Understanding Agile Software Development Team Adaptation Processes

Introduction

All information systems development has inherent risks. If those risks are not handled properly, the development may exceed its schedule or budget, or the resulting product will fail to meet the customers’ needs. Approaches to information system development intended to improve performance outcomes by promoting agility have become increasingly popular in the last few decades (Campanelli & Parreiras, 2015; Cockburn & Highsmith, 2001; Conforto et al., 2016; Dingsøyr et al., 2012; Tam et al., 2020). Such approaches often are referred to collectively as “agile software development,” which many link to a set of defined methods and practices emphasizing iterative problem-solving, close collaboration and frequent customer interaction (Dybå & Dingsøyr, 2008). Agile software development represents a shift in philosophy that departs from what is considered “traditional” (Nerur & Balijepally, 2007), spurred by the inadequacy of traditional, plan-driven approaches in handling the extensive rate of change in business and technology (Lee & Xia, 2010). The core of agile software development is agility, which most researchers agree concerns software development teams’ ability to handle change successfully in order to create business value (Conboy, 2009; Conforto et al., 2016; Lee & Xia, 2010; Serrador & Pinto, 2015).

Because agility in information system development involves successful adaptation to change, which is a crucial aspect of team effectiveness (Burke et al., 2006; Mathieu et al., 2008), the team processes involved in how software development teams adapt to change are important. Team processes refer to how team members work with each other in order to facilitate goal-oriented work (Marks et al., 2001). Team adaptation can be considered a process involving “adjustments to relevant team processes […] in response to the disruption or trigger giving rise to the need for adaptation” (Maynard et al., 2015, p. 656). Even though human aspects of information system development long have been acknowledged as imperative (Cockburn & Highsmith, 2001), relatively few studies on information system development have leveraged the knowledge gained from the social sciences to address such issues (Lenberg et al., 2015). A literature search revealed that only Kude et al. (2014) leveraged team adaptation theory to better understand agility in information system development. Because the team adaptation literature revolves around how teams adapt to changing demands (Maynard et al., 2015), it can contribute to understanding how software development teams handle change to create business value.