Phase4-The
Prog.PhD STI
Adm. – Grad.2017 – 
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/beatriztorressan/
Dir.; Codir.Stéphane Gagnon

Agile Methods Effectiveness in Digital Transformation: An Empirical Software Engineering Approach

Torres, Beatriz

Agile methods are increasingly essential for the success of software projects. These have also become strategic in the context of large, organization-wide digital transformation initiatives. Such endeavours involve larger projects and programs of multiple projects, where software engineering expertise is combined with more complex management practices, such as project risk analytics, digital strategy development, and digital product innovation. This thesis seeks to analyze the impact of agile methods in the context of digital transformation and assess if they are as effective as they are in regular software engineering contexts. An empirical software engineering approach is adopted, relying on various primary sources to assess the effectiveness of agile methods from the viewpoint of practitioners. A thesis by articles with three empirical papers is proposed for the thesis, each building upon one another in an empirical software engineering approach. In article 1, an ontology is developed from an agile methods literature review, serving for the next article to analyze interview transcriptions. In article 2, a series of interviews are performed with digital transformation leaders, which are then transcribed and analyzed automatically with ontology-driven text analytics tools. In article 3, the findings of article 2 are confirmed using a survey of digital leaders, this time to test a specific set of factors that bear on how the use of agile methods is impacting their career and transformation effectiveness. The results of this thesis should provide a clearer perspective and recommendation for the adoption and adaptation of agile methods in the context of large digital transformation initiatives involving multiple software engineering teams.