Agile ja Lean prosession käyttöönotto IoT-alustalla: Tapaustutkimus
Jokela, Aleksi · Aaltodoc (Aalto University) · 2019
The objective of this study is to investigate the KONE IoT platform software development processes, analyse its merits and shortcomings and mirror its structure to existing literature to analyse what additional Agile and Lean practices could be implemented to improve the platform. The research question is answered through a set of interviews, observations and ideation sessions with the platform stakeholders. The literature review provides an overview of modern software development theory and practice, especially in industries that deal with embedded system development. Moreover, it describes the main Agile and Lean methodologies and how they are used to improve software development processes. Based on the analysis of previous work, it is likely that many issues are caused by insufficient adaptation of methods to fit the organization's specific needs as well as the inherent cross-functional nature of software development on embedded systems. The study was implemented by conducting 6 structured interviews and on-site observations, which were used to create an initial outline of the organization processes and pain points. These results were validated and built upon in a focus group discussion where also potential solutions were discussed and evaluated. The main result of the study is a set of Agile methods that could be implemented in platforms associated with embedded software development. Furthermore, it was discovered that implementing Agile methodology is complex if the organizational structure or software characteristics deviate from bread-and-butter software development. Even though Agile principles may apply generally, their implementation can be significantly more difficult changing the cost-benefit balance of most popular Agile and Lean methods. During the study period it was not feasible to implement proposed changes. Thus, it was not able to pinpoint specific implementations or measure effects of adaptation of new processes.