The Integration of Design Thinking and Lean Software Development from the Perspective of Product Owners and Scrum Masters

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1 The Integration of Design Thinking and Lean Software Development from the Perspective of Product Owners and Scrum Masters Master of Science Thesis in the Management and Economics of Innovation Programme ULRICH FRYE TINA INGE Department of Technology Management and Economics Division of Innovation Engineering and Management CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Göteborg, Sweden, 2013 Report No. E 2013:089

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3 MASTER S THESIS E 2013:089 The Integration of Design Thinking and Lean Software Development from the Perspective of Product Owners and Scrum Masters ULRICH FRYE TINA INGE Supervisor: Examiner: INGO RAUTH MARIA ELMQUIST Department of Technology Management and Economics Division of Innovation Engineering and Management CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Göteborg, Sweden 2013

4 The Integration of Design Thinking and Lean Software Development from the Perspective of Product Owners and Scrum Masters Ulrich Frye, Tina Inge Ulrich Frye, Tina Inge 2013 Master s Thesis E 2013:089 Department of Technology Management and Economics Division of Innovation Engineering and Management Chalmers University of Technology SE Göteborg, Sweden Telephone: + 46 (0) Chalmers Reproservice Göteborg, Sweden 2013

5 Abstract DesignThinkingasamanagerialconceptisbeingadoptedbyanincreasingnumberofcompaniesin variousindustriestoboosttheiroutputofinnovativeproductsandservicesinordertogaina competitiveedgeonthemarket.thisthesispresentsanexploratorycasestudythatwasconducted attheglobalenterprisesoftwareproducer,softwareco,whointroduceddesignthinkingintheir softwaredevelopmentorganizationin2011.since2009,softwaredevelopmentatsoftwarecohas routinelybeencarriedoutaccordingtoleansoftwaredevelopmentandtheagilesoftware developmentmethodofscrum. ThesoftwaredevelopmentteamsatSoftwareCoaretypicallyassembledinaccordancewiththe Scrummethodologyandcomprisetwomanagers,anarchitect,andanumberofdevelopers.Thetwo managershavespecificrolesandresponsibilitiesandareassignedthetitlesofproductownerand ScrumMaster.ThesuccessofintegratingDesignThinkingwiththeexistingapproachtodevelop softwarecriticallyhingesonthemanagerialstaffofthesedevelopmentteams.thisqualitativestudy exploredhowproductownersandscrummastersperceivetheintegrationofdesignthinkingwith LeanSoftwareDevelopmentandScrum.SpecificfocuswasplacedonhowDesignThinkingpractices integratewithleansoftwaredevelopmentprinciplesandscrumpractices. TheoreticalmisalignmentswereidentifiedbetweenDesignThinkingpracticeelements,Lean SoftwareDevelopmentprinciplesandScrumpractices.Wheninvestigatedinpractice,these theoreticalmisalignmentswerenotperceivedverystronglybyproductownersandscrummasters. Nonetheless,practicalchallengeswereseentoarisefromtheintegrationofDesignThinkingwith LeanSoftwareDevelopmentandScrum.Byexploringtheoreticaldisaccordsinapracticalsetting,this thesisservesasanearlysteptowardsthedevelopmentoftheoryregardingthesuccessfulintegration ofdesignthinking,leansoftwaredevelopmentandscrum. Keywords: DesignThinking,LeanSoftwareDevelopment,AgileSoftwareDevelopment,Scrum,ProductOwners, ScrumMasters i

6 Acknowledgements Thisresearchwasconductedwiththesupportandguidancefromseveralindividualstowhomweare trulyappreciative.oursupervisor,ingorauth,providedongoingguidance,criticalfeedback,and encouragementthroughoutthisthesis.also,wewouldliketoextendourgratitudetosoftwarecofor theircollaborationandgrantingusaccesstoconductourinterviews. AspecialthankyougoestoLPSandTHfromSoftwareCo.LPSprovidedearlyinsightswhichformed thefoundationofthisstudy,andestablishedinitialcontactswithintervieweesinindiaforwhichwe areextremelygrateful.thsharedhisexperiencesaboutdesignthinkingatsoftwarecowhichgreatly enhancedourunderstandingofthestudy scontext,andwealsoacknowledgehiseffortstoconnect uswithpotentialinterviewees. Lastbutnotleast,weareverythankfultotheemployeeswithinthesoftwaredevelopment organizationatsoftwarecowhogavetheirsupporttoourthesisbytakingtimeto participateinourinterviews. Göteborg,2013 UlrichFrye TinaInge ii

7 TableofContents Abstract...i Acknowledgements...ii Introduction CaseCompany Background Purpose ResearchQuestion Delimitations...6 LiteratureReview DesignThinking LeanThinking Agile LeanSoftwareDevelopment SynthesisofDesignThinking,LeanSoftwareDevelopment,andScrum TheoreticalFramework...16 Methodology ResearchApproach ResearchStrategy ResearchDesign:ExploratoryCaseStudy Sampling ResearchMethods DataCollection QualityCriteria...22 EmpiricalResults Exploratory ProfileofProductOwnerandScrumMaster PerceptionofDT DesignThinkingvs.LeanSoftwareDevelopment ChallengestoDesignThinking...42 Analysis LeanSoftwareDevelopment,Scrum,andDesignThinking...45 DiscussionofResults EndUsers

8 6.2 Visualization Synthesis Conclusion...52 AreasforFurtherResearch...53 Sources...54 Appendix:Interviewguide

9 1 Introduction Companiesinallindustriesaroundtheworldareunderimmensepressuretocreateinnovative productsandservicesinordertobecompetitiveinthemarket.thesoftwareindustryisnoexception tothisandsomecompanieshavetakentoadoptingalternativeapproachestotraditionalproduct developmentwiththegoaltodevelopmoredesirableoffers.softwarecoisoneoftheleading enterprisesoftwarevendorsworldwideandin2011begantoformallyintroducedesignthinking(dt) intotheirdevelopmentorganization.althoughappliedforovertwoyearstothesoftware developmentcontextatsoftwareco,theunderstandingofdtanditsadditiontotraditional approachestosoftwaredevelopmentisstillinitsinfantphase.thus,softwarecowaschosenasthe organizationtostudybecauseitisanearlyadopterofdtinthesoftwareindustry. HildenbrandandMeyer(2012)conductedapilotcasestudytounderstand,primarily,thesynergies involvedinintertwiningdtwithleansoftwaredevelopment(lsd)andthescrumprocessframework mostlyfromaprocessperspective.however,agapinthisresearchwasidentifiedasany misalignmentsbetweentheapproachesfromanindividualscrumteammember sperspectivewere notstudied.giventheinfluenceaproductowner(po)andscrummaster(sm)possessasleaderson ascrumteaminsoftwaredevelopmentcompanies,itisvaluabletounderstandtheirperceptionof howdtintegrateswithlsdandthescrumprocessframework. ThemaincontributionofthisthesisistoprovideatheoreticalandempiricalanalysisonhowDT,LSD, andthescrumprocessframeworkalignfromthepo sandsm sperspective.thisspecificareamight beusefulforresearchersinterestedintheoverallunderstandingofhowdtcanmigratefromthe designindustryintothesoftwaredevelopmentindustry,similartohowleanandagilemigratedfrom themanufacturingindustrytothesoftwaredevelopmentindustry. 1.1 CaseCompany SoftwareCoisagloballeaderinenterprisesoftwaredevelopmentandassociatedserviceswithmore than50,000employeeslocatedinmultiplecountries.softwaredevelopmenttakesplaceintheir developmentlabswhicharedistributedinvariouscountriesglobally.theirsoftwareproductsare usedbymorethan200,000customersaroundtheworld. Tocreateinnovativeproductstoservetheirglobalcustomerbase,SoftwareCohasadoptedDT.DTis definedonsoftwareco swebsiteasaroutineinnovationmethodologythatenablesthetwohalves ofthehumanbraintoactinsynergy,effectivelycombiningitscreativeandanalyticalcapabilities.in termsofpracticalexecution,thegeneraldtapproachaspracticedatsoftwarecoisshowninfigure 1below.Theapproachillustratedbelowishighlyiterativeandallowsreturningtopreviousactivities orphasesshouldtheneedbeidentifiedbasedoninsightsgainedatanystage. 3

