Title: Practical approaches for the implementation of distributed scrum teams

Authors: Fernando Almeida; Jorge Simões

Addresses: INESC TEC, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal ' Gaya Higher Institute (ISPGAYA), 4400-103 V.N. Gaia, Portugal

Abstract: Scrum was originally projected for environments with small teams working in the same place, where collaboration and physical proximity are key for success. Accordingly, it becomes relevant to explore how scrum can be implemented in geographically distributed teams. This study aims to identify a set of different types of practical distributed scrum implementation using three case studies with Portuguese software companies. Furthermore, it explores the main motivations for this migration, the challenges posed by the geographical dispersion of teams, and the benefits brought by this approach to organisations. The findings reveal three approaches for implementing distributed scrum considering the geographical location of the employees and the challenges that are posed in terms of communication, collaboration and coordination. These approaches enhance the theoretical knowledge in the field and help software companies to migrate from traditional scrum environments to large-scale distributed environments.

Keywords: distributed agile; distributed teams; applied management; scaling; case study.

DOI: 10.1504/IJASS.2024.139206

International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies, 2024 Vol.11 No.1, pp.52 - 67

Accepted: 20 Feb 2024
Published online: 25 Jun 2024 *

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