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Abstract- Developing software using Scrum is predominantly a team-based activity. Consequently it is an intensely social endeavour. The Agile Manifesto strongly advocates using teamwork to develop software. Scrum is the most widely adopted Agile software development method currently being used both worldwide and in Ireland.
The success of the Scrum team follows from the effective interdependence of the team members. Interdependent teams trust each other implicitly. However, little research has been conducted into the development and fostering of trust in co-located Scrum teams. Using a Constructivist Grounded theory study involving one team from a large multinational software development organisation in the West of Ireland we investigate how trust is developed and fostered in the team.
Keywords
Agile; Scrum; Trust; Interdependence; Constructivist Grounded Theory;
I.Introduction
Agile has come to dominate the software development industry landscape. A VersionOne report [1] on the 12th Annual State of Agile in 2018 reported that 56% of those organizations surveyed cited Scrum as their adopted methodology for developing software. Scrum is essentially a framework for developing software that uses a minimally prescriptive approach to development, in contrast to the more plan-driven Waterfall model and its derivatives.
In keeping with the Agile Manifesto [2], Scrum is a people-centered, team-based approach to software development. The Scrum team is crucial to the development process given that they are tasked with evolving the design from inception to completion, culminating in the delivery, at the end of each Sprint, of a potentially shippable increment of software. Prior to the popularity of Agile the development method was almost always a top-down, plandriven process. By contrast the Scrum team is selforganizing which means that as a group of individuals the team members unite behind a common purpose or goal and, more importantly hold themselves accountable for progress towards the common goal. Being self-organizing, in a Scrum context, means setting and agreeing project deliverables to be achieved during the timeboxed development period known in Scrum as a Sprint. Sprints tend to last from two to four weeks depending on the organisation. Having a common goal is often cited as being important to achieving a successful Sprint, as the team members 'buy-in' to the development tasks.
Moe, Dingsøyr and Dybå [3] argue that "software development depends significantly on team...