Collaboration Challenges in the Adoption of Scrum: A Study in Software Development Teams from Departamento del Cauca, Colombia
Abstract
Scrum is one of the most widely adopted agile methodologies in software development, experiencing a notable increase in usage in recent years. Scrum relies on collaborative work among team members to achieve project goals, as it is expected that team members work collaboratively toward these goals. The aim of this article was to present challenges or collaboration issues in software development teams during the Scrum adoption process. Collaboration was approached from the perspective of communication, awareness, and interaction in activities associated with Scrum. The methodology employed to identify the challenges involved conducting semi-structured interviews with Scrum-adopting software development team leaders from the department of Cauca, Colombia. These interviews provided a detailed perspective on the issues faced by teams during the Scrum implementation process, specifically in relation to collaboration. The analysis of these interviews was carried out using a qualitative research tool utilized for the analysis of textual data. The results obtained comprised a list of eleven challenges associated with collaboration during the adoption process in Scrum. These challenges included preference for individual work, lack of participation in sessions, absence of effective communication, and lack of understanding of agile values. Furthermore, problems associated with the human factor were identified, such as the influence of personality and individual beliefs on the implementation process. It is concluded that collaboration plays a crucial role, emphasizing the importance of proactively addressing the identified challenges, as they negatively impact confidence in Scrum and hinder its successful application.
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