Modeling the Dynamics of an Agile Scrum Team in the Development of a Single Software Project

Abstract

In software development, Agile Scrum is practiced with the intention of increasing the developers’ productivity, and improving the quality of their output [3]. However, difficulties persist which prevent development teams’ from reaping the full benefit of practicing Agile. From a review of case studies of Agile applications,it was observed that developers’ ceased to practice Agile methods in aspects that related to working in teams. In these aspects, they regressed to waterfall methods, in the sense that developers worked in functional silos with little communication as the project progressed. As an attempt to resolve this, the system dynamics framework was applied in analyzing the Agile case studies. This allowed for an assessment of the progression of the problem over time, as an outcome of feedback loops caused by developers reacting to the outcomes of their previous actions. From doing so, the quietly escalating problem of information being withheld between developers in a single project team was understood to be the primary cause of failure. The study concludes by recommending the importance of open communication between developers, and acknowledging work done beyond the team’s plan.