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Nurdiani, Indira
Publications (10 of 12) Show all publications
Nurdiani, I., Börstler, J., Fricker, S., Petersen, K. & Chatzipetrou, P. (2019). Understanding the order of agile practice introduction: Comparing agile maturity models and practitioners’ experience. Journal of Systems and Software, 156, 1-20
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Understanding the order of agile practice introduction: Comparing agile maturity models and practitioners’ experience
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2019 (English)In: Journal of Systems and Software, ISSN 0164-1212, E-ISSN 1873-1228, Vol. 156, p. 1-20Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Context: Agile maturity models (AMMs) suggest that agile practices are introduced in a certain order. However, whether the order of agile practice introduction as suggested in the AMMs is relevant in industry has not been evaluated in an empirical study. Objectives: In this study, we want to investigate: (1) order of agile practice introduction mentioned in AMMs, (2) order of introducing agile practices in industry, and (3) similarities and differences between (1) and (2). Methods: We conducted a literature survey to identify strategies proposed by the AMMs. We then compared the AMMs’ suggestions to the strategies used by practitioners, which we elicited from a survey and a series of interviews from an earlier study. Results: The literature survey revealed 12 AMMs which provide explicit mappings of agile practices to maturity levels. These mappings showed little agreement on when practices should be introduced. Comparison of the AMMs’ suggestions and the empirical study revealed that the guidance suggested by AMMs are not aligned with industry practice. Conclusion: Currently, AMMs do not provide sufficient information to guide agile adoption in industry. Our results suggest that there might be no universal strategy for agile adoption that works better than others. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Inc., 2019
Keywords
Agile maturity model, Agile practice, Introduction strategies, Mapping, Agile adoptions, Agile practices, Empirical studies, Industry practices, Introduction strategy, Literature survey, Maturity levels, Maturity model, Surveys
National Category
Software Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-18038 (URN)10.1016/j.jss.2019.05.035 (DOI)000483658000001 ()2-s2.0-85066489426 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2019-06-14 Created: 2019-06-14 Last updated: 2021-06-11Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I., Börstler, J., Fricker, S. & Petersen, K. (2019). Usage, Retention, and Abandonment of Agile Practices. e-Informatica Software Engineering Journal, 13(1), 7-35
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Usage, Retention, and Abandonment of Agile Practices
2019 (English)In: e-Informatica Software Engineering Journal, ISSN 1897-7979, E-ISSN 2084-4840, Vol. 13, no 1, p. 7-35Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: A number of Agile maturity models (AMMs) have been proposed to guide software organizations in their adoption of Agile practices. Typically the AMMs suggest that higher maturity levels are reached by gradually adding more practices. However, recent research indicates that certain Agile practices, like test-driven development and continuous integration are being abandoned. Little is known on the rationales for abandoning Agile practices. Aim: We aim to identify which Agile practices are abandoned in industry, as well as the reasons for abandoning them. Method: We conducted a web survey with 51 respondents and interviews with 11 industry practitioners with experience in Agile adoption to investigate why Agile practices are abandoned. Results: Of the 17 Agile practices that were included in the survey, all have been abandoned at some point. Nevertheless, respondents who retained all practices as well as those who abandoned one or more practices, perceived their overall adoption of Agile practices as successful. Conclusion: Going against the suggestions of the AMMs, i.e. abandoning Agile one or more practices, could still lead to successful outcomes. This indicates that introducing Agile practices gradually in a certain sequence, as the AMMs suggest, may not always be suitable in different contexts.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Software Engineering Section of the Committee on Informatics of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Wrocław University of Science and Technology., 2019
Keywords
Agile maturity models (AMMs), Agile practices
National Category
Software Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-16236 (URN)10.5277/e-Inf190101 (DOI)000453279600001 ()
Available from: 2018-05-30 Created: 2018-05-30 Last updated: 2021-06-11Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I., Börstler, J., Fricker, S. & Petersen, K. (2018). A Preliminary Checklist for Capturing Baseline Situations in Studying the Impacts of Agile Practices Introduction. In: IEEE-ACM International Workshop on Conducting Empirical Studies in Industry CESI: . Paper presented at 2018 IEEE/ACM 6TH INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON CONDUCTING EMPIRICAL STUDIES IN INDUSTRY (CESI), Gothenburg (pp. 25-28). IEEE Computer Society
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A Preliminary Checklist for Capturing Baseline Situations in Studying the Impacts of Agile Practices Introduction
2018 (English)In: IEEE-ACM International Workshop on Conducting Empirical Studies in Industry CESI, IEEE Computer Society, 2018, p. 25-28Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

