Coordinating Knowledge Work in Multiteam Programs: Findings From a Large-Scale Agile Development Program

 

Software development projects have undergone remarkable changes with the arrival of agile development approaches. Although intended for small, self-managing teams, these approaches are today used for large development programs. A major challenge of such programs is coordinating many teams. This case study describes the coordination of knowledge work in a large-scale agile development program with 12 teams. The findings highlight coordination modes based on feedback, the use of a number of mechanisms, and how coordination practices change over time. The findings can improve the outcomes of large knowledge-based development programs by tailoring coordination practices to needs over time.

This webinar is based on the article which won the Project Management Institute paper of the year award in 2019: Dingsøyr, T., Moe, N. B., and Seim, E. A., "Coordinating Knowledge Work in Multi-Team Programs: Findings from a Large-Scale Agile Development Program," Project Management Journal, vol. 49, pp. 64-77, 2018. DOI: 10.1177/8756972818798980. The article is available as open access from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/8756972818798980

Software development projects have undergone remarkable changes with the arrival of agile development approaches. Although intended for small, self-managing teams, these approaches are today used for large development programs. A major challenge of such programs is coordinating many teams. This case study describes the coordination of knowledge work in a large-scale agile development program with 12 teams. The findings highlight coordination modes based on feedback, the use of a number of mechanisms, and how coordination practices change over time. The findings can improve the outcomes of large knowledge-based development programs by tailoring coordination practices to needs over time.