10 Figure1:DTprocess DTwasrolledoutatSoftwareCointhreedifferentwaves.ThefirstwaveofDTprojectsstartedin 2011atSoftwareCo sfacilitiesingermany,whilethesecondwaveofdtprojectscommencedin 2012andprimarilyinvolvedSoftwareCoofficesinGermany,India,andChina.Finally,thethirdwave ofdtprojectsstartedattheendof2012andisongoing. 1.2 Background DThasrisenasamanagementconceptpromisingincreasedinnovativenessthroughausercentered approachtoinnovation.dthasitsoriginsinthedesignrealmbuthasenteredthemanagement realmandgainedconsiderableacceptanceasanapproachtoproductdevelopmentandproblem solving(hassi&laakso,2011).variouscompaniesindifferentindustrieshavetakentousingdtin theirproductdevelopmentpracticestocomplementandenhancetheirexistingapproaches. TheconceptofLeanThinkingoriginatedintheautomotiveindustryanddescribedtheproduction managementsystemattoyotaalongwithmanufacturingtechniques(stone,2012).ithassince penetratedintoallareasofmanagementandisprimarilyconcernedwithwasteandvaluein organizationaloperations,withthegoalofminimizingtheformerandonlyretainingactivities contributingtothelatter(poppendieck&cusumano,2012;stone,2012). JustasLeanThinking,thetermAgilealsocamefromthemanufacturingsectorandreferstoa producer sflexibilitytorespondtochangesinanunstableenvironmentandcustomerneeds(devor, Graves,&Mills,1997;Poppendieck&Cusumano,2012).Theneedforincreasedflexibilityand responsivenesstocustomerrequestswassubsequentlyidentifiedinsoftwaredevelopmentsettings andagroupofdeveloperscreatedamanifestobaseduponanumberofagileprinciplesthatwere specificallyadaptedtosoftwaredevelopment(becketal.,2001;highsmith,2001).withinagile severalmethodshavebeencreatedthataimatmakingthedevelopmentprocessmoreresponsive andflexible(wölblingetal.,2012). OnespecificmethodofAgileistheprocessframeworkofScrum.TheScrumprocessframework prescribesthecompositionofdevelopmentteams,eventsintheprocess,andtangibleobjects (Schwaber&Sutherland,2011).TworoleswithintheScrumteamareofparticularinterest:theSM andthepo.individualsfillingtheseroleshavespecificmanagerialdutiestocarryoutandprinciples toadhereto;theprimaryresponsibilityofthepoisthefunctionalityoftheproductandthevalueit createsforallstakeholders,whilethesmisconcernedwiththeexecutionoftheprojectandsmooth runningoftheprocess(schwaber&sutherland,2011). LSDandScrumhavebeencombinedsuccessfullywithinthesoftwaredevelopmentindustryandhave becomecommonpractice.dthasgrownfromthedesigndisciplineintothemanagementdisciple. 4

11 Theseapproaches,asseparateentities,havebeenimplementedanddocumentedfrompractitioners perspectivesbutthereislittleevidenceoftheirdetailedstudyinacademicliterature.thereiseven lessliterature,fromeitherapractitioneroracademicperspectivethatfocusesonunderstandingthe combinationofdt,lsd,scrumapproachesinproductdevelopment. Approximatelyfouryearsago,SoftwareCointroducedanapproachtotheirsoftwaredevelopment thatisfoundeduponlsdprinciples,andisexecutedthroughthescrumprocessframeworkandin 2011,SoftwareCostartedaninitiativetorolloutDTthroughoutitsdevelopmentorganization. HildenbrandandMeyer(2012)investigatedDTandLSDincombinationonScrumteams,butother previousstudiesonthetopicwerenotevidentfromathoroughliteraturesearch.intheirbook chapter,intertwiningleananddesignthinking,hildenbrandandmeyer(2012)takeaholistic perspectivetounderstandifandhowtheseapproachestosoftwaredevelopmentcanbecombined orwhetherdtissimplyasubstituteforlsdonascrumteam.theauthorsconcludedthatthese approachestosoftwaredevelopmentcanbeintertwined,asopposedtodtbecomingasubstituteor replacementandsuggestedaprocessshowinghowdtcanbeintertwinedwithlsdonascrumteam. WhiletheworkofHildenbrandandMeyer(2012)isavaluableearlycontributiontogain understandingtowardsthecombinationofdtandlsdonascrumteaminsoftwaredevelopment projects,thereareaspectsinthestudythatraisequestionsandwarrantfurtherinvestigation.the bookchapterinquestiondescribesthestudyofasinglesoftwaredevelopmentprojectwithina globalenterprisesoftwarecompany.first,onesinglecaseisonlyastartingpointinunderstandingif thecombinationofdtandlsdonscrumteamsareindeedcomplementaryapproachesastheywere claimedtobe.itisthereforequestionableifthefindingscanbeconsideredvalidforanyother,let aloneall,softwaredevelopmentprojectsthatutilizetheseapproaches,bothwithintheircase companyandthewiderindustry.second,theinvestigatedcaseitselfdoesnotappeartobequite representativeofarealdevelopmentprojectasitwouldgenerallybecarriedoutwithinsoftware developmentcompanies,becausethecustomerherewasasailingteamsponsoredbythedeveloping companyitself,foraspecificevent.naturally,thatspecificcompanyhadagreatinterestinthe successoftheproject: Besidestheclassicalsupportofasponsor,SAPisparticularlyinterestedin showcasingitstechnology... (Hildenbrand&Meyer,2012,p.221).Sincetheprojectwasashowcase, itmaybeconsideredlimitedinitscomparabilitytosoftwaredevelopmentprojectsforindustry customerswithinthesoftwareindustryatlarge. Besidesthelimitationsoutlinedabove,HildenbrandandMeyer(2012)mostlytookaprocess perspectiveofthecombinedapproachesandthemethodswithin.whilstthisangleisentirely legitimate,itleavesroomforexpansion.anotherinterestingaspectforinvestigationconcernsthe individualsthatareworkingonthesoftwaredevelopmentscrumteamsandtheirperceptionofthe combinedapproaches.inparticular,teammemberswithmanagerialdutiesandresponsibilitiesfor thesuccessoftheprojectsandtheirunderstandingofthecombinedapproachesappeartobe worthwhilestudyingbecausethesuccessoftheintegrationofdthingescriticallyonthose.as outlinedearlier,theseindividualsinquestionareposandsms. BaseduponworkingwithintheLSDandScrumapproachatSoftwareCo,experiencedSMsandPOs arelikelytohaveacquiredcertainwaysofworkingandgainedexperienceaccordingtothe underlyingprinciplesandpracticesoflsdandscrum.thesesmsandposnowhavetofurtheradapt 5

