FAVORABILITY CONDITIONS IN THE ADOPTION OF AGILE METHOD PRACTICES FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IN A PUBLIC BANKING

Roses, Luís Kalb; Windmöller, Arno; Carmo, Eliana Almeida do

doi:10.4301/S1807-17752016000300005

Luís Kalb Roses Luís Kalb Roses , PhD in Business Administration at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil) and information technology consultant at Financial Ministry of Brazil (Brasília, Brazil). E-mail: lkroses@gmail.com.

Financial Ministry, Catholic University of Brasília, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil

Arno Windmöller Arno Windmöller , Master in Knowledge and Information Technology Management at Catholic University of Brasília (Brasília, Brazil) and information technology consultant. E-mail: arnowind@yahoo.com.br.

Brasília Catholic University, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil

Eliana Almeida do Carmo Eliana Almeida do Carmo , Master in Agrobusiness at University of Brasília (Brasília, Brazil). E-mail: eliane.adm@gmail.com.

University of Brasília, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil

Luís Kalb Roses , PhD in Business Administration at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil) and information technology consultant at Financial Ministry of Brazil (Brasília, Brazil). E-mail: lkroses@gmail.com.

Arno Windmöller , Master in Knowledge and Information Technology Management at Catholic University of Brasília (Brasília, Brazil) and information technology consultant. E-mail: arnowind@yahoo.com.br.

Eliana Almeida do Carmo , Master in Agrobusiness at University of Brasília (Brasília, Brazil). E-mail: eliane.adm@gmail.com.

Perspectives	Traditional Methodologies	Agile Methodologies
Characteristics of IT Professionals	Knowledge from specialists in different distributed teams. Well-defined and documented processes. Little flexibility for distribution of team activities. Loyalty, obedience and few conflicts.	Different exchange roles (generalists) who work in the same environment. Proximity to clients. Committed to the objective and tolerant towards conflicts and dialectics. Problem solution in the team with a project leader.
Knowledge Management	Documental (explicit). Easy substitution of professionals. Communication with a well-defined process, with formal registration of meetings. Communication plans. Formalization of agreements and contracts.	Implied and motivated exploration of participant knowledge. Importance of maintenance of professionals, considering little documentation. Lateral and verbal communication, with records prior to the meetings.

Perspectives	Traditional Methodologies	Agile Methodologies
Style	Command, control and direction in the running of projects by the manager, interfering in the planning and distribution of work for the teams. Managers participate in the decisions with clients.	Leadership, collaboration and communication. The manager is a facilitator. Decentralization. Support to team leaders aiming at results. Managers act as facilitators. Coordination of work using team components.
Focus	Centered in the process. Approach directed to planning in software development with a standardized process.	Centered on people. Mixed action. Caution with minimum execution processes and support for people executing roles.
Hierarchy	Authority hierarchy. Clear definition of subordination between manager and subordinate. Mechanistic. Bureaucratic with the formalization of repeated functional structures in different projects.	Team network. Consulting without a defined command. Self-organization in the distribution of team member roles. Stimulating collaboration. Organic, flexible and participative. Cooperation activity stimulating social area.

Perspectives	Traditional Methodologies	Agile Methodologies
Project cycle	Planning precedes the beginning of the projects. A waterfall, spiral or mixed life cycle. Rigorous planning and control. Delayed diagnosis and heavy tests. Changes in requirements affect new planning.	Tasks executed by team components according to needs. Progressive, emerging, iterative, informal and quick delivery model. Development and review of artefacts along the course of the project. Continuous control and testing. Client reviews scope of project.
Business context	Many potential clients who focus on one product or a family of products. Development centered on the product through several projects.	Focus on client in a specific project. The project is fundamental. Gradual delivery of functionalities. Prioritization of basics in the project.
Problem solution process	Selection of the best way to achieve a certain purpose using formal well-planned activities.	Learning from experimentation and introspection. Constant reformulation of problem and solution. Stimulus towards general view.
Work process	Standard operational rules and procedures. Clear definition of roles and responsibilities.	Fluidity of work processes. Execution of activities without prior artefacts.
Requirements	Previously specified software built with meticulous and extensive planning. Previous specification and approval of requirements with clients before beginning of projects. Complex and known requirements from market studies and business intelligence.	Software development by small teams. Tolerance towards quick changes. Tests based on feedback. Inseparable conception and development. Continuous tests with evidence artefacts in the homologation. Conception of project coexists with its beginning. Simple and partially known (incremental) requirements.

