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Usage of Kanban in Software Companies An empirical study on motivation, benefits and challenges

Authors:
Muhammad Ovais Ahmad
Jouni Markkula
Markku Oivo
Pasi Kuvaja

Keywords: Kanban; Lean; Agile; Software development

Abstract:
There is a growing interest in applying Kanban in software development to reap the proclaimed benefits presented in the literature. The goal of this paper is to provide up-to-date knowledge of the current state of Kanban usage in software companies, regarding the motivation for using it as well as the benefits obtained and challenges faced in its adoption. In addition, we investigate how the challenges identified in the study can be addressed. For this purpose, an empirical study was conducted consisting of a survey and complementing thematic interviews. The empirical study was carried out in November-December 2013 within large Finnish software companies, which extensively use Agile and Lean approaches. The obtained results are largely in line with the findings of earlier research reported in the literature. Generally, the experiences of using Kanban are rather positive; however, challenges in adoption identified include a lack of specialised training and usage experience, and a too traditional organisational culture.

Pages: 150 to 155

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2014

Publication date: October 12, 2014

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4235

ISBN: 978-1-61208-367-4

Location: Nice, France

Dates: from October 12, 2014 to October 16, 2014