12 assoftwarecoisrollingoutdtthroughouttheirsoftwaredevelopmentwiththegoalofcreating moredesirableandinnovativesoftwareproducts. ThisthesisinvestigatedthecombinationofLSDandDTonScrumteamsinsoftwaredevelopment projects,asperceivedbymanagerialstaffcomposedofposandsms.particularemphasisisputon thealignmentofunderlyinglsdprinciplesandscrumpracticeswiththedtpracticeelements.thus, acasestudywasconductedwithinsoftwarecotoinitiallyexplorethetopic;thestudyandits findingsaredescribedinthefollowingchapters. 1.3 Purpose ThepurposeofthisthesisistocontributetotheacademicunderstandingofthecombinationofLSD anddtonscrumteams.giventhelimitedresearchonthesubject,thisstudyprimarilybuildsupon thedtworkbyhildenbrandandmeyer(2012).itcontributesbyinvestigatingtheintegrationofthe aboveapproachesfromtheperspectiveofmanagerialstaffonscrumteamswhoareresponsiblefor thesuccessofsoftwaredevelopmentprojects. 1.4 ResearchQuestion BasedonthecurrentstateofacademicliteratureconcerningLSDandDTaneedhasbeenidentified tofurtherstudythecombinationoftheseinapracticalsettingsuchassoftwaredevelopment.this needforunderstandingisparticularlyobviouswhenconsideringindividualswhohavesignificant experienceinmanagingsoftwaredevelopmentprojectsaccordingtolsdprinciplesonscrumteams, andareresponsiblefortheintegrationofdtintothisexistingapproach.inordertoexplorethetopic andgainaninitialunderstandingfromtheperspectiveoftheseindividualsleadingthelsdanddt activitiesonscrumteamsatsoftwareco,thefollowingresearchquestionisansweredbythisstudy: HowdotheDTpracticeelementsofenduserempathy,visualization,andsynthesisintegrate withlsdandtheagilemethodofscrumfromtheperspectiveofproductownersandscrum Masters? 1.5 Delimitations ThisstudyinvestigatedtheuseofDTonsoftwaredevelopmentprojectsatSoftwareCo.Thus,the scopeofthestudywaslimitedtoonlycoverasinglecompany;withinthecompany,onlythe softwaredevelopmentorganizationwasstudiedeventhoughdtisbeingutilizedinotherpartsofthe companyaswell.thiswasdeemedappropriatebecausethisthesiscontributestothegeneralfieldof innovationmanagement,anddtinthesoftwaredevelopmentorganizationatsoftwarecowas introducedtoimprovetheinnovativenessoftheirsoftwareproducts. ThedevelopmentorganizationatSoftwareCoisdispersedglobally;forthereasonofaccess provided,thisinvestigationonlycovereddevelopmentlabsinindiaandgermany.culturalaspects, bothorganizationalandethnical,werenotconsideredinthisresearch.theunitsofanalysiswere individualsfillingmanagerialrolesonsoftwaredevelopmentteams,otherteammembersorstaff outsidetheseteamswerenotconsidered. 2 LiteratureReview Thischapterintroducestheliteratureandtheoriespertainingtothisexploratorycasestudy. OverviewsareprovidedaboutthehistoryandcurrentstatesofknowledgeandpracticeaboutDT, 6

13 LeanThinking,Agile,andLSDapproachesaswellastheScrumprocessframeworkforsoftware development.theaboveapproachesareutilizedbysoftwarecointheirsoftwaredevelopment activities,withdtbeingthelatestaddition. 2.1 DesignThinking HerbertA.Simonappliedthenotionofdesignasawayofthinkingtothedesignrealminthe1960s, morerecentlyithasbeenappliedtothemanagementrealmbybothacademicsandpractitioners (Hassi&Laakso,2011;Simon,1969).Withintheacademicrealm,DTintermsofhowdesignersthink hasbeendiscussedanddescribedforoverthirtyyears(johansson,woodilla,&çetinkaya,2011). However,theapplicationofthewaydesignersthinktothemanagementrealmisfairlynewbut growinginimportance,partiallyduetotheviewthat designhasbecometooimportanttobeleftto designers (Brown&Katz,2011,p.381). JohanssonSköldberg,Woodilla,andÇetinkaya(2013)arguetherearethefollowingtwodiscourses ondt:scholarlyandmanagement.thescholarlydiscoursereferstodesignerlythinkingtheoryto practiceandisacademicallyfoundedinthefieldofdesignwhereasthemanagementdiscourse appliestodesignpracticesandcompetencesoutsideofthedesignfield(johanssonsköldbergetal., 2013).ThisstudyfocusedonDTelementsappliedtomanagementroleswithinthesoftware developmentindustry.therefore,onlythemanagementdiscourseondtisdiscussedasthe designerlythinkingdiscourseisoutsidethescopeofthisresearch.however,itisimportanttonote thattherearediscoursesinthedesignrealmthatconcentratesontheskillsandabilitiesofdesigners, forexample(simon,1969),thatcouldbeusedtofurtherinvestigatebutgiventhechoicetofocuson themanagementrealmthisisalsooutsideofthescopeforthisthesis Definitions ThetermDTdoesnothaveawelldefinedmeaningbutisusedinavarietyofwaysandmultiple contexts.moreover,thetermisbecomingincreasinglyubiquitous(kimbell,2011).ingeneralterms, DTisthoughtofashavingtwomainaspects:ausercentricphilosophyorapproachtoproblem solving(brown,2008;dunne&martin,2006;hassi&laakso,2011;kimbell,2011;seidel&fixson, 2012). Table1listsaselectionofdefinitionsgiveninliteratureforDT.However,itisimportanttonotethat definingdtintoasingulardefinitioncanbeconsideredafutileeffortbecausetherearemany differentdiscoursesondesignanditisinherentlyindividualisticbasedonthedesigneraseloquently statedbyjohanssonsköldbergetal.(2013,p.14) totalkaboutdesignandleavingthedesignerout isliketalkingaboutmusicandleavingthemusiciansout. 7

14 Table1:DesignThinkingDefinitions (Holloway,2009,p.51) Atermusedtodescribehowdesignerstypicallyapproach problemsolving (Brown,2008,p.86) Adisciplinethatusesthedesigner ssensibilityandmethodsto matchpeople sneedswithwhatistechnologicallyfeasibleand whataviablebusinessstrategycanconvertintocustomervalue andmarketopportunity (Dunne&Martin,2006, pp.512,517) Designthinkingresultsfromthenatureofdesignwork:a projectbasedworkflowaround wicked problems (Owen,2007,p.17) Theobversecomplementtoscientificthinking (Hassi&Laakso,2011,p. 53) DTisasetofcertainpractices,cognitiveapproaches,and mindsets (JohanssonSköldberget al.,2013,p.124) Awayofdescribingadesigner smethodsthatisintegratedinto anacademicorpracticalmanagementdiscourse Processes Asstatedabove,DTcanbedescribedinageneralsense,ratherthanasingularspecificdefinition,as usingausercentricapproachtosolveproblems(dunne&martin,2006).however,inbothacademia andpractice,thereisattentiongiventounderstandingthespecificprocessassociatedtodtbut similartothedefinitionthereisnotasingularuniversalprocessfordtbutratherthereseemstobe underlyingcommonalitiesorelementsassociatedtotheseprocesses.whileitisimportanttohavea generalunderstandingofprocessesassociatedwithdt,forthisthesistheunderlyingcommonalities orelementsofdtmentionedbelowarethemainlensusedinansweringtheresearchquestion Elements HassiandLaakso(2011)conductedanextensiveDTliteraturestudyof50booksorarticles,ofwhich theyused31,tocreateathreedimensionalframeworkforthedifferentelementsassociatedtodt. ThisframeworkassignedthreemainDTcategoriesthathaverelatedDTelements.Thesecategories arepractices,cognitiveapproach,andmindset(hassi&laakso,2011).thisresearchwillfocuson thepracticecategoryasopposedtothecognitiveapproachormindsetcategoriessincethisisthe mostrelevantcategoryforansweringtheresearchquestion.thisexploratorycasestudyisconcerned withlookingathowindividualsworkandthetangibleapproachestheyuse,asgiveninthepractice category,ratherthandifferentstylesorwaysofthinkinggivenineitherthecognitiveormindset categories(hassi&laakso,2011). Moreover,asstatedinthebelowliteraturesectionforLSDandScrum,thesetwoapproachesto softwaredevelopmentfocusmoreonthetangiblewaysofworking,activities,anduseofspecific artifacts.asaresult,usingtheelementsgiveninthebelowsectionforthedtpracticecategorywasa comparablelevelofanalysis Practices DTpracticescanbedescribedas tangibleapproaches,waysofworking,activities,andtheuseof specifictools (Hassi&Laakso,2011,p.55).Therearefivemainelementsthatareconsideredby HassiandLaakso(2011)tobeDTpractices:humancenteredapproach,thinkingbydoing,visualizing, synthesis,andcollaborativeworkstyle.thesearefurtherelaboratedonbelow. 8