Question
Q1	I notice that sometimes the BANK's software development projects are not executed according to the BSDM formally defined by the IT area.
Q2	For urgent projects, the knowledge of what and how the software was developed can be documented partially, as the team analysts will be able to maintain it.
Q3	I know BSDM well.
Q4	I think the BANK's software development process, formalized in the BSDM, is very good, well-standardized and I don't see the need to change it.
Q5	When we receive an urgent demand, our managers agree to develop the software without complying with all the BSDM stages and requirements in effect.
Q6	I assess that my work colleagues know BSDM well.
Q7	If necessary, using the instructions from BSDM I feel capable of guiding any IT professional in how to develop software in the BANK.
Q8	In the BANK, for project success, I consider it necessary to have permanent participation of clients during practically all the software development stages.
Q9	I notice that for the urgent project, after the delivery of the new functionality or new software in production, IT documents what was done.
Q10	All our software development projects, even the urgent ones, must be developed following traditional software engineering forms, i.e., one stage after the other.
Q11	I notice that for the demands that our IT receives, the projects are initiated without the client having completely defined the software requirements to be adapted or developed.
Q12	I judge that there are few success cases of software development in the BANK when the BSDM rules are not followed.
Q13	I believe that many of the BANK's software development projects could result in more success if the production delivery were made gradually, in an incremental manner.
Q14	I assess that in the BANK we develop our own software projects with good productivity and we deliver within the necessary deadlines, even the urgent ones.
Q15	I think there is no waste of time at the BANK in the initial stages of the software projects, as the clients always manage to say what they want from IT.
Q16	I notice that there is no difficulty in the effective participation of our main clients in the projects due to work schedule problems or physical distance.
Q17	The business performed by the BANK depends very much on software.
Q18	I notice in the projects where I participate that our clients always accept the work schedules we present to them to address their demands.
Q19	I think the BANK is too big and complex to have software projects being developed in it quickly, in an informal manner and with little systematization.
Q20	Our processes and software are frequently audited and we need to observe and follow many regulations and laws to develop them.
Q21	When necessary, the managers of several IT areas agree with the formation of multidisciplinary teams for the development of software projects to address the new business.
Q22	Our IT promotes frequent training and provides clear guidance on the software development processes that we adopt.
Q23	When necessary, IT clients collaborate, show motivation and are available to participate at any moment in all the software project stages.
Q24	I see our IT professionals as well-disposed and motivated to learn and work with new technologies and new work processes.
Q25	I have no doubt that our IT professionals agree and believe that the documentation of software development is very important.
Q26	I believe that the way services are distributed in the different IT teams at the bank for software development is adequate.
Q27	I believe that developing software is an art and that the IT analyst must have freedom to develop it in the way he believes is most appropriate.
Q28	IT analysts can participate in development projects for any BANK software, without needing to have prior knowledge of processes and businesses that the software must automate and control.
Q29	IT analysts are able to take on responsibilities in the software projects to decide on sequencing of the work and to make decisions with the clients without involving IT managers.
Q30	For the success of projects, I believe it is better for IT teams to be specialized in certain technologies, IT processes, the banking market segment or an internal BANK process.

Function performed in IT	Quantity	Quantity of respondents
Executive Manager	20	5
Division Manager	64	41
Team Manager	164	39
Software Analyst	1.752	155
Totals	2.000	240

Dimensions	Perspectives	Methodological Practices	DF
Dimensions	Perspectives	Methodological Practices	Pract.	Persp.	Dim.	Gen.
Administration	Style	Use of Methodology	7.73	7.75	6,08	4.39
	Style	Methodological Flexibility	7.77	7.75
	Focus	Incentive for Learning	6.01	5.59
		Motivation to Learn	6.36
		Belief in Documentation	4.41
	Hierarchy	Emphasis on Implied Knowledge	4.28	4.89
		Autonomy for Planning	4.56
		Subordination to Rules	5.82
Knowledge	Characteristic of IT Professionals	Guidance for Work	2.41	3.06	2.46
		Professional Rotation	2.88
		Work Control	3.89
	Knowledge Management	Software Documentation	1.04	1.86
	Knowledge Management	Ad Hoc Development	2.68	1.86
Processes	Project Cycle	Methodology Revision	5.34	4.49	4.64
	Project Cycle	Projects with Vagueness	5.93	4.49
	Business Context	Business Automation	3.80	2.71
	Business Context	Participation of Clients in Projects	1.63	2.71
	Problem Solution	Incremental Development	6.50	5.89
	Problem Solution	Compliance with Deadlines	5.27	5.89
	Work Process	Methodological Culture	3.39	4.69
		Team work	5.31
		Promoting Collaboration	5.36
	Requirements	Flexibility to Review the Scope	4.14	5.43
		Rigor in Definition of Requirements	6.22
		Multidisciplinary Teams	5.95

[1] Luís Kalb Roses , PhD in Business Administration at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil) and information technology consultant at Financial Ministry of Brazil (Brasília, Brazil). E-mail: lkroses@gmail.com.

Brasil

Brasil

FAVORABILITY CONDITIONS IN THE ADOPTION OF AGILE METHOD PRACTICES FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IN A PUBLIC BANKING

FAVORABILIDADE NA ADOÇÃO DE PRÁTICAS DE MÉTODOS ÁGEIS NO DESENVOLVIMENTO DE SOFTWARE EM UM BANCO PÚBLICO

ABSTRACT