Short-Term Physiological Strain and Recovery among Employees Working with Agile and Lean Methods in Software and Embedded ICT Systems

ABSTRACT

Agile work practices have become popular. Although they hold great promise regarding well-being at work, systematic scientific research on this connection is scarce. This article aims to capture the current situation by measuring the state of mental workload using physiological indicators and by comparing high and low perceived agile work. Is the agile way of working associated with well-being at work? Three software teams and four embedded development teams were used in the different phases of applying agile methods. We conducted a baseline survey on perceived agile work in the team and carried out physiological measurements three times in a working period. Repeated-measure procedure was used to analyze the effects. The results provide evidence that agile work could even out workload during a working period, i.e. maintain sustainable pace. The results of the low agile work were in line with the assumption that work will accumulate at the end of the period because of loose planning and a lack of frequent checking. Therefore, workers also felt more strain from the pressure of deadlines.

Acknowledgments

We are also grateful to Senior Specialist Heli Sistonen from Finnish Institute of Occupational Health who was involved in conducting the physiological measurements in practice.

Funding

This article is a part of the Agile and Lean Product Development Methods for Embedded ICT Systems project (2012–2014), funded by TEKES – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. Partners of the project are: BA Group, Ericsson, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FiSMA, Lindorff Finland, Neoxen Systems, Nextfour Group, Nordic ID, and the University of Turku.

Additional information

Funding

This article is a part of the Agile and Lean Product Development Methods for Embedded ICT Systems project (2012–2014), funded by TEKES – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. Partners of the project are: BA Group, Ericsson, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FiSMA, Lindorff Finland, Neoxen Systems, Nextfour Group, Nordic ID, and the University of Turku.

Notes on contributors

Seppo Tuomivaara

Tuomivaara Seppo, PhD (psychol.), is a Specialist Researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. His research activities have been focused on human ICT relations, work development practices, well-being at work of agile team members, and well-being at work on constructing collaborative innovation practices.

Harri Lindholm

Lindholm Harri, MD, PhD, was previously Chief Physician in the Laboratory of Physiology at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. He is presently working in Digital Health at NokiaTECH. His research activities have been focused on the physiological regulation of stress and recovery among healthy and non-healthy population and diagnostics of cardiovascular disorders.

Marja Känsälä

Känsälä Marja, DSc (Econ.), works as a Specialist Researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. Her research interests include agile methods, teamwork, project work, well-being at work, leadership, and international work. She has published both nationally and internationally, and applied both qualitative and quantitative methods.