15 1.HumanCentered Thehumancenteredapproachputspeoplefirstbydevelopingempathyforandunderstandingofthe customerand/orusers.observationandethnographyarethekeymethodsusedindevelopingthe emphaticunderstanding.dtisoftenreferredtoascustomer,userorhumancentricdesignasthisis oneofthemostprominentissueshighlightedindtliterature(hassi&laakso,2011). 2.Thinkingbydoing Thinkingbydoingisatangibleanditerativeapproachthatcreatesknowledgeinapracticalmanner byarapid,systematic,anditerativeprocess.thinkingbydoinginvolvescreatingcontinuous prototypingthathelpsinideation.prototypesareseenasatooltohelpbothdevelopandexplore ideasinsteadofbeingdirectrepresentationsoftheproduct(hassi&laakso,2011). 3.Visualizing VisualizingishowoneexpressesandmakessenseofthingsinDTbyusinganymediaoutsideof wordsandsymbols.visualizingallowsacommonunderstandingofideassothattheycanbe discussedandshared(hassi&laakso,2011). 4.Synthesis Adivergentandconvergentapproachorsometimesreferredtoassynthesisinvolvescomingtoa solutionbybroadeningthescopeandthennarrowingitbyusingselectionandsynthesis.dttypically startsusingadivergentapproachtoallowformultiplealternativesorideastobeconsideredinstead oftakingtheinitiallybestidea.thedivergentapproachisnotlimitedtothebeginningbutcanbe usedthroughoutdt.theconvergentapproachthenallowsforpatternsandrelationshipstobe discovered(hassi&laakso,2011). 5.Collaborativeworkstyle HassiandLaakso(2011)notedthatvirtuallyallDTauthorsplaceanemphasishavingacollaborative workstyleindt.acollaborativeworkstyleinvolveshavingawiderangeofstakeholders.moreover, collaborativethinkingisbythinkingoutsideofyourownheadbyinteractingwithothers(hassi& Laakso,2011). Asstatedabove,DThasstartedtodiffuseintothemanagementdiscoursefromthedesignworld. ThebasicsofDTincludeempathyandunderstandingtowardtheuserandahumancentered philosophy.theelementsofdtcanbeclassifiedintothreecategories:practices,cognitiveapproach, andmindset(hassi&laakso,2011).thesedtcategoriesalongwiththerelatedelementsare summarizedintable2. 9

16 Table2:DTElementsandCategoriesaccordingtoHassiandLaakso(2011) DTCategory DTElements Practices Humancentered/Empathy Thinkbydoing/Actionbased Visualizing Diverging&Converging Collaboration Cognitiveapproach Holisticviewpoint Integrativethinking Abductivethinking Mindset Futureoriented Explorative Experimental Summary AsexplainedaboveandillustratedinTable2,thispaper sfocusisonthedtelementsinthepractices categoryassummarizedintheextensiveliteraturereviewconductedbyhassiandlaakso(2011). ThisviewpointwillallowthestudytohavethetangiblewaysthatPOsandSMsworkasthelevelof analysisandtolookattheirperceptionofdtfromapracticeperspective,ratherthanmakea comparisonoftheassociateddtprocessesormethods. 2.2 LeanThinking LeanThinkinghasitsoriginintheautomotiveproductionindustryinJapan.ThetermLeanwasfirst usedinconnectionwithproductionmanagementpracticedattoyotaandhascontinuedtoevolve forseveraldecades(hines,holwe,&rich,2004;poppendieck&cusumano,2012;stone,2012).the morespecifictermleanproductionoriginallydescribedmanufacturingtechniques(stone,2012)and wasthenexpandedtodescribe anyefficientmanagementpracticethatminimizedwaste,including inproductdevelopment (Poppendieck&Cusumano,2012,p.26). Onthemostbasiclevel,LeanThinkingdistinguishesbetweenwasteandvalueinanorganization s operations.asdefinedbywomackandjones(1996)instone(2012,p.114),wasteis anyhuman activitywhichabsorbsresourcesbutcreatesnovalue andvaluedenotes acapabilityprovidedtoa customerattherighttimeatanappropriateprice,asdefinedineachcasebythecustomer. Moreover,themostbasicpremiseofLeanThinkingistoactivelyidentifyandeliminatewastefrom thefirm sprocesseswiththegoalofonlyretainingactivitiesthataddvalue(stone,2012).allinall, fivebasicprinciplesofleanthinkingwereproposedbywomackandjones(1996)andarelistedby HaqueandJamesMoore(2004,p.3)as: Specifyvalue:definevaluepreciselyfromtheperspectiveoftheendcustomerintermsofa specificproductwithspecificcapabilitiesofferedataspecificpriceandtime. Identifythevaluestreamandeliminatewaste:identifytheentirevaluestreamforeach productorproductfamilyandeliminatewaste. Makethevalueflow:maketheremainingvaluecreatingstepsflow. Letthecustomerpullthe(value)process:designandprovidewhatthecustomerwantsonly whenthecustomerwantsit. 10

