An empirical evaluation of scrum training’s suitability for the model-driven development of knowledge-intensive software systems

A Product Configuration System (PCS) is a software system that facilitates the sales and production processes of defined customizable products. PCS are specific software developments in the sense that they are knowledge-intensive so that they require models to formalize the complex knowledge inherent to product configurations also leading to dependencies between software functionalities. Scrum is a widely used agile method, but its training has been the subject of little research. Model-driven development implicitly impacts the way development is conducted especially when adopting an agile method as Scrum. This paper, as exploratory research, evaluates Scrum training for PCS projects through a qualitative case study. The goal is to identify the elements that should be focused on within Scrum background training. This research first studies and assesses the training experiences at the case company. Then, it reports on respondents’ opinions about the strengths and challenges of applying Scrum in the mentioned context. The latter is based on multiple data sources: documentation, interviews, participant observations, and workshops. Issues in applicability lead to enhanced training support for learning how to (i) combine Scrum with the model-driven approach inherently required within PCS development, (ii) manage time and effort estimation on the basis of accurate artifacts and (iii) access key employees possessing domain or specific technical knowledge indispensable for pursuing the development.