Agile adoption best practices in Canadian banking

Abstract

This thesis examines agile software development adoption challenges in large Canadian banks. Canadian banks have adopted agile methods with varying success. The aim of the thesis is to develop an agile adoption framework, using a mixed methods research approach. Research on agile adoptions in financial firms and other regulated industries was reviewed. The result was a list of best practice and challenges that firms experience in their agile transformations. These factors, along with data gathered from interviews, surveys and observations were triangulated to produce a list of best practices. The research used mixed methods, treating the Canadian banking industry as a single case. Qualitative data were elicited through interviews and observation. Additional data was collected through an internet based survey. Chain referral sampling was used to increase the sample size. The population sampled consisted of executives responsible for agile adoptions, agile coaches and project managers involved in banking agile projects. Seven participants were interviewed and twenty seven completed surveys were received. A pilot study was conducted to test the methodology and research instruments prior to the main study. The data was analyzed using the framework method to synthesize the best practices from the literature with the primary data. The result of the research is a set of best practices and a framework for agile adoption in banking. A validation study of the framework was conducted and indicated it was suitable for banking. The analysis concluded that agile practices and adoption strategies used in non-bank industries, with some exceptions, were equally applicable to large banks. The analysis also demonstrated that a phased adoption framework was well suited to the banking culture for facilitating an agile transformation rather than a holistic companywide adoption. The theoretical contribution of this research is the identification of agile best practices and challenges experienced by practitioners within the Canadian banking industry. It is one of the first academic studies to be conducted on agile adoption in Canadian banks and contributes knowledge to the literature on agile adoptions. The practical application of the research is the proposed framework which provides a disciplined foundational roadmap for leaders initiating agile transformations in their own banks.