To assess the benefits of introducing Agile practices, it is important to get a clear understanding of the baseline situation, i.e. the situation before their introduction. Without a clear baseline, we cannot properly assess the extent of impacts, both positive and negative, of introducing Agile practices. This paper provides a preliminary guideline to help researchers in capturing and reporting baseline situations. The guideline has been developed through the study of literature and interviews with industry practitioners, and validated by experts in academia.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
IEEE Computer Society, 2018
Series
Proceedings - International Conference on Software Engineering, ISSN 0270-5257
Keywords
Agile practices, checklist, baseline situation
National Category
Software Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-16114 (URN)10.1145/3193965.3193969 (DOI)000468343800005 ()9781450357364 (ISBN)
Conference
2018 IEEE/ACM 6TH INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON CONDUCTING EMPIRICAL STUDIES IN INDUSTRY (CESI), Gothenburg
Available from: 2018-04-24 Created: 2018-04-24 Last updated: 2021-06-11Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I. (2018). Introduction of Agile Practices: Strategies and Impacts. (Doctoral dissertation). Karlskrona: Blekinge Tekniska Högskola
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Introduction of Agile Practices: Strategies and Impacts
2018 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Background: Software development organizations frequently face changes that require them to be flexible. The principles and practices of Agile software are often associated with improving software organizations’ flexibility. However, introducing Agile practices have its benefits and limitations. To amplify benefits and alleviate challenges, Agile adoption guidelines are being proposed to provide strategies for introducing Agile practices. One instance of such guidelines is known as Agile Maturity Models (AMMs). AMMs typically suggest that Agile practices are introduced in certain orders. However, AMMs provide contradictory strategies. Thus it is not known whether one strategy to introduce Agile practices is better than others.

Objective: The objective of this thesis is to gather and examine the evidence on the different strategies of introducing Agile practices, particularly on the order of introduction as suggested in the AMMs. The thesis seeks if one order for introducing Agile practices is better than others.

Method: Combination of empirical studies were used in this thesis. The data collection was done through a survey and semi-structured interviews. This involved analyzing the introduction of Agile practices over time, i.e. the start and/or end of Agile practices. A qualitative method like qualitative coding was used to analyze data obtained from the interviews. Different quantitative methods like inferential statistics and social network analysis were also used. Literature studies were also conducted to provide background and support for the empirical studies.

Results: The examination of the evidence indicates that there is not one strategy to introduce Agile practices that would yield better results than others. The lack of conclusive evidence could be caused by the lack of consideration on reporting the context of empirical studies, particularly on the baseline situation, i.e. situation prior to Agile introduction. A checklist is proposed to capture a baseline contextual information focusing on internal organizational aspects of a software organization: the constellation of team members’ skills and experience, management principles, existing practices and systems characteristics of the software under development. The checklist was validated  by seven experts in academia. The experts who participated in the validation perceived the checklist to be useful and relevant to research.

Conclusion:  The studies presented in this thesis can be a useful input for researchers who are conducting an empirical study in Agile software development. The checklist proposed in this thesis could be used to help researchers to improve their research design when evaluating the extent of improvements from introducing Agile practices. If researchers use the checklist, consistency across empirical studies can be improved. Consistency in reporting empirical studies is desired for comparing and aggregating evidence. In turn, this will help practitioners to make a fair assessment whether research results are relevant to their contexts and to what extent the results are helpful for them.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Karlskrona: Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, 2018
Series
Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral Dissertation Series, ISSN 1653-2090 ; 6
National Category
Computer Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-15966 (URN)978-91-7295-352-9 (ISBN)
Public defence
2018-06-05, J1650, Campus Gräsvik, Karlskrona, 09:30 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2018-03-20 Created: 2018-03-20 Last updated: 2018-05-30Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I., Börstler, J. & Fricker, S. (2018). Literature Review of Flexibility Attributes: A Flexibility Framework for Software Developing Organization. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, 30(9), Article ID e1937.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Literature Review of Flexibility Attributes: A Flexibility Framework for Software Developing Organization
2018 (English)In: Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, ISSN 2047-7473, E-ISSN 2047-7481, Vol. 30, no 9, article id e1937Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Software developing organizations strive to achieve flexibility to maintain a competitive advantage. There is no common understanding of what characterize flexibility for a software organization beyond the scope of the software product. Without a common understanding, it is difficult to evaluate the degrees of flexibility of software development approaches. The aim of this literature review is to collect attributes that characterize flexibility. The collected attributes are consolidated into a flexibility framework with 3 main attributes: properties of change, flexibility perspectives, and flexibility enablers. The resulting flexibility framework is then used to evaluate Agile and Lean practices. The evaluation shows that Agile and Lean practices address many flexibility attributes. However, some attributes are not addressed, such as infrastructure flexibility and strategic flexibility. On the basis of our evaluation, the classifications of flexibility attributes that we present in this paper could be used to aid software organization flexibility evaluation.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2018
Keywords
Agile; flexibility; Lean; literature review; software development
National Category
Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-15963 (URN)10.1002/smr.1937 (DOI)000444678900001 ()
Available from: 2018-03-20 Created: 2018-03-20 Last updated: 2018-10-04Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I. (2016). Managing requirements interdependencies in agile software development: A preliminary result. CEUR Workshop Proceedings, 1564
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Managing requirements interdependencies in agile software development: A preliminary result
2016 (English)In: CEUR Workshop Proceedings, ISSN 1613-0073, E-ISSN 1613-0073, Vol. 1564Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Currently managing requirement interdependencies using Agile practices is relatively unexplored. This study explores the state of practice of managing requirements interdependencies in Agile software development through a survey. A total of 52 complete responses were obtained, with 50% of the respondents suggesting that they consider requirements interdependencies. The preliminary result indicates that requirements interdependencies become a greater concern as the project and product complexity increases.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
CEUR-WS, 2016
Keywords
Computer software selection and evaluation; Requirements engineering; Software engineering; Surveying; Surveys, Agile methods; Agile practices; Agile software development; Complete response; Managing requirements; Product complexity; Requirements interdependencies; State of practice, Software design
National Category
Software Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-13213 (URN)2-s2.0-84964645551 (Scopus ID)
Note

