| 1. |
- Orejuela, Silvia, et al.
(författare)
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Establishing factors to consider while adopting the agile approach in manufacturing companies
- 2022
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Ingår i: SPS 2022 - Proceedings of the 10th Swedish Production Symposium. - : IOS Press BV. - 9781614994398 ; 21, s. 341-353
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to the current fast-paced business environment, new approaches to product development (PD) have been requested. In that matter, the agile approach has gained interest among researchers and practitioners. Based on its positive results in the software industry, it has started to be adopted in the manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, there are factors that manufacturing companies must consider while adopting the agile approach, and there is a lack of in-depth empirical studies about those factors. In that matter, this paper presents the preliminary findings of a single case study of a large manufacturing company. The data collection consisted of fifteen semi-structured interviews with persons with key roles in different organizational functions. The identified factors were analyzed and presented according to a product development system (PDS) perspective which encompasses people, process, and technology and tools subsystems. For the people subsystem, the study identified factors related to cross-functional integration and coordination, cross-functional communication, organizational culture, understanding of the agile approach, definition of roles and responsibilities, and people involvement and support. In respect of the process subsystem, the study identified factors associated with workload leveling and development interfaces. Regarding the technology and tools subsystem, the study identified factors related to the integration of information systems, and technology and manufacturing readiness levels. As a result, the study contributes further to the establishment of the factors that may influence the adoption of the agile approach in the PDS of a large manufacturing company.
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| 2. |
- Orejuela, Silvia, et al.
(författare)
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Examining the implications of knowledge boundaries for a large-scale agile transformation initiative of a manufacturing company
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Ingår i: International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management. - 1793-6950.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To stay competitive in today’s environment, characterized by changing customer requirements, digitalization, new technologies, etc., companies must deliver fast and continuous innovation. Manufacturing companies have therefore started to launch large-scale agile transformation initiatives. A specificity of manufacturing companies is their need for deeply specialized organizational units. Knowledge boundaries resulting from knowledge specialization tend to impact transformation initiatives. Therefore, this work examines the implications of knowledge boundaries between organizational units for a large-scale agile transformation initiative of a manufacturing company. The findings show that these knowledge boundaries imply a need for knowledge integration based on flexibility and dynamism as key aspects. A conceptual model that illustrates these aspects during the initial phase of implementation of these transformation initiatives is presented.
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| 3. |
- Orejuela, Silvia
(författare)
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Large-scale agile transformation in a manufacturing company : a knowledge-based view
- 2023
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Agile has been touted as a concept to deal with and succeed in the fast-paced environment in which companies operate today. Based on this concept, practitioners have created frameworks and practices that have proven to bring benefits in software development. Looking to extend these benefits beyond software development, companies are launching large-scale agile transformation initiatives, however, these initiatives are associated with several challenges.Some of the most prominent challenges in large-scale agile transformation initiatives are related to the understanding of agile within an organization. Studies point towards misunderstanding, lack of understanding and different understandings of agile. These challenges lead to resistance, frustration, inappropriate workloads, and increased cost of resource relocation, hindering successful transformation initiatives.Challenges related to the understanding of agile within an organization are especially important among key roles (managers, change leaders, consultants, etc.) as they have the power to remove barriers, allocate resources, provide support, act as facilitators, and as mentors to motivate employees in large-scale agile transformation initiatives. Moreover, these challenges are critical in the initial phase of implementation of a transformation initiative, as is in this phase when key roles cooperate to develop a shared commitment and vision of the initiative. Challenges related to the understanding of agile within an organization are expected to be exacerbated in manufacturing companies.Despite the relevance of these challenges, existing studies have not explored key roles’ understanding of agile in depth. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the key roles’ understanding of agile in the initial phase of a large-scale agile transformation initiative in a manufacturing company.Applying a knowledge-based view, this study shows that the key roles’ understanding of agile is grounded in the knowledge frame (system of meaning based on ways of working, educational backgrounds, mental maps, etc.) of their organizational units. This results in knowledge boundaries that limit the key roles’ shared and comprehensive understanding of agile among different organizational units. This study shows that these knowledge boundaries call for flexibility and dynamism in large-scale agile transformation initiatives in manufacturing companies. This thesis presents a conceptual model that illustrates an iterative ad hoc implementation of large-scale agile transformation initiatives in manufacturing companies.
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| 4. |
- Orejuela, Silvia, et al.
(författare)
-
MANAGERS' UNDERSTANDING OF AGILE IN HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT
- 2023
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Design Society, Vol. 3. - : Cambridge University Press. ; 3, s. 2515-2524
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The agile methodology is gaining attention among practitioners and researchers in hardware development. As a new methodology, it is a source of misunderstandings and misinterpretations. This is problematic at the managers' levels as they may hinder its adoption or lead to its impractical implementation and use. This study, therefore, aims to explore the manager's level of understanding of the agile methodology. The study identifies the similarities and differences between the fundamental elements of the agile methodology and the elements mentioned by managers in hardware development. The fundamental elements of the agile methodology are identified based on the elements presented in the Scrum method; the elements mentioned by managers are identified based on ten semi-structured interviews with managers in hardware development. The study shows that the understanding of the agile methodology varies largely among managers. The obtained detailed insights in the managers' level of understanding of the agile methodology could be used to develop appropriate support to facilitate its adoption and implementation.
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