17 Pursueperfection:striveforperfectionbycontinuallyremovingsuccessivelayersofwasteas theyareuncovered. PoppendieckandCusumano(2012)elaboratefurtherthatLeanThinkingemphasizesforemostthe decreaseinwasterelatedtoresourcesintermsoftimeandstaffandatthesametimepromotesthe creationofvalueforthecustomerandthecompanythroughproducts.additionalbenefitsoflean Thinkingarethoseassociatedwitha moreflexible,iterative,lightweightdevelopmentprocess (p. 27).Furthermore,valueisalsoincreasedbyaddingfeaturesorservicesthatarevaluedbycustomers butdonotcontributetotheinternalwaste,e.g.shorteneddeliverytimes(hinesetal.,2004). 2.3 Agile SimilartoLeanThinking,Agilealsohasitsoriginsinthemanufacturingindustry(Poppendieck& Cusumano,2012)andbasicallydescribesaproducer sabilitytobeflexibleinordertobesuccessfulin anenvironmentofcontinuouschange(devoretal.,1997).thisneedfortheabilitytorespondto changeswasidentifiedforandappliedtoasoftwaredevelopmentsettingwhenseventeensoftware expertsdraftedtheagilesoftwaredevelopmentmanifesto(highsmith,2001),whichwasfounded upontwelveunderlyingprinciples AgileSoftwareDevelopmentPrinciples Theagilesoftwaredevelopmentmanifestowasbuiltonthefollowingtwelveprinciples(Becketal., 2001): Ourhighestpriorityistosatisfythecustomerthroughearlyandcontinuousdeliveryof valuablesoftware. Welcomechangingrequirements,evenlateindevelopment.Agileprocessesharnesschange forthecustomer'scompetitiveadvantage. Deliverworkingsoftwarefrequently,fromacoupleofweekstoacoupleofmonths,with apreferencetotheshortertimescale. Businesspeopleanddevelopersmustworktogetherdailythroughouttheproject. Buildprojectsaroundmotivatedindividuals.Givethemtheenvironmentandsupportthey need,andtrustthemtogetthejobdone. Themostefficientandeffectivemethodofconveyinginformationtoandwithina developmentteamisfacetofaceconversation. Workingsoftwareistheprimarymeasureofprogress. Agileprocessespromotesustainabledevelopment.Thesponsors,developers,andusers shouldbeabletomaintainaconstantpaceindefinitely. Continuousattentiontotechnicalexcellenceandgooddesignenhancesagility. Simplicitytheartofmaximizingtheamountofworknotdoneisessential. Thebestarchitectures,requirements,anddesignsemergefromselforganizingteams. Atregularintervals,theteamreflectsonhowtobecomemoreeffective,thentunesand adjustsitsbehavioraccordingly AgileSoftwareDevelopmentMethods Withintheoverallagilesoftwaredevelopmentapproach,severalspecificmethodssuchasScrumand ExtremeProgramminghaveemergedwiththegoalofmakingthesoftwaredevelopmentprocess moreresponsiveandflexible(wölblingetal.,2012).inthefollowingsection,scrumisfurther 11

18 elaboratedonbecauseitisoneofthemostusedagilemethodologiesinsoftwaredevelopment(del Nuevo,Piattini,&Pino,2011)andhasmanagerialaspectsattachedtoit(e.g.Pries&Quigley,2011). TheScrummethodisutilizedbySoftwareCointheirdevelopmentactivities. Scrum Scrumisdefinedbyitscreatorsas aprocessframework...usedtomanagecomplexproduct development (Schwaber&Sutherland,2011,p.3),andhasalsobeendescribedasamethodto manageprojectsthatisfocusedonimmediateobjectivesanddeliverablesofinvolvedpeople(pries& Quigley,2011).Assuch,itisnotaprocessortechniqueforbuildingproductsbutrathera managementframeworktodevelopandsustaincomplexproductssuchassoftwarebyemployingan iterativeandincrementalapproach(schwaber&sutherland,2011).scrumisalsonotacomplete methodologysinceitdoesnotincludespecificpractices.instead,itaimstooptimizetheprocessof softwaredevelopmentwithintheoverallvaluestream(poppendieck&cusumano,2012).thescrum processframeworkencompassesvariousevents,rolesofmembersinscrumteams,andartifacts. Scrumeventsaresprints,springplanningmeetings,dailyscrums,sprintreviewsandsprint retrospectives.theprimaryeventsarethesprints,whichareblocksoftimelastingfourweeksor less,inwhichprogrammingtakesplaceandaimtoresultinworkingsoftwarereleaseswhichcanbe inspectedandtestedbyendusers(maylor,2010;schwaber&sutherland,2011).thesereleasesare typicallypresentedatsprintreviewsthatfolloweachsprintandallowfrequentcustomerfeedback onfunctionality,whichinturninfluencessubsequentpriorities(rising&janoff,2000). AScrumteamistypicallycrossfunctionalandcomprisedofthedevelopmentteam,thePO,andthe SM.Thedevelopmentteamisselforganizingwithmemberspossessingthenecessaryskillstodeliver thefinalproduct.recommendedteamsizerangesbetweenthreeandninemembers,notcounting thepoandsm(schwaber&sutherland,2011). ThePOisresponsibleandaccountablefordecidingwhatneedstobedone,i.e.managingtheproduct backlog.byperforminghis/herduties,thepo smainundertakingistomaximizethevalueofboth theproductandthedevelopmentteam(poppendieck&cusumano,2012;schwaber&sutherland, 2011).Assuch,inalargerorganizationalcontext,thePOcanbeseenasthelinkbetweenthe developmentorganization,thewiderorganization,andexternalentities.thesm sroleistomakethe processrunassmoothlyaspossibleandcontinuouslyimproveitalongthewayby,forexample leadingmeetingsandtrackingprogress.(rising&janoff,2000).specifically,thesmprovideshis/her servicestothepo,thedevelopmentteamandtheorganizationatlarge(schwaber&sutherland, 2011). Scrumartifactsservetomakethedevelopmentprocessmoretransparent,makekeyinformation visibleandthusallowinspectionandadaptation.thethreetypesofartifactsareproductbacklog, sprintbacklogandincrements.anartifactofkeyimportanceistheproductbacklogwhichisdefined as anorderedlistofeverythingthatmightbeneededintheproductandisthesinglesourceof requirementsforanychangestobemadetotheproduct (Schwaber&Sutherland,2011,p.12).The productbacklogiscontinuouslyevolvingandassuchisnevercomplete.itisthesoleresponsibilityof thepotomanagetheproductbacklog,prioritizeitemsinitandensuretheyareaddressedbythe team(schwaber&sutherland,2011). 12

19 2.3.3 SummaryofLeanThinkingandAgile Asstatedabove,bothLeanThinkingandAgilehavetheirorigininthemanufacturingindustriesand havesubsequentlymadetheirwayintodifferentsettingswhichincludethesoftwaredevelopment industry.themainpremiseofleanthinkingistomakethevaluestreammoreefficientby eliminatinganyprocessesthatdonotaddvalue.themainideabehindagileisforanorganizationto bemoreresponsiveincontinuouslychangingenvironments. Simplyput,bothLeanThinkingandAgileputthecustomersandtheirsatisfactionfirstbuttheydoso indifferentmanners.whileleanthinkingemphasizesefficiencyandplanning,agilebuildsupon customizationresultingfromclosecustomercontactandinteraction.butasproveninpractice,itis possibletooptimizeagileoperationsbasedonleanthinking,especiallyinthesoftwaredevelopment industrywherethiscombinationhasbeenpracticedsincetheearly2000s.byoperatinginshortand iterativecyclesthatproduceworkingsoftware,userscanbeinvolvedfrequentlytoenable identificationofcustomervalueandrespondtoupdatedrequests(wölblingetal.,2012). 2.4 LeanSoftwareDevelopment Intheearly2000s,LeanThinkingstartedtodiffuseintoareasoutsideofthemanufacturingindustry suchaslogistics,military,constructionandservices.asaresult,thisdeliveredproofthatinpractice LeanThinkingisapplicableacrossvariousfields(Hinesetal.,2004;Poppendieck,2002).Although LeanThinkingoriginallyrelatedtopracticesparticulartotheautomotivemanufacturingindustry,it couldbetransferredintoothersettingsbyviewingitasasetofprinciplesorconceptsratherthan specificpractices(poppendieck&cusumano,2012).basedonthisview,leanthinkingenteredthe softwaredevelopmentviaagilepractices(hildenbrand&meyer,2012),becausetherearemany similaritiesandanalogiesbetweentheirrespectiveelements(poppendieck&cusumano,2012). ByintegratingAgileandLeanThinking,sevenprinciplesforLSDwereproposedin2003andhave sincebecomepopularinthesoftwareindustry(poppendieck&cusumano,2012).theseven principlesforlsdare(poppendieck&cusumano,2012;poppendieck.lcc,2010): 1. Optimizethewhole:LSDshouldbefoundedonadeepunderstandingofajobthatcustomers wouldlikedoneandhowthisjobmightbemediatedbysoftware. 2. Eliminatewaste:wasteisanythingthatdoesn teitheraddcustomervaluedirectlyoradd knowledgeabouthowtodeliverthatvaluemoreeffectively. 3. Buildqualityin:continuouslyintegratesmallunitsofsoftwareintolargersystemstoavoid findingdefectsinthefinalverification. 4. Learnconstantly:developmentisallaboutcreatingknowledgeandembeddingthat knowledgeinaproduct;delayirreversibledecisionstothelastresponsiblemoment,based onbestavailableknowledge. 5. Deliverfast:thinkofsoftwareasaflowsystemwheresoftwareisdesigned,developed,and deliveredinasteadyflowofsmallchangesbasedondeepunderstandingofwhat stakeholders value. 6. Engageeveryone:empoweringpeople,encouragingteamwork,andmovingdecisionmaking tothelowestpossiblelevelbycomposingmultidisciplinaryteamsencompassingthe completevaluestream. 7. Keepgettingbetter:failureisalearningopportunityandshouldbeusedtochallengeand improveexistingstandardsbasedonthescientificmethod. 13

