User Engagement in the Era of Hybrid Agile Methodology

Contemporary software development and implementation projects are increasingly adopting agile methods by tailoring and blending agile techniques into a traditional project framework (and sometimes vice versa). Common tailoring methods employed by project teams emphasize flexibility to embrace local project context but risk neglecting important communication dynamics necessary for effective information exchange. This study of two hybrid IS projects highlights the distinction between frequent participation and effective engagement. Lessons from these projects suggest tailoring should remove developer orchestration from user feedback activities in order to expose hard to find requirements and replace pseudo-real scenarios with actual-real situations for effective user training. These recommended tailoring constraints restore balance to the information exchange process to improve the communication coupling between project teams and users.