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Results from NASA Agile Teams StudyIn order to meet the demands of the current global economy, a study of agile teams at NASA was conducted by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) to explore how the Agency can become more adaptable and flexible due to several influences, including the maturity and availability of digital tools and NASA’s increased reliance on commercial providers. NESC Technical Discipline Teams (TDTs) perform annual studies to understand the needs of their stakeholders, establish a state of the discipline, and inform strategic planning efforts. As part of the 2022 interview series, the Systems Engineering TDT utilized the dissertation work of Dr. Jackelynne Silva-Martinez that focused on NASA agile teams. The Systems Engineering TDT partnered with the Software and Human Factors TDTs on the formulation of interview questions and subsequent solicitation of customer inputs, which helped attract diverse agile teams across the Agency. 34 participants were interviewed, including civil servants and contractors, with open-ended questions related to their teams’ adoption and transition to agile. Participants were also questioned about their perceptions of the implementation of agile approaches across the Agency. Results showed a consistent framing of agile as incremental knowledge growth, a way of showing progress, and as the incorporation of frequent customer feedback. However, participants emphasized a lack of a common understanding of agile across the Agency, which sometimes caused managers and engineers to be reluctant to accept and support them. Results also showed the most successful agile teams had formal training with over five years of agile experience, used retrospectives, and tailored their agile processes for their specific situation and needs. This paper provides details of the interview responses gathered in the study and suggests actions for NASA to become more agile.
Document ID
20230014877
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Jackelynne Silva-Martinez
(Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas, United States)
Timothy Barth
(Ames Research Center Mountain View, California, United States)
Robert Beil
(Kennedy Space Center Merritt Island, Florida, United States)
Jon Holladay
(Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
Gerald Pawlikowski
(Harlan Brown & Company)
Date Acquired
October 15, 2023
Subject Category
Behavioral Sciences
Engineering (General)
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA SciTech Forum and Exposition 
Location: Orlando, FL
Country: US
Start Date: January 8, 2024
End Date: January 12, 2024
Sponsors: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Funding Number(s)
WBS: 869021.03.72.01.15.01
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Technical Review
NASA Technical Management
Keywords
NASA
Agile
systems engineering
agility
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