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International Conference on Agile Processes and Extreme Programming in Software Engineering

XP 2008: Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming pp 147–160Cite as

A Preliminary Conceptual Model for Exploring Global Agile Teams

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 9))

Abstract

The combination of agile methods and global software development via virtual teams represents an emerging approach to addressing the challenges typically associated with software development projects. The prevailing viewpoint has been that agile methods are not applicable in global settings. However, some current research is challenging this assertion. Therefore, we pose the following research question: How can agile teams be successfully configured in globally distributed environments? Drawing upon configurational theory, work group design research, virtualness concepts, and the software agility literature, the purpose of this paper is to construct a preliminary conceptual model for exploring three proposed dimensions necessary for successful configuration of global agile teams: structure, agility, and virtualness. This paper contributes to the information systems field by providing a starting point towards theory building in the area of globally distributed agile teams and by suggesting three dimensions for measuring and characterizing global agile team configuration.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Information Systems, Tarleton State University, Box T-0170, Stephenville, TX 76402, USA

    Jason H. Sharp

  2. Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences, University of North Texas, P.O. Box 305249, Denton, TX 76203, USA

    Sherry D. Ryan

Authors
  1. Jason H. Sharp
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  2. Sherry D. Ryan
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Editor information

Pekka Abrahamsson Richard Baskerville Kieran Conboy Brian Fitzgerald Lorraine Morgan Xiaofeng Wang

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Sharp, J.H., Ryan, S.D. (2008). A Preliminary Conceptual Model for Exploring Global Agile Teams. In: Abrahamsson, P., Baskerville, R., Conboy, K., Fitzgerald, B., Morgan, L., Wang, X. (eds) Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming. XP 2008. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 9. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68255-4_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68255-4_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-68254-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68255-4

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