Agile software development principles emphasize the design and development of useful IT solutions through iterative and incremental development processes with frequent evaluations of usefulness with users. However, much of the IT solutions implemented in organizations are based on ‘generic’ enterprise software, designed to be used across many organizations. The solutions are designed within an ecosystem of a platform owner, ‘partners’ who specialize in configuring and extending the solution, and user organizations. For instance, DHIS2 is a generic health software solution developed and maintained at the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo. The software is used by different public and private organizations in more than 80 countries to collect, analyze and present health information. While the main generic software 'platform' is designed by developers in Oslo, groups of designers and developers in various countries support user organizations in implementing the solution. When the generic solution is implemented to serve a specific user organization, these features are configured and extended according to their specific needs. As the solution is becoming more flexible, for instance by allowing for the development of ‘apps’ on top of the core solution, the implementation process is turned into a full-fledged software development project. Yet, our understanding of how agile principles and techniques are and can be used in this context of design and development is still limited. In this project, one or several students are to explore how agile principles and techniques can be integrated into the design and development practices in enterprise software ecosystems. Another relevant aspect is how enterprise software platform owners can support and promote partners in strengthening and integrating agile principles and techniques into their practices.
Students may investigate different aspects related to agile software design and development practices, for instance:
- Explore existing (agile) software development practices in the DHIS2 ecosystem to identify challenges and opportunities.
- Explore how “software capability maturity” affects the potential for agile software development, and how partner organizations may strengthen their software capability maturity.
- Design and evaluate resources that can support and promote agile software development practices in the DHIS2 ecosystem.
- Participate in development and implementation projects in collaboration with practitioners and attempt to integrate agile methods and techniques in the development process.
The master students will be part of the DHIS2 Design Lab, working together with a larger group of master students and researchers in exploring various aspects of design, development, and innovation in enterprise software ecosystems. The master project will contribute directly to our work on strengthening design, development, and innovation practices in the ecosystem around DHIS2 - the most widely used health management information software in the world.