From Co-location to Remote Work: Remedies for Agile Project Management during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 in the beginning of 2019 has raised many challenges affecting agile team members. One of the major characteristics of Agile Project Management (APM) teams is co-location. Co-location enhances collaboration among team members who are self-organized and self-managed. Due to the pandemic, agile team members were obliged to start working remotely facing many challenges that compromised team productivity and efficiency. This paper proposes remedies that could help agile teams improve their collaboration and overcome the challenges imposed by the pandemic when working remotely. The information is based mainly on insights, suggestions and recommendations from agile management practitioners and subject matter experts.