1.
The Effects of Team Backlog Dependencies on Agile
Multiteam Systems: A Graph Theoretical Approach
Alexander Scheerer | Saskia Bick | Tobias Hildenbrand | Armin Heinzl
HICSS-48 Minitrack: Agile and Lean Software Engineering

2.
Agenda
Foundations
Modelling Approach & Results
Implications & Future Work
Introduction1
2
3
4

3.
Introduction
3
Dev. Team 1
What are the impacts of dependencies in the team backlog?
ProductOwner
Dev. Team 5Dev. Team 2
Dev. Team 3 Dev. Team 4

4.
Foundations: Multiteam Systems
4
Product Team
Proximal Goals
Superordinate Goals
System Setup Goal Hierarchy
Team 1
Team 2 Team 3
Team 4
(Mathieu, Marks, & Zaccaro 2001)
(Zaccaro, Marks & DeChurch 2012)
“two or more teams that interface directly and interdependently in response to
environmental contingencies toward the accomplishment of collective goals”
(Mathieu, Marks, & Zaccaro 2001)

5.
Foundations: Large-Scale Agile Development
5
Scaled Agile Framework
ProgramBacklog
Team
Backlog
Team
Backlog
(Larman and Vodde 2010)
(Leffingwell 2014)
(Ambler and Lines 2012)
Scrum-of-Scrums
Disciplined Agile Delivery

6.
Foundations: Requirements Prioritization & Ordering
6
a
a
c
c
c
b
1
2
3
4
5
6
OrderingPrioritization

7.
Modelling Approach
Degree of FreedomTeam Backlog
𝐷𝑜𝐹 =
nr 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠
nr 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝐴𝐺
𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠
nr 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝐴𝐺
𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠
• DoF of 58 million backlogs with dependencies
• 1-10 item backlogs
Calculation
7

8.
Results
8
Degrees of freedom in 2 - 10 item backlogs

9.
Results
9
Excerpt showing minimum, average and maximum DoF for a 8 item backlog

10.
Implications and Future Research
10
Multiteam
System
Team

11.
Implications
11
Overview of the connections between
requirements
• user story mapping (Patton 2008)
• walking skeleton (Cockburn 2004)
Composition of multiteam systems and teams
• feature vs. component teams
Management Avoidance
Focus on splitting requirements (“user stories”)
in smaller chunks (Leffingwell 2011)
Capture dependencies collaboratively and analyze
visually (Hildenbrand 2008)
Backlog management and tracking tools
Architecture of the software
• modularization strategies from open source
development, i.e. plug-in architectures
(MacCormack et al 2006)

12.
Thank you!
contact:
scheerer@uni-mannheim.de
bick@uni-mannheim.de
tobias.hildenbrand@sap.com
heinzl@uni-manneim.de
12

13.
Bibliography
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Delivery in the Enterprise. Pearson Education, 2012
Cockburn, A. Crystal clear: A Human-Powered Methodology for Small Teams. Addison-Wesley
Professional, Amsterdam, 2004
Hildenbrand, T. Improving Traceability in Distributed Collaborative Software Development: A
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Larman, C. and Vodde, B. Practices for Scaling Lean and Agile Development: Large, Multisite,
and Offshore Product Development with Large-Scale Scrum. Addison-Wesley
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Leffingwell, D. Agile Software Requirements: Lean Requirements Practices for Teams, Programs,
and the Enterprise. Addison-Wesley Professional, 2011
Mathieu, J. E., Marks, M. A., & Zaccaro, S. J. (2001). Multiteam systems. In N. Anderson, D. S.
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Organizational Psychology Volume 2 Organizational Psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 289–313).
London: Sage Publications Ltd.
MacCormack, A., Rusnak, J., and Baldwin, C.Y. Exploring the Structure of Complex Software Designs: An
Empirical Study of Open Source and Proprietary Code. Management Science 52, 7 (2006)
Patton, J. User Story Mapping. 2008. http://guide.agilealliance.org/guide/storymap.html
Zaccaro, S. J., Marks, M. A., & DeChurch, L. A. (2012). Multiteam Systems: An Introduction. In S.
J. Zaccaro, M. A. Marks, & L. A. DeChurch (Eds.), Multiteam Systems An Organization Form
for Dynamic and Complex Environments (pp. 3–32). New York, NY, USA: Routledge.
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