Implementing Agile project methods in globally distributed teams

Abstract: The objective of the study was to generate a ‘theory’/ ‘hypothesis’  on the important factors to focus on in implementing agile project methods in globally distributed teams. Using the grounded theory method, five key categories emerged from the so-called theoretical sampling, which entails the joint collection of data, coding and analysis. The study involved 33 individuals in four different companies, three in the Philippines and one in Sweden. The data collected for this thesis consisted of individual interviews in the Philippines and Sweden (Sept-Dec 2014), focus group sessions, observations of formal agile practices and experiences in the substantive area, conducted in the Philippines during the period Sept-Nov 2014.  The following five key categories emerged as the main concerns of the individuals involved in implementing agile project methods in globally distributed teams in software development projects:  (i) Working Communication, (ii)  Self-organizing Teams, (iii) People-centric organization, (iv) Continuous Learning and (v) Sustaining Infrastructure.  The respondents meant that these concerns should be addressed and resolved in such a way that the implementation of Agile project methods would resemble the case of a collocated Agile project team. The key categories, their fundamental characteristics and the subconcepts behind them were presented and analyzed in relation to the empirical data.The analysis included reported incidents and direct citations from the respondents, focus groups and from observations during the field study, in order to shed light on the process used to arrive to the categories, as well as explain the characteristics of the concepts in the emerging ‘grounded hypothesis’.