptual models about this process are missing, which, in turn, makes it difficult for both practitioners and researchers to reason about requirements decision-making at inter-iteration time. We did a multiple case study on agile requirements prioritization methods to yield a conceptual model for understanding the inter-iteration prioritization process. The model is derived by using interview data from practitioners in 8 development organizations. Such a model makes explicit the concepts that are used tacitly in the agile requirements prioritization practice and can be used for structuring future empirical investigations about this topic, and for analyzing, supporting, and improving the process in real-life projects.

Business value is not only dollars – results from case study research on agile software projects

Business value is a key concept in agile software development. This paper presents results of a case study on how business value and its creation is perceived in the context of agile projects. Our overall conclusion is that the project participants almost never use an explicit and structured approach to guide the value creation throughout the project. Still, the application of agile methods in the studied cases leads to satisfied clients. An interesting result of the study represents the fact that the agile process of many projects differs significantly from what is described in the agile practitioners’ books as best practices. The key implication for research and practice is that we have an incentive to pursue the study of value creation in agile projects and to complement it by providing guidelines for better client’s involvement, as well as by developing structured methods that will enhance the value-creation in a project.

Complementing Measurements and Real Options Concepts to Support Inter-iteration Decision-Making in Agile Projects

Agile software projects are characterized by iterative and incremental development, accommodation of changes and active customer participation. The process is driven by creating business value for the client, assuming that the client (i) is aware of it, and (ii) is capable to estimate the business value, associated with the separate features of the system to be implemented. This paper is focused on the complementary use of measurement techniques and concepts of real-option-analysis to assist clients in assessing and comparing alternative sets of requirements. Our overall objective is to provide systematic support to clients for the decision-making process on what to implement in each iteration. The design of our approach is justified by using empirical data, published earlier by other authors.

Using measurements to support real-option thinking in agile software development

This position paper applies real-option-theory perspective to agile software development. We complement real-option thinking with the use of measurements to support midcourse decision-making from the viewpoint of the client. Our position is motivated by using empirical data gathered from secondary sources.

How Do Real Options Concepts Fit in Agile Requirements Engineering

Agile requirements engineering is driven by creating business value for the client and heavily involves the client in decision-making under uncertainty. Real option thinking seems to be suitable in supporting the client’s decision making process at inter-iteration time. This paper investigates the fit between real option thinking and agile requirements engineering. We first look into previously published experiences in the agile software engineering literature to identify (i) ‘experience clusters’ suggesting the ways in which real option concepts fit into the agile requirements process and (ii) ‘experience gaps’ and under-researched agile requirements decision-making topics which require further empirical studies. Furthermore, we conducted a cross-case study in eight agile development organizations and interviewed 11 practitioners about their decision-making process. The results suggest that options are almost always identified, reasoned about and acted upon. They are not expressed in quantitative terms, however, they are instead explicitly or implicitly taken into account during the decision-making process at interiteration time.

Sprint Planning with a Digital Aid Tool: Lessons Learnt

Managing the product’s backlog is a major task in agile projects. This case study reports on one organization’s experiences from the transition to a backlog management tool and its contribution to improving sprint planning. Our key lessons learnt are that a tool is particularly appropriate to organize and specify backlog items in a transparent manner and to handle dependencies. However, we also observed an overhead in backlog management and in reporting during meetings. The concrete project settings play the paramount role in whether such a tool helps or harms the process.