Presenting data for team-based decision-making in agile information systems projects

Although there are a number of purported benefits of agile systems development methods over traditional forms, many in the Information Systems Development (ISD) community highlight the difficulties that the dynamic, turbulent nature of agile development environments may present. One prominent difference compared to traditional ISD projects is the emphasised presence of the customer in decision-making. Specifically, project management and decision-making can be significantly more challenging than in projects involving traditional development approaches. This paper describes a research-in-progress, that focuses on decision-making in agile projects, and aims to develop a better understanding of how agile teams present dynamic data to decision makers who may act “on the fly”, and in so doing lead to effective, high quality decision-making in agile environments. The goal of the paper with its three case studies is to develop a set of best practices for representing decision-making data in agile ISD projects.

[1]  Herbert Snyder,et al.  Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data , 1996 .

[2]  K. Beck,et al.  Extreme Programming Explained , 2002 .

[3]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Color and Graphical Information Presentation Under Varying Time Constraints , 1986, MIS Q..

[4]  F. H. Barron,et al.  Behavioral Decision Theory: A Topical Bibliography for Management Scientists , 1974 .

[5]  W. Edwards.  Behavioral decision theory. , 1961, Annual review of psychology.

[6]  Feng Wang,et al.  On the effectiveness of decisional guidance , 1996, Decis. Support Syst..

[7]  Andraž Cej,et al.  Agile software development with Scrum , 2010 .

[8]  Ken Schwaber,et al.  Agile Software Development with SCRUM , 2001 .

[9]  K. Seers.  Qualitative data analysis , 2011, Evidence Based Nursing.

[10]  Valerie J. Trifts,et al.  Consumer Decision Making in Online Shopping Environments: The Effects of Interactive Decision Aids , 2000 .

[11]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Processing of graphical information: a decomposition taxonomy to match data extraction tasks and gra , 1990 .

[12]  Cheri Speier,et al.  The Influence of Query Interface Design on Decision-Making Performance , 2003, MIS Q..

[13]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  The Case Research Strategy in Studies of Information Systems , 1987, MIS Q..

[14]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Evaluating the Impact of DSS, Cognitive Effort, and Incentives on Strategy Selection , 1999, Inf. Syst. Res..

[15]  Peter M. Chisnall,et al.  Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement , 1993 .

[16]  John W. Payne,et al.  Task complexity and contingent processing in decision making: An information search and protocol analysis☆ , 1976 .

[17]  Harish C. Bahl,et al.  Decision-making theory and DSS design , 1984, DATB.

[18]  Michele Marchesi,et al.  Extreme Programming and Agile Processes in Software Engineering , 2003, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

[19]  Ken Schwaber.  Agile Project Management , 2005, XP.

[20]  Fred Niederman,et al.  DSS theory: A model of constructs and relationships , 1995, Decis. Support Syst..

[21]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  An Experimental Evaluation of Graphical and Color-Enhanced Information Presentation , 1985 .

[22]  Kent Beck,et al.  Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change (2nd Edition) , 2004 .

[23]  H. Rubin,et al.  Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data , 1995 .

[24]  Larry Stapleton,et al.  Ethical decision making in technology development: a case study of participation in a large-scale information systems development project , 2007, AI & SOCIETY.

[25]  Ron Jeffries,et al.  Extreme Programming and Agile Software Development Methodologies , 2004, Inf. Syst. Manag..

[26]  William A. Wallace,et al.  Intelligent Interface Design: An Empirical Assessment of Knowledge Presentation in Expert Systems , 1990, MIS Q..

[27]  James R. Marsden,et al.  Decision making under time pressure with different information sources and performance-based financial incentives - Part 1 , 2002, Decis. Support Syst..

[28]  Kent L. Beck,et al.  Extreme programming explained - embrace change , 1990 .

[29]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  The effects of decision support and task contingencies on model formulation: A cognitive perspective , 1996, Decis. Support Syst..

[30]  Ben Aveling,et al.  XP Lite Considered Harmful? , 2004, XP.

[31]  Liesbeth Kester,et al.  Just-in-time information presentation and the acquisition of complex cognitive skills , 2001, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[32]  Audrey Gilmore,et al.  “Experiential” research methodology: an integrated academic‐practitioner “team” approach , 2001 .

[33]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  The effect of task demands and graphical format on information processing strategies , 1989 .

[34]  Kate J. Garland,et al.  Solving the Tower of Hanoi: does mode of presentation matter? , 2003, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[35]  Eric J. Johnson,et al.  Adaptive Strategy Selection in Decision Making. , 1988 .

[36]  Meng Hsiang Hsu,et al.  An investigation of effort-accuracy trade-off and the impact of self-efficacy on Web searching behaviors , 2004, Decis. Support Syst..

[37]  B. Glaser.  Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis: Emergence Vs. Forcing , 1992 .

[38]  Philippe Kruchten,et al.  Agile project management , 2021, Project Management, Planning and Control.

[39]  Brian Fitzgerald,et al.  Customising agile methods to software practices at Intel Shannon , 2006, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[40]  A. Cockburn,et al.  Agile Software Development: The People Factor , 2001, Computer.

[41]  A. Strauss,et al.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. , 1992 .

[42]  G M Becker,et al.  Value: behavioral decision theory. , 1967, Annual review of psychology.

[43]  Paul Jen-Hwa Hu,et al.  Evaluation of user interface designs for information retrieval systems: a computer-based experiment , 1999, Decis. Support Syst..

[44]  Ik-Whan G. Kwon,et al.  Attributes Affecting Computer-Aided Decision Making--A Literature Survey. , 1994 .

[45]  Jean Hartley,et al.  Case study research , 2004 .

[46]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .

[47]  John W. Payne,et al.  Contingent decision behavior. , 1982 .

[48]  George Mangalaraj,et al.  Challenges of migrating to agile methodologies , 2005, CACM.

[49]  Cesar Farell,et al.  Towards an Effective Onsite Customer Practice , 2002 .

[50]  A. Adam.  Whatever happened to information systems ethics? Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea , 2004 .

[51]  Edward J. Garrity,et al.  An experimental investigation of web-based information systems success in the context of electronic commerce , 2005, Decis. Support Syst..