Agile Team Perceptions of Productivity Factors

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate agile team perceptions of factors impacting their productivity. Within this overall goal, we also investigate which productivity concept was adopted by the agile teams studied. We here conducted two case studies in the industry and analyzed data from two projects that we followed for six months. From the perspective of agile team members, the three most perceived factors impacting on their productivity were appropriate team composition and allocation, external dependencies, and staff turnover. Teams also mentioned pair programming and collocation as agile practices that impact productivity. As a secondary finding, most team members did not share the same understanding of the concept of productivity. While some known factors still impact agile team productivity, new factors emerged from the interviews as potential productivity factors impacting agile teams.