Agile improvement practices in software organizations

Received: 18 May 2005 Revised: 19 June 2005 Accepted: 9 January 2006 Abstract Inspired by the chasm between early adopters and early majority in diffusion of technological innovations, this paper investigates how agile improvement practices can help software organizations successfully implement new processes. An action research-based improvement initiative implemented a new change-request process and tool at the telecom company Ericsson AB in Gothenburg, Sweden. The study identifies a ‘guerilla tactic’ that change agents can use in software organizations to cross the chasm, and it discusses lessons learned in relation to literature on diffusion of innovation and software agility. The contribution of the study is that the guerrilla tactic supports agile improvement practices and facilitates successful implementation. European Journal of Information Systems (2006) 15, 169–182. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000603