Challenges in the Transition from Waterfall to Scrum - a Casestudy at Portbase
Sander Bannink · 2014
upcoming trend in software development is the Scrum- framework. Old sequential methods like Waterfall have proven ineffective. Many companies are making the switch from Wa- terfall to Scrum and there are a number of challenges in this transition. In this paper, known challenges are researched based on existing literature and case-study research is performed. Known challenges are identified, previously unknown chal- lenges might surface and advice is given on how to deal with these challenges. These results are relevant to other companies making the transition to Scrum. KeywordsScrum, agile, transition Many companies are making the transition from a Waterfall based development process to the Scrum methodology. In chapter 2 the characteristics of Waterfall and Scrum are ex- plained. The positive and negative aspects of both methodolo- gies are summarized. This gives us an overview of the reasons to adopt Scrum. Chapter 3 gives the problem statement and the relevance of this work. Chapter 4 defines the research approach taken. In chapter 5 literature research is performed to identify already know challenges in the transition from Waterfall to Scrum. Chapter 6 describes the case-study at Portbase, a logis- tics information hub, who has made the transition from Water- fall to Scrum in 2012. The reasons for adopting Scrum, changes in the development process, the effectiveness of Scrum and les- sons learned in the transition will be researched. The literature research helps at identifying potential problems. In chapter 7 the results will be discussed, comparing them to findings in lit- erature and possibly identifying previously unknown chal- lenges. These findings are relevant for other companies transi- tioning from Waterfall to Scrum.