Complex Adaptive Responses of Organizational Teams - From Situational Software Engineering to the Enterprise Amoeba

Abstract

Forces of Management and Production Governance can direct a self-organizing team to achieve an appropriate state of dynamic equilibrium to enhance the probability of success. CASM (Complex Adaptive Situational Model) promotes an understanding of what it takes to establish those conditions and applies to any software engineering team, irrespective of the chosen way of working: agile or plan-driven. After reviewing some aspects of Complexity Science, CASM is presented as a model of complexity with four states of dynamic equilibrium in the zone between chaos and order. The four states are: Crafted Quality (agile), Controlled Quality (plan-driven), Managed Costs (WetAgile) and Self-Directed Quality. A band of software engineering feasibility is also described as the area in which teams are most likely to deliver successful projects. The journey across the band of feasibility is further described by introducing SEMAT, with Crafted Quality amounting to applying native SEMAT Essence, and Controlled Quality being achieved by introducing additional practices which satisfy more stringent governance requirements. CASM in its four states allowed introduction of the idea of describing an enterprise as a collection of CAS's (the Enterprise Amoeba), thereby setting the scene for further research into the complexities of human-driven complex adaptive systems. CASM’s model of complexity could also be seen as making a contribution to the general theory of software engineering.