Using Scrum in Distributed Agile Development: A Multiple Case Study

TLDR

Distributed agile development is gaining traction, yet agile practices were originally designed for collocated teams and are not directly applicable to distributed settings. This study investigates how Scrum practices are applied in distributed projects by presenting findings from a multiple case study of two small and one mid‑sized distributed Scrum teams. Through interviews with 19 team members, the authors describe the adoption of Scrum rituals—daily scrums, backlogs, sprints—and supporting GSD practices such as frequent visits and multiple communication modes. The case studies reveal both challenges and benefits of applying Scrum in distributed environments, and provide lessons learned for practitioners.

Abstract

Distributed agile development (DAD) has received increasing interest both in industry and academia as global software development (GSD) is becoming main-stream. However, agile methods and in particular agile practices have been designed for collocated software development, and are thus not directly applicable to DAD. In this paper, we present findings from a multiple case study on agile practices in two small and one mid-sized distributed Scrum project. Based on an interview study of 19 project team members, we describe how Scrum practices, such as daily scrums, backlogs, and sprints were successfully adopted to distributed development. We also describe supporting GSD practices employed, such as frequent visits and multiple communication modes that the projects used. Finally, we depict the challenges and benefits the case projects reported, as well as lessons learned from applying Scrum in distributed settings.