20 ThesesevenprinciplesforLSDdonotoffermuchinthesenseofparticularrolesandresponsibilities ofindividuals.instead,theyfocusonhowtooperateinanorganizationalsettingofsoftware development,whiletheagilemethodofscrumgivesclearlydefinedrolesincludingthepoandsm. Tosummarize,LSDfocusisonpractices,orhowtooperateinanorganizationalsettingforsoftware development,againthismakesthepracticecategoryfordttheappropriatecategoryfor comparison. 2.5 SynthesisofDesignThinking,LeanSoftwareDevelopment,andScrum AvisualrepresentationoftheabovedescriptionsforthedevelopmentofLeanThinkingandAgile intothesoftwaredevelopmentindustryisshowninfigure2.thecontextstudiedinthisthesis projectisconcernedwithdtbeingintegratedwithlsdandscrum. TounderstandtheintegrationofLSD,Scrum,andDT,thefiveDTpracticeelementsasgivenbyHassi andlaakso(2011)arecomparedbelowwiththesevenlsdprinciplesandthescrumpracticeof writingbacklogsandengagingcustomers.thecomparisonisdonetoidentifyanysynergiesand discrepanciesbetweenthose. ManufacturingIndustry DesignIndustry LeanThinking Agile AgileSoftwareDevelopment LeanSoftwareDevelopment Scrum DesignThinking Figure2:Contextofstudy(shadedareainvestigated atsoftwareco) DThasaclearhumanfocuswhichispracticedbydeeplyempathizingwiththeuserofthefinal product.onthesurfacethisalignswellwithlsdandscrum.thefirstprincipleoflsd,optimizingthe whole,requiresathoroughunderstandingofwhatjobthecustomeristryingtoaccomplish.as stated,scrumisanagilemethodandisthereforebuildonthepremiseofbeingflexibleand responsive.thisrequiresagoodknowledgeofwhatthecustomervalues,whichistobegained throughfrequenttestingofworkingsoftwarereleasesbyendusers.however,adiscrepancyexistsin thatdtfocusesonempathytofindlatentneedswhilelsd sandscrum sfocusisonthecustomer satisfaction.aseconddiscrepancyisthatwhentakenatfacevalue,itseemsthatlsdandscrumare focusedonthecustomerratherthantheenduser.whilstnospecificmentionofendusersis apparentinlsd,scrumdoesmentiontheenduserfortestingofsoftwarereleases,butonlyforthe purposeofgainingcustomerfeedback,judgingcustomersatisfactionandadjustprioritiesfor subsequentdevelopmentwhicharearguablyverydifferentnotionsthanempathizingwithhumans usingaproductorservice.nevertheless,owingtoalackofcleardefinitionofthetermcustomer,end usersmaybeincludedinit.however,thecustomeranduserarerarelythesameintheenterprise softwaredevelopmentindustryandthecustomermaybeunawareofwhattheactualuserdoes value.therefore,apotentialmisalignmentexistsinthatdtplacesemphasisonfindinglatentneeds 14

21 ofendusers,whilelsdandscrumarefocusedoncustomersatisfactionanddonotexplicitly mentionenduserempathy. CollaborationinDTreferstoworkinginmultidisciplinaryteamstoachievethedesiredoutcome.This practicematcheswellwithscrumwhichcallsforselforganizingteamscomposedofmembersthat bringallnecessaryskillstotheproject,andvalueisputonindividualsandinteractions.thelsd principleofengagingeveryoneintheentirevaluestreamtodelivertheproductisalsoquiteeasily equatedwiththemeaningofcollaborationindt,butcouldbeinterpretedashavingawiderscope. TheDTpracticeelementofvisualizingfacilitateseasiercommunication,forexamplethrough storyboards.onthecontrary,scrumcallsforproductbacklogsaswrittenlistsofallrequirementsand specificationsfortheproductbeingdeveloped.ifdtprecedestheactualsoftwaredevelopment phaseaccordingtothescrumframework,thegeneratedstoryboardscouldbeconsidereda precursororfoundationfortheproductbacklogs.eventhoughthebacklogmaybuildon,orevolve fromastoryboard,theprocessofgeneratingeachisquitedifferent.noneofthelsdprinciplesisin agreementorindiscrepancywithvisualizingindt. DTisanactionbasedapproach,includingtherapidcreationofprototypesthroughouttheprocess. Twoofthegoalsofprototypingaretolearnandfailquicklyandcheaply.Thesetwoareinperfect alignmentwiththelsdprinciplesofdeliveringfast,learningconstantly,andcontinuouslygetting betterbyconsideringfailureasalearningopportunity.althoughitcouldbearguedthatfailureis wasteandassuchopposesthesecondprincipleoflsd,itreasonsthatearlyandcheapfailureisstill lesswastefulthanlaterfailureswhicharemorecostly.thescrummethodologyaimsatproducing workingsoftwarereleases,whichrequirestheactionofprogramming.thus,ifworkingsoftwareis analogoustoprototypes,thenscrumisalsoanactionbasedapproachandthispracticealignswell withdt. PerhapsthebiggestconflictexistsbetweenDTandLSDwhentheDTpracticeofconvergingand divergingisconsidered.itismostapparentduringtheideationmodeofdt,wheretheprimary objectiveistocreatelargeamountsofideas.alargeamountofideasimpliesbynecessitythatsome, ifnotmost,ofthoseideaswillbediscarded.whenthinkinginleanterms,discardinganythingisa wasteandthustheideationmodeindtviolatestheunderlyingfundamentalpremiseoflsd eliminatingwaste.moreover,itcanbequestionedtowhatextenttheiterativedtpracticeof converginganddivergingultimatelyaddsvaluetoanystakeholders.converginganddivergingmay occurtosomeextentduringtheexecutioninscrummode;however,hereanychangesusually originatefromexternalsources,i.e.thecustomers,whileindttheinternalteamitselfisrequiredto convergeanddivergeontheirownaccordandbasedontheirownresearch.thecomparisonofdt, LSD,andScrumdiscussedabovearesummarizedinTable3forclarity. Table3:SummaryofDT,LSD,andScrum DT Agile LSD Scrum Differences Enduserempathy Customersatisfaction Visualizing N/A Writingrequirementsinbacklogs Synthesis Wasteelimination N/A Similarities Actionbased Collaboration 15

