Emergence of Agile Methods: Perceptions from Software Practitioners in Malaysia

1

Emergence of Agile Methods: Perceptions from Software

Practitioners in MalaysiaPresenter: Jeeson Daniel J

Authors: Ani Liza Asnawi, Andrew M Gravell, Gary B WillsSchool of Electronics & Computer Science,

University of Southampton UK.

International Conference on Agile and Lean Software Development AgileIndia2012, Bengaluru

2

Agile provides way to develop software and how to define requirements which can satisfy customers

Despite the benefits, little work and studies about the methods can be found from the Southeast Asia region particularly Malaysia.

So, if the methods are to be used, we need to know and understand how Agile methods are perceived and how the methods can be practiced within this region.

Introduction

International Conference on Agile and Lean Software DevelopmentAgileIndia2012, Bengaluru

3

What do practitioners say about awareness of Agile in the country?

What are the first reason(s) making they started to use Agile methods?

What are the challenges they faced when using Agile?

Despite the challenges, what are Agile practices perceived to deliver the greatest benefits to them?

Research Questions


4

Agile is not for everyone – “What works in one culture, will not necessarily work in other culture”

Another study also asked “ What has culture got to do with software development?” so we believe cultural differences will influence the adoption or use of Agile methods in the country

Malaysia is a country having a mixed population with three different ethnicities; Malay, Chinese and Indians. The national language is Malay language and the second language is English.

Background andMotivation ..(1/2)


5

Studies [1] described Malaysia as having problems in defining requirements for software process and discovered companies in Malaysia do not have a clear methodology that illustrates how the requirements can be obtained [2].

Therefore understanding good software process that can help to define requirements easily is needed in Malaysia.

In addition, Malaysia has put focus on the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) involving software development – in the 10th Malaysia plan (2011-2015).

Thus, the need for a good software process that can help the IT industry is important for the success of the 10th Malaysia plan.

Background andMotivation (2/2)


6

This paper provides perception of practitioners in the country, in terms of awareness, Agile introduction, challenges facing, and benefits adopters obtained when using the methodologies.

Provide guidelines for early adopters in Malaysia as few studies about the methods are lacking in the country and nearby region.

Reduce difficulties to early adopters in applying Agile.

The study also will help to add to empirical evidence for software engineering field particularly in terms of Agile methods from different region.

Objectives andExpected Contribution


7

Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted Software development deals with human factors

therefore a qualitative study helps in understanding the respondents’ behaviour.

Participants Purposely chosen 14 interview subjects in total with four of the

participants from the baseline study. Software practitioners: developers, testers,

system analyst, business analyst-having Agile experience.

The Study


8

We use a ‘Thematic Analysis’ to analyse our data.

It is a way to see things and patterns within the information collected

In order to develop themes and codes, the raw information (the data) needs to be reduced. The data were imported to NVivo 8.

From Nvivo, codes are produced from themes which are developed through several stages.

Data Analysis


9

Company

Types Status Duration Using Agile

Company’s Main Activity

A Local Company (small and startup)

Fully Scrum 4 years Rapid Web Application

B Local Only parts of Agile

2 years (started in 2009)

E-commerce

C (I) Multinational Fully Scrum Since June 2010

Technology and Services.

C (II) Multinational Fully Scrum 4-5 years Technology and Services.

D Local company Fully Scrum 2 years Airport product, critical system, r&d, middleware

E Multinational Fully Scrum 1 year Technology and Services

F Multinational company

Fully Scrum 1 year Technology and services

G Local company Fully Scrum Since end of 2010

R and D

Table: Companies’ OverviewInternational Conference on Agile and Lean Software DevelopmentAgileIndia2012, Bengaluru

10

Company Number of Participants

Roles(s)

A 1 Founder + PM + Scrum Master

B 1 System Analyst

C 3 Developer (2), Business Analyst

C (I) 5 Scrum Master (2), Developer, PM, Business Analyst

D 1 PM

E 1 Developer

F 1 PM

G 1 Tester

Participants’ Summary


11

Findings

Awareness of Agile Methods in Malaysiai. Beginning stage & lack of exposure

- Lack awareness mentioned by the companies, including from the customers’ side.

- Company F: “I think however, people are taking baby steps, I think most of the companies using Agile are from multinational

companies” ii. Lacking from Government Side - Interviews showed that government employees are less aware of

Agile methods than the private sector is- Company G: “ If we can go to that agency, and map back whatever they have in Waterfall with Agile, from there, they might see about Agile methods. Basically it is just the awareness.”


12

Findings Agile Introductioni. Agile proponents and experienced from previous methods

- Agile introduction found easy for proponent and believers.- Company A: “Waterfall might work for others, but we don’t want to use it, because we believe Agile work for us, we really believe Agile as a way to go.”

ii. Adopting from parent companies- All multinational companies in the study mentioned that they started to use Agile from their sub-companies – “We are a multinational company, perhaps, because the organisation itself is supporting Agile methods.”

iii. Adopting the benefits- The highest cited reason for using Agile and the drawbacks from the previous methods.

