Large-Scale Agile Project Management in Safety-Critical Industries: A Case Study on Challenges and Solutions

Figures & data

Table 1. Agile principles (Fowler & Highsmith, 2001).

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation. Working software is the primary measure of progress. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility. Simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of work not done – is essential. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Table 2. Interviewees’ characteristics.

Code	Position	Company Tenure (years)
P1	Manager	4
P2	Senior Consultant	3
P3	Senior Consultant	3
P4	Manager	4
P5	Senior Design Engineer	11
P6	Senior Consultant	2
P7	Vice President	8
P8	Senior Consultant	2
P9	Senior Consultant	3
P10	Manager	5
P11	Manager	5
P12	Senior Manager	5

Figure 1. Data structure.

Table 3. Challenges and solutions.

Challenges	Solutions
Behavioral
Change Resistance	Classic change management measures, incorporating gamification, assigning additional responsibilities, actively celebrating successes
Integration of non-development functions	Cross-functional team training and collaboration
Lack of knowledge about agile	Investment in training and coaching, acquisition of knowledge from experts
Technological
Complications in tool adjustments and selection	Gaining management attention to provide budget for infrastructure and experience
Progress measuring	Development of dashboards to display project progress
Organizational
Issues with workload estimation	Introduction of different maturity levels for requirements, correction of team availability calculations
Task prioritization	Acquisition of knowledge
Underestimation of effort of the agile implementation	Acquisition of knowledge, preferably from external sources
Incorrect implementation of agile	Acquisition of knowledge, preferably from external sources
Regulatory
Additional documentation required by regulations	Adjusting the sprint cycle to account for the required time to create extensive documentation
Increased confidentiality requirements	Proxy developers, separated backlogs
Resistance to the agile way of working due to regulations	Awareness and necessary changes from the beginning, adjusting the agile way of working to not harm team atmosphere

Fowler, M., & Highsmith, J. A. (2001). The agile manifesto. Software Development, 9(8), 28–35.

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