Management of cross-team interfaces in large-scale agile development

Agile product development promises improved productivity, fast development cycles, and high employee satisfaction. Large-scale agile development frameworks (e.g., SAFe, Sage, Scrum [at symbol] Scale, Spotify, LeSS) adapt agile principles for programs where multiple teams must work together to build complex products and services. In this research, we explore how large-scale agile organizations manage cross-team interfaces and dependencies. We reviewed existing frameworks and interviewed fourteen individuals from six different organizations. We learned that many large-scale agile practices act as coordination mechanisms. Large-scale agile programs use these coordination mechanisms to: (1) reduce the quantity and complexity of cross-team interfaces; (2) identify interfaces up front; (3) surface interfaces as they emerge in development; (4) manage interfaces during development; and (5) build a shared understanding between teams. Experienced practitioners consider how agile roles, events, artifacts, and other mechanisms contribute to coordination in each of these areas. While large-scale agile frameworks provide recommended practices, we suggest programs should adapt these approaches to fit their specific needs. Future research may help to evolve large-scale agile practices by further exploring: product, process and program architecture, coordination mechanisms and effectiveness, and leadership and accountability.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Crofoot, Lisa.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Steven D. Eppinger.

• Engineering and Management Program.
• System Design and Management Program.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132811

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/132811