Conference of REFSQ-2016 Workshops, co-located with the 22nd International Conference on Requirements Engineering: Foundation for Software Quality, REFSQ 2016 ; Conference Date: 14 March 2016; Conference Code:119952

Available from: 2016-10-03 Created: 2016-10-03 Last updated: 2018-01-14Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I., Börstler, J. & Fricker, S. A. (2016). The impacts of agile and lean practices on project constraints: A tertiary study. Journal of Systems and Software, 119, 162-183
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The impacts of agile and lean practices on project constraints: A tertiary study
2016 (English)In: Journal of Systems and Software, ISSN 0164-1212, E-ISSN 1873-1228, Vol. 119, p. 162-183Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The growing interest in Agile and Lean software development is reflected in the increasing number of secondary studies on the benefits and limitations of Agile and Lean processes and practices. The aim of this tertiary study is to consolidate empirical evidence regarding Agile and Lean practices and their respective impacts on project constraints as defined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK): scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources, communication, and risk. In this tertiary study, 13 secondary studies were included for detailed analysis. Given the heterogeneity of the data, we were unable to perform a rigorous synthesis. Instead, we mapped the identified Agile and Lean practices, and their impacts on the project constraints described in PMBOK. From 13 secondary studies, we identified 13 Agile and Lean practices. Test-Driven Development (TDD) is studied in ten secondary studies, meanwhile other practices are studied in only one or two secondary studies. This tertiary study provides a consolidated view of the impacts of Agile and Lean practices. The result of this tertiary study indicates that TDD has a positive impact on external quality. However, due to insufficient data or contradictory results, we were unable to make inferences on other Agile and Lean practices. Implications for research and practice are further discussed in the paper. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2016
Keywords
Tertiary study, Agile software development, Lean software development, Project constraints
National Category
Software Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-13050 (URN)10.1016/j.jss.2016.06.043 (DOI)000381232600011 ()
Available from: 2016-09-30 Created: 2016-09-30 Last updated: 2018-05-28Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I., Fricker, S. A. & Börstler, J. (2015). An Analysis of Change Scenarios of an IT Organization for Flexibility Building. In: : . Paper presented at 23rd European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2015), Münster, Germany.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>An Analysis of Change Scenarios of an IT Organization for Flexibility Building
2015 (English)Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Flexibility is important for software organizations to cope with changes demanded in the business environment. So far, flexibility has been extensively studied from a software product and software development process point of view. However, there is little work on how to build flexibility at the level of the whole software organization. Thus, there is no clear understanding of how to effectively improve the ability of an organization to respond to changes in a timely fashion and with little effort. This paper presents the results of a grounded theory study on how flexibility is built and improved in an IT organization and provides a holistic and explanatory view of how this is achieved. Implications for research and practices are also provided.