22 HildenbrandandMeyer(2012)haveinvestigatedthecombinationofDTwithLSDonScrumteams andhavefoundanumberofcommonalitiesinfundamentalvalues.asoutlinedabove,theseinclude thecollaborationofmultidisciplinaryteams,valueforboththebusinessandcustomers,andtheir iterativenature.further,theauthorsarguethatdtandlsdaddress differentchallengesand aspectsinadevelopmentprojectlifecycle (Hildenbrand&Meyer,2012,p.219).Quitecorrectlythey pointoutthatlsdisconcernedwithexecutionaspectssuchasdeliveringhighqualityinatimely fashion.dtontheotherhandisfocusedonwhattoexecuteordeliver,i.e.ensuringthattheproduct isindeedofvaluetothecustomer. Anextlogicalsteptobuilduponthestudyistocriticallyassessandinvestigateanychallengesthat arisefromthecombinationofdtandlsdonscrumteams,particularlytotheindividuals,posand SMs,whichareinchargeofrunningtheseScrumteams.Basedontheirexperienceincarryingout theseroles,theyhaveattainedcertainpracticesandwaysofworking.withtheintroductionofdtin additiontolsdonscrumteams,theseindividualsarepotentiallyfacingchallengesthatoriginate fromthecontradictingrequirementsasoutlinedabove.whiletheelementsmaynotbemutually exclusive,therecouldnonethelessbedifficultiesinadaptingtodtandintegratingitwithlsdon Scrumteams. 2.6 TheoreticalFramework Followingtheinvestigationandanalysisoftheliterature,thetheoreticalframeworkpresentedin Figure3belowhasbeendeveloped.Thefocusoftheframeworklieswithindividualsratherthanthe processesorapproaches.theindividualsofconcernarethosethattakeontherolesofsmandpo accordingtothescrumprocessframework.inthepreviouslsdonlyapproach,theyarereferredto aslsdmanager.withtheadditionofdttodevelopmentprojects,theyshouldalsoadoptthe elementsincludedinthedtmanagerrole.thefocusofthisthesiswasplacedontheidentified misalignments;therefore,theoverlappingelementsofactionbasedandcollaborationwerenot specificallyaddressedduringthedatacollection. DTMANAGER LSDMANAGER Enduser empathy Visualizing Synthesis Actionbased Collaboration Customer satisfaction Writingbacklogs Waste elimination Figure3:Theoreticalframework Basedontheabovetheoreticalframework,thefollowingstudyinvestigatestheadditionofDTtothe existinglsdapproachonscrumteamsatsoftwarecofromtheperspectiveofposandsms.the 16

23 investigationisconcernedwithhowtheseindividualsperceivetheadditionofdtanditseffecton theirwayofworking.studiedindetailarethetheoreticalmisalignmentsbetweenthefollowingdt practiceelementsandlsdprinciplesandscrumpractices:(1)enduserempathyvs.customer Satisfaction(2)Visualizingvs.WritingBacklogs(3)Synthesisvs.EliminatingWaste 3 Methodology Thischapteraimstoexplainthedesignandmethodsusedtoanswertheresearchquestion. Moreover,thepurposeofthemethodandsamplingstructurewillbediscussed.Also,adescriptionis providedonhowdatawascollectedandthevalidityandreliabilityofthegatheredinformationis discussed. 3.1 ResearchApproach Thefirststepinresearchistypicallytodecidebetweentwotypesofreasoning,deductiveand inductive,thatarethenusedtogainabetterunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweentheoryand research(bryman&bell,2011;saunders,lewis,&thornhill,2007).deductivereasoningstartswitha verybroadspectrumofinformationandconvergestoaspecificconclusion.wilsondefinesdeductive reasoningas developingahypothesis(orhypotheses)basedonexistingtheory,andthendesigninga researchstrategytotestthehypothesis (Wilson,2010,p.7).Inductivereasoning,ontheotherhand, istheoppositeofdeductivereasoninginthatthetheoryisgeneratedoutoftheresearch(bryman& Bell,2011).Inductiveresearchcanbethoughtofasa bottomup approachtobuildingknowledge; theresearcherisrequiredtouseobservationsanddatatofindpatternsandregularitiestodevelopa tentativehypothesisthatwillleadtogeneralconclusionortheory(babbie,2001). ThisstudyusedinductivereasoningsincethemainfocuswasonDTanditsrelationshipwithLSD principlesandthescrumprocessframework,whichisnotyetwidelycoveredinacademicliterature. Anadvantageofusinginductivereasoninginaresearchstudythatisexploringanewareaisthatitis aniterativeprocessthatallowstheflexibilitytogobackandforthbetweentheresearchandtheory (Bryman&Bell,2011).However,thereisariskthataninductiveresearchapproachmayrequiretime beyondtheplannedscopeofastudyandleadawayfromanarrowandfocusedstudyandresultin generalandbroadresultsthataresuperficial(bryman&bell,2011).theinductiveapproach,in contrasttothedeductiveapproach,hasahighlevelofuncertaintysinceitrequirestheresearcherto generatetheoriesandconclusionsoutofspecificobservationsanddata(saundersetal.,2007). Theserisksweremitigatedbycreatingaschedulethatincludedtimeforiterativeworkand continuousassessmentstoinsurethattheresearchwasnotdeviatingfarfromtheansweringthe researchquestion. 3.2 ResearchStrategy Aresearchstrategyisdescribedasthegeneralorientationoftheconductofbusinessresearchand canbequantitative,qualitativeoramixtureofboth.quantitativeresearchfocusesonquantification andanalysisofdataandismorealignedtodeductivereasoning,whereasqualitativeresearch focusesonwordsinordertogeneratetheoriesandismorealignedtoinductivereasoning(bryman& Bell,2011).Inordertoanswertheresearchquestionforthisstudy,aqualitativestrategywasused becausethepurposeofthestudywastocontributetotheacademicunderstandingofthe combinationoflsdanddtonscrumteamsbasedoninductivereasoning. 17

24 3.2.1 QualitativeResearch Qualitativeresearchis,forthemostpart,inductivewiththeaimofgeneratingtheoryormeanings fromdatacollectedinthefield(creswell,hanson,plano,&morales,2007).dtisarelativelynew areaofstudyandthisresearchstudyisfocusedonunderstandinghowsmsandposadapttodtina specificdepartmentataspecificcompanyataspecificpointintime.qualitativeresearch,as opposedtoquantitativeresearch,ismorealignedtothisfocussinceittakesamoreinterpretiveand naturalisticapproach(denzin&lincoln,2005).thismakesqualitativeresearchasuitablestrategyfor thisstudysincethereislimitedamountoftheorytobuildahypothesisthatcouldbequantitatively tested. Qualitativeresearchpresentssomerisks,suchasmisunderstandings.Itiscriticalinqualitative researchthattheinterviewersensuretheyhavetheinterviewees responseinsteadofdependingon theirownassumption(britten,jones,murphy,&stacy,1995).thiswasaddressedbyhavingtwo researcherswithvariedbackgroundlistentotheinterviews,followedbyadiscussion,and transcriptionthatwasreviewedbybothresearchers. 3.3 ResearchDesign:ExploratoryCaseStudy Theresearchdesignselectedforthisinvestigationwasanexploratorycasestudy.Acasestudy researchdesignallowsdetailedanalysisofasinglecase.ingeneral,acasecanrefertoeitherofa singleorganization,location,person,orevent(bryman&bell,2011).importantly,acasestudy shouldbeconductedwithinitsreallifecontext(yin,2003).asuccinctdefinitionofacasestudyis givenbydulandhak(2008,p.4): Acasestudyisastudyinwhich(a)onecase(singlecasestudy)or asmallnumberofcases(comparativecasestudy)intheirreallifecontextareselected,and(b)scores obtainedfromthesecasesareanalyzedinaqualitativemanner.thequalitativemannerhere impliesthatnostatisticalanalysisiscarriedout,butitdoesnotrefertothemethodsofdata collectionormeasurement(dul&hak,2008). Thetypeofbasicdesignforthiscasestudyisasinglecase(asopposedtomultiplecases)witha singleunitofanalysis(insteadofmultipleunits).avalidrationaleforselectingasinglecaseiswhen theresearchershaveaccesstoapreviouslyinaccessiblesituationwhichwasthecasewithsoftware Co;inthisinstancethecaseisrevelatoryandasinglecaseisappropriate(Yin,2003).Further,many businessresearchersadvocateusingcasestudydesignsforexploratoryresearchwherethereisa limitedamountoftheoryavailableandthecontextisimportant(dul&hak,2008). Thisstudywastheoryoriented,whichmeansthattheobjectivewastocontributetotheory development,ratherthantocontributetotheknowledgeofoneormorespecifiedpractitioners. Withintheoryorientedresearch,DulandHak(2008)distinguishbetweenthreetypesofactivities: exploration,theorybuilding,andtheorytesting,whicharetobecarriedoutinsequence.dueto timelimitations,thisstudyfocusedonlyontheinitialactivityofexploration,ofboththeoryand practiceasillustratedinfigure4. 18

