Large-scale agile transformation in a manufacturing company : a knowledge-based view

Sammanfattning: 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.