Sammendrag
Coordination of teams is critical when managing large programmes that involve multiple teams. In large-scale software
development, work is carried out simultaneously by many developers and development teams. Results are delivered
frequently and iteratively, which requires coordination on different levels, e.g., the programme, project, and team levels.
Prior studies of knowledge work indicate that such work relies heavily on coordination through "personal" modes such
as mutual adjustment between individuals or through scheduled or unscheduled meetings. In agile software
development processes, principles and work structures emerge during the project and are not predetermined. We studied
how coordination through scheduled and unscheduled meetings changes over time in two large software development
programmes relying on agile methods. Our findings include transitions from scheduled to unscheduled meetings and
from unscheduled to scheduled meetings. The transitions have been initiated both bottom-up and top-down in the
programme organizations. The main implication is that programme management needs to be sensitive to the vital
importance of coordination and the coordination needs as they change over time. Further, when starting a program, we
recommend to early identify the important scheduled meetings, as having enough scheduled meetings is important to
develop a common understanding of domain knowledge
development, work is carried out simultaneously by many developers and development teams. Results are delivered
frequently and iteratively, which requires coordination on different levels, e.g., the programme, project, and team levels.
Prior studies of knowledge work indicate that such work relies heavily on coordination through "personal" modes such
as mutual adjustment between individuals or through scheduled or unscheduled meetings. In agile software
development processes, principles and work structures emerge during the project and are not predetermined. We studied
how coordination through scheduled and unscheduled meetings changes over time in two large software development
programmes relying on agile methods. Our findings include transitions from scheduled to unscheduled meetings and
from unscheduled to scheduled meetings. The transitions have been initiated both bottom-up and top-down in the
programme organizations. The main implication is that programme management needs to be sensitive to the vital
importance of coordination and the coordination needs as they change over time. Further, when starting a program, we
recommend to early identify the important scheduled meetings, as having enough scheduled meetings is important to
develop a common understanding of domain knowledge