- C (I): “ I believe in Agile because Agile will be much easier....It does not have to be like the Waterfall practices, where at the end, one can only see the progress and everything.


13

Challenges When using the MethodologiesLack of documentation

- The nature of Agile in this aspect is perceived a challenge to the companies in Malaysia especially those that are still at the beginning. More challenging for those deal with government projects.

ii. People- it was found that the mind set of people adopting Agile must be ready to adapt to how Agile methods work.- Company D: “When involved with international practitioners, they know about Agile, however when dealing with a project involving local people, it is a bit more difficult to use Agile.”

iii. Organisational- include co-location, availability of knowledge and management support.

- Company G: “ The top management does not support too much because currently we have certain blockages from management...their mind set can’t be changed...We managed to do Agile, but without support from management, we faced a lot of pain.

Findings


14

Challenges When using the Methodologies

iv. Involvement- As said by company B: they need to undertake extra tasks like preparing materials to the customers.- Developers in company D felt that they are burdened with more task.

v. Knowledge- lack of knowledge about Agile brings challenges especially when adopters are dealing with the customers and also when company dealing with government projects.- Company G: “...here we have deadlines, where the top management just gives us the deadlines...the management do not understand if we say we cant meet the dateline requested.”

Findings


15

Challenges When using the Methodologies

vi. Cultural- C (I) : “ I actually believe about the Malaysian thing. There is something you don't see, the culture, it’s not the method.- Half of the respondents agreed about language aspect when trying to understand the methods.

vii. Resources-lack of this aspect lead them to have

multiple roles when using Agile.- Company D : “I think sometimes we are

resource-hungry, for the resource of people. ...So, at some point we actually hired a lot people to come in for the project itself. That’s why I think the resource part is quite expensive.”

Findings


16

The greatest benefits of Agile practicesi. Involvement from allii. Daily standup meeting

- These two practices contribute each other. The involvement in Agile methods has also delivered advantages to software development as practitioners can have frequent feedback from their customers.

- The meeting provides medium through which to communicate openly, which results in transparency. From here, team members can understand their roles and responsibilities.

Findings


17

Perception Findings Companies No of Companies

A) Awareness i) Beginning stage and Lack of Knowledge

A, B, C (I), C (II), D, F 6/8

ii) Lacking from government side A, C (I), C (II), D, G 6/8

B) Introduction i) Agile proponent and Experienced from previous methods

A, B, C (I), C (II), D, G 6/8

ii) Adopting from Parents Companies C (I), C (II), E, F 4/8

iii) Adopting the benefits A, B, C (I), C (II), D, E, F, G 8/8

C) Challenges i) Lack of documentation A, D 2/8

ii) People A, B, C (II), D 4/8

iii) Organisational F, G 2/8

iv) Involvement B,D 2/8

v) Knowledge A, F, D, G 4/8

vi) Cultural C (I), D 2/8

vii) Resources B, C (I), D 3/8

D) Practices Benefits i) Daily Stand up meeting A, C (I), C (II), D, E, G 6/8

ii) Burn down chart A, C (I), F 3/8

iii) Involvement from all A, B, C (I), C (II), D, F, G 7/8

iv) Iterative and Incremental C (I), D, E, F 4/8

v) Retrospective F 1/8

vi) Sprint C (I), C (II), E 3/8

vii)Continuous Integration C (I), G 2/8

viii) User stories C (II), G 2/8

Table: Perceptions’ Summary

18

Validity: The participants were ensured to have knowledge about the methods and have had experience of using Agile methods.

A qualitative study ‘lies in a particular theme developed in context of a specific sites’ hence particularity rather than generalisability is the hallmark of qualitative research’ [3].

Reliability: In this study, the interpretations of the findings have been checked with othe researcher, making the interpretation consistent and can be trusted.

Validity and Reliability Issues


19

We found that a company only adopting part of Agile is not receiving the full benefits from the methods.

The study indicates a low perception from Agile users towards the methodologies and that there is difficulty of getting everyone in the team to take responsibilities.

The challenges were mostly found from the organisations having hierarchical approach.

The early adoption of Agile is seen from the multinational companies – although this is not unique to Malaysia, as multinational companies are receiving examples from their other branches, making it easy for the acceptance.

In addition, importance of language aspects (Eglish) when trying to understand Agile should be considered.

English language- common language practiced in multinational companies- might be reason multinational companies to easy accepting the methods.

The findings also show that people need to be confident when trying to use Agile methods. This is so as they need to see something working and proven success stories from the Agile users.

Discussion and Conclusion


20

[1] F. Baharom, A. Deraman, and A. Hamdan, "A Survey on the Current Practices of Software Development Process in Malaysia," Journal of ICT, vol. 4, pp. 57-76, 2006.

[2] A. Zainol and S. Mansoor, "Investigation into requirements management practices in the Malaysian software industry," in 2008 International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSSE 2008), Wuhan, China, 2008, pp. 292-295.

[3] J. Creswell, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches: Sage Pubns, 2008.

References


Thank you!Any questions please email to

[email protected]