Sustaining Agile Usage: Role of Management Support in Shaping Agile Mindsets in Development Teams

Abstract

Agile methodologies have acquired prominence in the modern landscape of software development. Regardless of development teams shifting to such methodologies, they experience obstacles in their sustained usage. Research implies these originate from shortcomings in the agile mindset of team members, considering the role of management support in fostering the same. However, they struggle to properly address the impact of management support on sustained agile usage. This study solidifies the impact of management support on the sustained usage of agile methodologies, exploring the mediating role of the agile mindset. A questionnaire was administered to select a group of 100 agile software development team members. A quantitative research approach was employed, with cross-sectional data gathering. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling was applied to analyse the relationships between variables, finding that the management support provided by an agile software development firm has a significant positive impact on the agile software development team’s sustained agile usage. Furthermore, the management support by the firm cultivates an individual’s agile mindset. An individual’s agile mindset has a positive correlation with sustained agile usage of the team as well, thereby establishing a partial mediation between management support and sustained agile usage. Interestingly, the findings assert the importance of management support while demonstrating their responsibility for the achievement of the ultimate goal of establishing a culture of agility by fostering individuals’ agile mindsets in an SD firm. Furthermore, it furnishes practitioners with the knowledge to develop effective interventions to foster an agile mindset among team members, thereby ensuring the long-term success of agile methodologies.