25 Inthisthesis,boththetheoryandpracticepertainingtothecombinationandintegrationofDT elementsandlsdprincipleswereexplored.theunitofanalysiswasindividualsactingincertainroles withinthedevelopmentorganizationatsoftwareco.inordertoallowaninitialunderstandingofthe topic,theexploratorycasestudydesignwasselectedbecauseitallowsadetailedinvestigationofthe topicandtoanswertheresearchquestion.sincetheresearchquestionisabouttheperceptionof individualsinrelationtoaspecifictopic,acasestudyisanappropriateresearchdesignasitallowsa thoroughexplorationoftheissue.asinglecasestudyratherthancomparativewaschosendueto havinggainedaccesstoasinglecompany,softwareco,earlyonintheprojectaswellasresource andtimelimitations.moreover,softwarecoprovidedauniquesettingtoinvestigatetheintegration ofdt,lsdandscrum. 3.4 Sampling Inordertoachievethepurposeandaddresstheresearchquestionofthisstudy,apurposive samplingstrategywasemployedwithinthecase.purposivesamplingreferstosamplingthatisnot carriedoutrandomlybutratherwiththeaimtosampleparticipantsthatarerelevanttotheresearch question,andismostcommonlyusedinqualitativeresearch(bryman&bell,2011). Thepopulationforthestudy ssamplewasdefinedasfollows:theunitsinthepopulationhadtobe experiencedincarryingouttheroleofeithersmorpointhedevelopmentorganizationatsoftware Co.Inaddition,theseindividualswererequiredtohavebeeninvolvedinatleastoneprojectwhere DTwasused.ThisminimumcriterionofasingleDTprojectwasnotsettoahighernumberbecause DTwasintroducedatSoftwareCodevelopmentorganizationtwoyearspriortothisstudy.Since mostdevelopmentprojectshavedurationinexcessofoneyear,theavailablepoolofrespondents whohaveworkedonmorethanonedtprojectwouldhavebeentoosmalltoreachameaningful samplesize. Oncethepopulationofthestudywasestablished,snowballsamplingwasconducted.Thisstrategy wasusedfortworeasons.first,theextentoftheentirepopulationwasunknowntotheresearchers, andhencenoaccuratesamplingframecouldbedetermined.second,initialaccesstothecasewas providedbytwoindividuals,whothesubsequentsamplingwascontingenton.thus,thesamplingfor thisstudycommencedwithtwoinitialcontactswithwhichexploratoryinterviewswereheld;oneof thesetwointervieweesprovidedalistofindividualswithinthepopulation.furtheron,interviewees inthepopulationprovidedfurthercontacts. Theory oriented research Explorationof theoryfor finding propositions Explorationof practicefor confirmingrelevance ofproposition Propositionavailable (pathtaken) Explorationof practiceforfinding propositions Propositionnotavailable (pathnottaken) Figure4:Researchdesignflowchart(adaptedfromDulandHak(2008) 19

26 3.5 ResearchMethods Employingaqualitativestrategyimpliesthatthemethodsusedforthisstudyweremainlyofa qualitativenature.theonequalitativeresearchmethodwasthesemistructuredinterview;itis explainedalongwithadescriptionofhowtheywereconductedinthefollowingsubsections SemistructuredInterview Semistructuredinterviewsareawidelyutilizedmethodinqualitativeresearch.Sincetheycover questionsrelatingtospecifictopics,whichareaskedinasimilarmannertoallintervieweesinthe sample,theyprovidereasonablecomparabilityofresponses.atthesametime,theflexibilityofsemi structuredinterviewsalsoallowsfornewaspectstobediscussedastheyemergeinthecourseofan individualinterview.furthermore,emergingaspectscanbecarriedovertosubsequentinterviews. Theemphasisofqualitativeinterviewsingeneralistocapturetheviewoftheintervieweesrelating tothetopic(bryman&bell,2011). Inthecaseofthisthesis,semistructuredinterviewsweregivenpreferenceoverunstructured interviewsbecausetherewasafairlyclearfocus,thusallowingtheresearcherstoaddressmore specificissues.also,semistructuredinterviewsallowfornewthemestoemergethatmaybe consideredimportantbytheinterviewees.thus,thismethodwaschosenratherthanstructured interviewsbecausetheywereconsideredtoorigid.thirteeninterviewswereconductedoverthe phonewithintervieweeslocatedeitherinindiaoringermany,whiletheresearcherswerebasedin Sweden.Anadditionalthreerespondentswereinterviewedinpersonduringtheresearchers visitof thesoftwarecodevelopmentlabsinindia.ofatotalofsixteeninterviews,fourteenwereconducted withbothresearcherspresent,withusuallyoneleadingtheinterviewandtheothertakingnotesand askingadditionalquestionsastheyarose.further,allinterviewswererecordedandtranscribed within24hoursoftheinterview.theroutineemployedforinterviewtranscriptionswasthateach researchertranscribedonehalfoftheinterviewandthencrosscheckedthetranscriptionofthe otherhalfinordertoensurethequalityofthetranscription.inthreecases,oneresearcher transcribedanentireinterviewwhichwassubsequentlycheckedbytheotherresearcher. 3.6 DataCollection Asbrieflymentionedabove,thedatacollectionforthisstudystartedwithtwoexploratoryinterviews withdtexpertsatsoftwareco,oneinindiaandoneingermany.theseexploratoryinterviews servedtwopurposes;onebeingtonarrowthetopicofthestudyandthesecondwastoprovide somecontextualinformationaboutthecaseintermsoftheorganizationanditspractices.thesetwo exploratoryinterviewsweresemistructured,andthesecondonewasfoundedonthefirst.while theseinitialinterviewsmainlyinformedtheresearchersaboutthecontextandbackgroundofthe case,knowledgewasalsogainedthatcontributedtowardsaddressingtheresearchquestion. Therefore,someaspectsoftheexploratoryinterviewsarealsoincludedintheresultspresentedlater oninthisthesis. Followingtheexploratoryinterviews,aseriesofsemistructuredinterviewswasconductedwithPOs andsmsthatmatchedthecriteriaforthestudy spopulation.intotal,fourteenoftheseinterviews wereheldwiththreerespondentslocatedingermanyandtheothereleveninindia.moreover, preliminaryfindingswerepresentedtoanddiscussedwithagroupofdtstakeholdersatthe SoftwareCodevelopmentlabsinIndia.Theoutcomefromthediscussionsservedasatriangulation means. 20