This document discusses challenges and solutions for implementing agile practices in distributed teams. It describes advantages and challenges of distributed software development. Two case studies are presented: one where XP and Scrum were combined successfully in a distributed team through tools like OneNote and daily meetings, and another where Scrum was implemented successfully between teams in Denmark and India through relationship building practices. A case of Scrum abandonment is also examined, where a lack of overlapping hours and perceptions of roles led to issues. Research on agile approaches for distributed teams is also briefly mentioned.

1. +
Agile in distributed teams:
challenges and solutions
Rosalba Giuffrida
rogi@itu.dk
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk

2. n Distributed teams: advantages, challenges and approaches
n Agile practices in distributed settings and lessons learned
n A successful case: XP@Scrum
n A successful case: Scrum in Danske Bank
n A case of Scrum abandonment
Agenda
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 2

3. Splitting the development of the same product or service among
globally distributed sites.
Global Software Development
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 3
F. Lanubile, "Collaboration in Distributed Software Development", in Software Engineering, LNCS 5413, 2009.

4. n Advantages
n Lower development costs
n Access to most talented developers
n Proximity to market
n Time to market - Follow-the-sun
n Challenges
n Geographical distance
n Temporal distance
n Socio-cultural distance
Distributed software teams
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 4
Carmel, E.: Global Software Teams. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River (1999)

5. XP combined with Scrum
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht2xcIJrAXo

6. n Approach used: XP@Scrum
n Tools used: OneNote,Team Foundation Server, SkyDrive, Lync
A successful example: dispersed agile
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 6© Helen Sharp
H. Sharp, R. Giuffrida, G. Melnik, Information Flow within a Dispersed Agile Team: A Distributed Cognition Perspective.
In Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming, 62-76.

7. n stand-up meetings every day
n 2-week sprints
n iteration planning meeting, customer demo, retrospective
n user stories
n test-driven development and continuous integration
n Pair programming
XP@Scrum practices used in the team
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 7© Helen Sharp
H. Sharp, R. Giuffrida, G. Melnik, Information Flow within a Dispersed Agile Team: A Distributed Cognition Perspective.
In Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming, 62-76.

8. Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 8
Physical location: co-located agile

9. Physical location: dispersed team
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 9© Helen Sharp
H. Sharp, R. Giuffrida, G. Melnik, Information Flow within a Dispersed Agile Team: A Distributed Cognition Perspective.
In Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming, 62-76.

10. Daily standups and synchronous meetings
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 10© Helen Sharp
H. Sharp, R. Giuffrida, G. Melnik, Information Flow within a Dispersed Agile Team: A Distributed Cognition Perspective.
In Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming, 62-76.
n Synchronous communication was possible
n Overlapping hours + adapting working hours
n audioconference, no video
n Communication mainly informal
n Impromptu conversations
n Collaborating on a daily basis with remote colleagues
n Technology
n Virtual for everyone
n If technology issues, meeting must go on
n Recording of important meetings to share asynchronously

11. n Distribution was not a problem for this team
n Artifacts used were all digital
n Knowledge sharing has to be explicit
n Individual responsibility very high
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 11© Helen Sharp
H. Sharp, R. Giuffrida, G. Melnik, Information Flow within a Dispersed Agile Team: A Distributed Cognition Perspective.
In Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming, 62-76.
Lessons learned

12. A successful case: Scrum in Danske Bank
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 12
Pries-Heje, L., & Pries-Heje, J. (2011).Why Scrum Works: A Case Study from an Agile Distributed Project in Denmark and India (pp. 20–28).
Presented at the AGILE Conference (AGILE), 2011, IEEE. doi:10.1109/AGILE.2011.34

13. n Team members in Denmark
n had common work experience
n not familiar with Scrum
n Team members in India
n very limited knowledge about each other
n no experience working together
n no experience with Scrum
n The Project manager had prior experience managing Scrum projects
n The Indian Scrum Master and the Project Manager knew each other
The initial setup
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 13
Pries-Heje, L., & Pries-Heje, J. (2011).Why Scrum Works: A Case Study from an Agile Distributed Project in Denmark and India (pp. 20–28).
Presented at the AGILE Conference (AGILE), 2011, IEEE. doi:10.1109/AGILE.2011.34

14. n Project kickoff in India
Build social ties within the team
n 1 scrum team in each location with physical scrum board and daily
standups
Maintain social ties within the team
Knowledge-based trust
n Daily Scrum-of-Scrums meeting
Performance trust
n Frequent deliveries
Performance trust
n ‘All Hands’ meeting: all team members were present in a video
conference towards the end of a Sprint.
Social ties across sites
Practice used
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 14
Pries-Heje, L., & Pries-Heje, J. (2011).Why Scrum Works: A Case Study from an Agile Distributed Project in Denmark and India (pp. 20–28).
Presented at the AGILE Conference (AGILE), 2011, IEEE. doi:10.1109/AGILE.2011.34

15. n Build up network of ties and relationships
n Trust can be built in distributed settings
n Synchronous communication
n Experienced project manager
Lessons learned
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 15
Pries-Heje, L., & Pries-Heje, J. (2011).Why Scrum Works: A Case Study from an Agile Distributed Project in Denmark and India (pp. 20–28).
Presented at the AGILE Conference (AGILE), 2011, IEEE. doi:10.1109/AGILE.2011.34

16. Scrum abandonment case
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 16
Ralph, Paul and Shportun, Petr, "Scrum Abandonment in Distributed Teams: A Revelatory Case" (2013). PACIS 2013 Proceedings. Paper 42.

17. The project setup
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 17
n One single Scrum team
n 1 Scrum Master, 1 Product Owner, 3 team members in California,
n 4 developers (1 senior), and 3 testers in St. Petersburg
n Synchronous daily meetings – no standup
n Wall both physical and digital
Ralph, Paul and Shportun, Petr, "Scrum Abandonment in Distributed Teams: A Revelatory Case" (2013). PACIS 2013 Proceedings. Paper 42.

18. Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 18
n No overlapping working hours: inconvenient standup meetings
n Physical wall useful only if it is used
n Scrum Master’s credibility
n Attention to team member’s perceptions of role changes – hierarchical culture
No overlapping hours?
Physical wall?
Lessons learned
Ralph, Paul and Shportun, Petr, "Scrum Abandonment in Distributed Teams: A Revelatory Case" (2013). PACIS 2013 Proceedings. Paper 42.

19. Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 19
No overlapping hours: recording of standups
R. Giuffrida,Y. Dittrich, How social software supports cooperative practices in a globally distributed software project.
In Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE) 2014

20. Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 20
Integrated physical and virtual Wall
Bardram, J. Esbensen, M.Tell, P. Supporting Co-located SCRUM Processes in Global Software Development. Supporting.
Workshop on Local Remote Collaboration, CSCW 2015

21. Research on agile in distributed teams
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 21

22. Research on agile in distributed teams
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk 22
Agility Across Time and Space - Implementing Agile Methods in Global Software Projects Editors: Šmite, Darja, Moe, Nils Brede, Ågerfalk,
Pär J. (Eds.), 2010, Springer

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Agile in distributed teams:
challenges and solutions
Rosalba Giuffrida
rogi@itu.dk
Rosalba Giuffrida - rogi@itu.dk