Keywords
Flexibility, Software Organization, Grounded Theory
National Category
Computer Systems Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-11109 (URN)
Conference
23rd European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2015), Münster, Germany
Available from: 2015-12-01 Created: 2015-12-01 Last updated: 2018-05-28Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I. (2015). Understanding flexibility of a software organization. (Licentiate dissertation). Karlskrona: Blekinge Tekniska Högskola
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Understanding flexibility of a software organization
2015 (English)Licentiate thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Context: Flexibility is an important capability for a software organization. Without flexibility a software organization risks losing its competitive advantage. To build software organization flexibility every constituent of the organization need to be taken into account. Otherwise there are unforeseen trade-offs that could have negative impacts on the rest of the organization. However, currently known flexibility approaches, such as, Agile and Lean methodologies are currently implemented at project level. There is a need for an approach that provides a holistic view to build software organization flexibility.

 

Objective: The aim of this licentiate thesis to understand challenges that a software organization faces with respect to flexibility and how flexibility is built, and explore the potential of Agile and Lean practices to build software organization flexibility. Particularly in understanding the process of building software organization and the associated trade-offs.

Method: A grounded theory study and a tertiary study were performed as part of this licentiate thesis. A grounded theory study was conducted to gain a better understanding pertaining to the challenges and processes in building software organization flexibility. The data was collected from an IT Department that provides services to a Fortune 500 financial institution. A tertiary study was performed to identify empirically evaluated Agile and Lean practices and their respective impacts. The findings from the tertiary study were synthesized using qualitative meta-study method.

 

Results: The findings in this thesis uncovered a number of challenges that a software organization faces with respect to flexibility, they include budget cuts, overhead due to inconsistent development process, and regulatory changes. These challenges then can cause uncertainties that impede the organization’s op-erational efficiency, like delays and inefficient use of resources. To cope with the uncertainty, a software organization would build its flexibility through modi- fications of its organization constituents. Processes and trade-offs associatedi with achieving flexibility were also identified. Furthermore, a consolidated view of the impacts of Agile and Lean practices and their empirical support is also provided.

 

Conclusion: With the challenges that a software organization face, build- ing software organization flexibility is becoming more prevalent. To improve software organization flexibility different constituents of the organization needs to be considered. Otherwise, the trade-offs associated to achieving flexibility cannot be thoroughly considered. Furthermore, Agile and Lean practices can have positive, negative, or no impacts on quality, budget, schedule, etc. The findings of this thesis can help practitioners identify flexibility needs, as well as improve their awareness of possible negative trade-offs when building software organization flexibility.

 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Karlskrona: Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, 2015. p. 122
Series
Blekinge Institute of Technology Licentiate Dissertation Series, ISSN 1650-2140 ; 3
National Category
Computer Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-10705 (URN)978-91-7295-305-5 (ISBN)
Available from: 2015-09-17 Created: 2015-09-17 Last updated: 2015-10-08Bibliographically approved
Nurdiani, I., Fricker, S. & Börstler, J. (2014). Towards Understanding How To Build Strategic Flexibility Of An IT Organization. Paper presented at IASTED - 810: Software Engineering / 811: Parallel and Distributed Computing and Networks / 816: Artificial Intelligence and Applications. Paper presented at IASTED - 810: Software Engineering / 811: Parallel and Distributed Computing and Networks / 816: Artificial Intelligence and Applications. Innsbruck: Acta Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Towards Understanding How To Build Strategic Flexibility Of An IT Organization
2014 (English)Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

IT organizations need to react to changes in the business, the domain (e.g., regulatory issues), and the technological development. While some of these changes can be handled by adopting agile practices, others might have large, irreversible effects on the organization as a whole. While flexibility and agility have found their way into software project methodologies, IT organizations struggle with their adaptation at organizational level. This paper presents preliminary results of a grounded-theory study aimed at understanding how experienced managers handle flexibility. The results are a rich empirical source for improving flexibility of an IT organization at the strategic level and also a good starting point for further research towards generalizing agile ideas beyond software projects.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Innsbruck: Acta Press, 2014
Keywords
IT Organization, Strategic Flexibility, Change, Grounded Theory
National Category
Software Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-6553 (URN)10.2316/P.2014.810-018 (DOI)oai:bth.se:forskinfo1F36C7B38D81E5B4C1257D900039E97B (Local ID)978-0-88986-967-7 (ISBN)oai:bth.se:forskinfo1F36C7B38D81E5B4C1257D900039E97B (Archive number)oai:bth.se:forskinfo1F36C7B38D81E5B4C1257D900039E97B (OAI)
Conference
IASTED - 810: Software Engineering / 811: Parallel and Distributed Computing and Networks / 816: Artificial Intelligence and Applications
Available from: 2014-11-19 Created: 2014-11-14 Last updated: 2018-01-11Bibliographically approved
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