Knowledge Sharing and Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Software Development – A Systematic Literature Review and an Interview Study
Due to their benefits regarding resilience to change and adaptability, agile methods are widely adopted in the software development industry. Despite being intended for small co-located teams, organizations have started to scale agile methods, e.g., applying them in multi-team projects. Consequently, effective and efficient knowledge sharing and coordination become more complex, and agile intra-team practices are not sufficient anymore. While several case studies investigate knowledge sharing and coordination in the scaled agile context, an overview across multiple organizations is missing. To fill this gap, we combined the results of a literature review of 69 studies and an interview study to gain an overview of how coordination and knowledge sharing are conducted in scaled agile organizations and what factors hinder or facilitate their effectiveness and efficiency. Our findings show that organizations implement various mechanisms, including roles (e.g., Product Owners), meetings (e.g., ad-hoc exchange), tools and artifacts (e.g., chats), and other structures (e.g., Communities of Practice). Organizations struggle particularly with misalignment among teams and units, insufficient communication, and distribution across different working locations. Key enabling factors are documentation efforts, as well as both formal and informal exchanges. Context is crucial and should be regularly reassessed as needs evolve. Also, strong organizational support is needed to facilitate coordination and knowledge sharing.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Address | Brugg, Switzerland |
| Authors | Franziska Tobisch |
| Citation | Tobisch, F., Matthes, F. (2025). Knowledge Sharing and Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Software Development – A Systematic Literature Review and an Interview Study. In: Peter, S., Kropp, M., Aguiar, A., Anslow, C., Lunesu, M.I., Pinna, A. (eds) Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming. XP 2025. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 545. Springer, Cham. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94544-1_6 |
| Key | To25c |
| Research project | |
| Title | Knowledge Sharing and Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Software Development – A Systematic Literature Review and an Interview Study |
| Type of publication | Conference |
| Year | 2025 |
| Team members | Franziska Tobisch |
| Publication URL | https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-94544-1_6 |
| Acronym | XA |
| Project |