The value of Scrum to organizations: A case study
Cornelius, Dave A. · ProQuest Demo Repository
The Scrum practitioners’ adoption of the agile practice indicated a promise of a new way forward for software development management and delivery predictability. Despite numerous anecdotal claims of Scrum successes in many parts of the world, a lack of empirical evidence exists. The problem has been to close the knowledge gap of the value of Scrum to organizations, to evaluate the value of Scrum to the organizations, and to identify change management activities necessary for effective adoption of Scrum, as perceived by experienced Scrum participants. The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to achieve greater understanding of the value of Scrum to organizations by examining the lived experiences of 32 study participants. Guided by the systems thinking theory, which holds that balancing and reinforcing feedback loops are central to continuous improvements, this study examined the perceived value of Scrum experienced by the 32 study participants. The respondents came from software companies in 17 industries in which software professionals practiced Scrum and Scaled Agile Framework methods. The two research questions guiding this study were (1) the perceived value of Scrum to organizations and (2) the role of organizational change management in implementing Scrum in the organization. The study findings include (1) Scrum provides a higher level of team empowerment and collaboration and (2) Scrum implemented using a formal organizational change management process, informed the two research questions about the positive contributions to the study participants’ experiences. The results of this study finding will inform existing and future business leaders, Scrum practitioners, and professional development organizations about the value of Scrum to organizations.