Is Agile Not Agile Enough? A Study on How Agile is Applied and Misapplied in the Video Game Development Industry (2021)

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Conference Contributions - PublishedCollections
Abstract
Video games have become the most dominant and successful entertainment industry worldwide; however, many video game development (VGD) projects and studios struggle to succeed. At present, there are no commonly accepted VGD best practices or frameworks that can bring together the complex and competing needs of software engineering and creative production. Although studios are reportedly using agile frameworks, the actual extent of application and effectiveness of agile practices in the VGD context is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study is to empirically determine how and why agile frameworks are applied in VGD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight New Zealand VGD studios. It was found that the agile frameworks, Scrum and Kanban, must often be adapted from their conventional use to meet the needs of different pipelines and delivery milestones within the phases of VGD. However, it seems that not all the needs of VGD can be met by current agile frameworks. Furthermore, inexperience with agile practices often leads to misunderstanding and misimplementing them in ways that seem to contribute to commonly experienced collaboration challenges.
Citation
McKenzie T, Morales M, Lukosch S, Hoermann S (2021). Is Agile Not Agile Enough? A Study on How Agile is Applied and Misapplied in the Video Game Development Industry. Madrid, Spain: 2021 IEEE/ACM Joint 15th International Conference on Software and System Processes (ICSSP). 17/05/2021-19/05/2021.This citation is automatically generated and may be unreliable. Use as a guide only.
Keywords
Agile; Scrum; Kanban; Scrumban; Multidisciplinary Team Dynamics; Video Game; Game Development; Software Process ImprovementANZSRC Fields of Research
19 - Studies in the Creative Arts and Writing::1902 - Film, Television and Digital Media::190202 - Computer Gaming and Animation15 - Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services::1503 - Business and Management::150312 - Organisational Planning and Management
15 - Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services::1503 - Business and Management::150305 - Human Resources Management
08 - Information and Computing Sciences::0803 - Computer Software::080309 - Software Engineering