The Agile method Scrum in development of safety critical applications : A case study about challenges and opportunities for developers and verifiers

Abstract: When it comes to using agile methods in safety critical application development, there is a limited amount of empirical findings. To learn more about how people in this field perceives the use of working with these methods, it is of interest to take part of their experiences and opinions. The purpose of this thesis is to discover advantages, disadvantages and improvement factors of working with the agile method Scrum in combination with safety critical application development. The study was limited to the roles of developers and verifiers working in two anonymized companies in the defence and railway industry. A qualitative approach was used which included a multiple case study where each of the involved company were considered a case. Empirical data was collected through semi structured interviews with the employees from the two companies. The collected data was categorized, coded and analyzed using comparative analysis. The data was coded based on one of the seven areas documentation, organization, communication, education, development, verification and planning. The interviewed developers and verifiers pointed out various advantages, disadvantages and improvement factors within the areas mentioned above. The majority of the opinions among the interviewees varied. However, some common aspects were pointed out. The most frequently mentioned factor to improve for the developers was in the communication area, while the verifiers raised educational aspects as the most common factor to improve. The findings from this study can be used to point out sections that the investigated companies should consider when using the agile method Scrum in combination with safety critical application development. The thesis also provides empirical evidence of how people in the in-spected companies consider difficulties and opportunities in their work.